As many as 60 small electric scooters may be plying the streets of downtown Sequim soon.  The Sequim City Council approved a proposal last week to enter into a year-long temporary contract with the Bird Rides, Inc company to bring electric stand-up scooters into the city. Mike Butler, a company representative, says the company is in the process of analyzing the Peninsula as part of a region with neighboring cities as a whole to bring  the scooters into Sequim and Port Angeles  If the scooters do come into Sequim it’ll take four to six weeks to bring the equipment into the city.  Users would be required to use an app to pay and ride. During last week’s city council meeting councilor William Armacost said he supported the project.

ARMACOST: “We have an incredibly active, robust senior population.  If you go by at any given day with the pickleball court you will see exactly that in full display. They are ambitious and vigorous and they’re going at it.”

Citing the experience in Seattle as reported by the Seattle Times, Councilor Lowell Rathbun said he’s willing to give the project a try in Sequim, noting that the scooters are used primarily by people below the age of 44.

RATHBUN:  “I don’t think seniors are going to use scooters. Will this program take off in Sequim? And from my point of view I’m very much in favor of anything that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions here in this city. We have an extremely high density of motorized traffic. All you have to do is look at what happens on Friday afternoon.  So I’m thinking, I’ve done a little bit of research, and something like low speed vehicles or a souped up golf cart might be a little bit better for us seniors. But I’m in favor of looking at a pilot program just to see how this works.”   

The council voted 5-to-2 to enter into a temporary operating agreement with Bird rides to test the scooter project in the city through September 30 of 2023 for people 18 and up to use.