E-scooters are certainly growing on Louisville locals. It’s now estimated Derby City denizens have taken 400,000 rides on these shareable devices from August of 2018 through November of 2019.
Although Louisville leaders seem pleased with the overall performance of rentable e-scooters, they also believe there’s room for improvement. That’s why members of the Public Works Department recently announced new restrictions on where and when e-scooter riders could scoot around town.
To help prevent potential crashes, Louisville has designated certain areas as “reduced speed” areas. In all of the following areas, e-scooters will automatically reduce their max speed to 10mph:
- Waterfront Park
- Mid City Mall
- Yum Center pavilion
- University of Louisville campus
All e-scooter companies that work with Louisville are also required to use geofencing technology to automatically shut down devices that enter restricted zones. The major areas in Louisville where riders aren’t allowed include:
- Big Four Bridge
- Kentucky Expo Center
- American Printing House for the Blind
Although Clifton isn’t officially a no-go area, officials strongly encourage e-scooter users to avoid riding in this area.
Louisville also enforces a strict nighttime ban on all e-scooters. It’s now illegal to operate an e-scooter between 9PM – 6AM on Louisville’s streets.
On top of all these riding restrictions, the Louisville Public Works Department is working on a project to encourage safer e-scooter parking. Riders in the Highlands area will soon notice nine painted parking zones solely for e-scooters.
The nine proposed parking locations, all of which intersect with Barstown Road, are as follows:
- Baxter Avenue
- Grinstead Drive
- Rosewood Avenue
- Eastern Parkway
- Bonnycastle Avenue
- Douglass Boulevard
For more detailed info on the proposed e-scooter parking zones, check out this official map put together by the city government. You could also access data on Louisville’s e-scooter program on this link to the city’s Open Data page.
