From Two Wheels to Town Halls: Scooter-ing Through Bloomington’s Local Government

What was discussed during the meeting?

The meeting that I attended was a general city council meeting that was held on March 8th. I have never been to a city council meeting, so it was an experience that I found very interesting. For the meeting, there were 3 major agenda items; there was a report on Location Changes for the Utilities Department and Department of Public Works, a report on the Scooter Parking/Enforcement Pilot Program, and a recommended appointment of Doris Sims to the City of Bloomington Capital Improvements 501c3 board.

The attendees were the board; Isabel Piedmont-Smith, Dave Rollo, Susan Sandberg, Sue Sgambelluri, Ron Smith, Jim Sims, Stephen Volan, and Matt Flaherty. Also, City staff, officials, and guests present: Vic Kelson, Adam Wason, Ash Kulak, and City Clerk Nicole Bolden. There were a few members of our class and 2 members of the community who spoke, one older man and a member of the sheriff’s department.

The meeting took place in person and on zoom, but I attended on zoom.

The first item brought to the floor was the report on location changes for the Utilities Department and Department of Public works. This was presented by Vic Kelson, who proposed that the utility

department moves to a larger plot of land that would be more accommodating to the department’s needs. He mentioned how in the current location, they are unable to keep all of their trucks inside during the winter, so they are exposed to the elements causing them to depreciate faster than they usually would. They would like to move to the former Winston Thomas Wastewater Treatment Plant site, which was previously a wastewater treatment facility, with the layout of how they would set it up shown here. He closed by stating that they have outgrown their current location and would like to move to continue growing for another successful 50 years.

The second item brought to the floor was the Scooter Parking/Enforcement Pilot Program report. This discussion was also led by Vic Kelson and assisted by Adam Wason, Director of Public Works. Beginning the presentation, Kelson explains that temporary city staff collected data on scooter violations from October to December 2022 for around 25 hours per week, finding 605 violations. The violations were broken down into which type of company the scooter belongs to (shown to the left). They also found that the most “popular” spot where the scooters were illegally parked was on the sidewalk. This was again made clear by an older resident who has struggled walking downtown due to the number of scooters on the sidewalk. This report was met with an understandably stern reaction from the council; they stated that the scooter companies’ contract with the city had expired months ago. Wason mentioned that he was simply trying to explain the violations that occurred, and they will talk about the contracts and what to do with the scooters “in the coming weeks.”

The last item of business was an action to recommend the appointment of Doris Sims to the City of Bloomington Capital Improvements 501c3 board. This was met with a good amount of controversy. The council explained that the 501c3 board had already met and drafted its constitution without telling the council or the mayor. A few board members believed they should have waited for the appointment until they had a say in how the constitution was drafted and ensured their members worked with them. As the meeting ended, they decided to vote on whether to move forward with the appointment, and it was 6 yeses, 0 nos, and 2 abstains. After the vote, the floor was opened again for public comment, which nobody used, and they adjured for the next 2 weeks.

This experience was very interesting, I have never seen the local government in action, and it explains how things work. I had a few ideas that would have made the meeting more efficient and possibly led to more community involvement. The one thing that stuck with me after the meeting was the scooter issue. Personally, I can’t stand the scooters, and it bothers me when they are parked illegally, especially in the middle of the sidewalk or on a handicapped ramp. I believe there would be a way to use smart tech to help with this parking issue.

How could smart tech help with scooter parking?

Scooters have become an increasingly popular mode of transportation in many college towns, but they also present a challenge regarding parking. With limited space for parking and an influx of scooter users, finding available parking spots can be a frustrating experience for riders and lead to cluttered sidewalks and unsafe parking practices.

One solution to this problem could be implementing smart technology to manage scooter parking. Using sensors, cameras, and other data collection devices, a smart parking system could track the location and availability of parking spots and provide real-time information to riders about where they can park their scooters.

Bloomington could install sensors in designated scooter parking areas to track the occupancy of each spot. When a rider arrives at a parking area, they can use an app on their phone to check the availability of nearby spots in real-time. The app could also provide information about the distance to the nearest parking spot and the estimated time to get there.

The app could also allow riders to reserve a parking spot in advance to further streamline the parking process. For example, a rider could secure a spot in a specific location for a set amount of time, ensuring they have a guaranteed parking spot when they arrive.

Additionally, Bloomington could use cameras and other data collection devices to monitor scooter parking patterns and identify areas where parking demand is highest. This information could inform future scooter parking infrastructure development, allowing the city to add more parking spots in areas most needed.

Overall, implementing smart technology could significantly improve the scooter parking experience for riders in Bloomington. They could reduce sidewalk clutter and promote safer parking practices by providing real-time information about parking availability and streamlining the parking process.