Shawnee has passed new rules for children and younger teens who ride motorized devices like scooters and unicycles.
On Tuesday, the Shawnee City Council unanimously approved amendments to the municipal code by adding rules for motorized scooters and unicycles to its already-existing regulations for motorized skateboards.
The rules cover people operating the devices who are younger than 18, requiring them to wear a helmet, as well as ride only on sidewalks and determining where they can cross the road.
Other cities in Johnson County already have similar rules for motorized devices, like Lenexa and Leawood. Other municipalities also recently adopted new rules or are still discussing them, like Prairie Village and Fairway, and some privately owned shopping centers in Prairie Village and other parts of Johnson County are also cracking down on the devices.
Shawnee is also the first city to add new rules for scooters since the death of Duke Ommert, a 10-year-old boy from Leawood, who was struck while riding an electric scooter on Oct. 13. He later died from his injuries.
Councilmember Angela Stiens noted that tragedy in discussing Shawnee’s new rules at Monday’s city council meeting.
But the city had been discussing the new regulations before Ommert’s death in response to the rising popularity of the devices in Johnson County, City Manager Paul Kramer said during the meeting.
“Recently, I’d say, over the last six months or so, there’s been a heightened awareness in e-bikes and scooters in neighborhoods throughout Shawnee, but also throughout the metropolitan area. The number and sophistication of these e-bikes and scooters has proliferated,” he said.
Motorized scooters and unicycles are regulated
The city’s municipal ordinances already included regulations for bicycles and motorized and electric-assisted bicycles but were silent on motorized scooters and unicycles.
During a city council committee meeting on Sept. 30, Leena Bellmann, senior prosecutor for the City of Shawnee, noted that the closest the municipal code got to addressing scooters were its regulations for motorized skateboards, which could be modified to include scooters and unicycles.
The amendments approved Monday include:
- It being unlawful for any person to operate a motorized skateboard, scooter or unicycle on any street, road or highway system. They are allowed to cross them while using the devices.
- Every motorized skateboard, scooter, or unicycle crossing a road, street or highway, regardless if it’s marked or not, shall yield the right-of-way to all vehicles and pedestrians.
- No person under the age of 18 shall operate or ride a motorized skateboard, scooter or unicycle without wearing a helmet.
Councilmembers want to keep residents safe
During the meeting, several councilmembers, including Kurt Knappen and Stiens, as well as Mayor Mickey Sandifer, recalled recent incidents where they almost struck children on scooters.
“My wife and I were coming out of Bates City BBQ, and we were looking and … right as we were getting ready to pull out, a kid with a black scooter (in) black clothes (with) no helmet, didn’t even look (and) just shot in front of us while we were pulling out. I mean, we were just about to clip him,” Sandifer said.
Those kinds of incidents seem to be happening more throughout the city, Knappen said.
“I know my wife and I have almost hit people, and (I) talk to many neighbors that have the same concerns. Not only am I concerned about the kids, but I’m also concerned that no adult wants to be in that situation (where they) hit a child,” he said.
Councilmembers want additional safety requirements
While the city council was in support of the new amendments, they also asked for it to go further, like requiring the devices and riders’ helmets to have reflective stickers.
“(Helmets need) something reflective to where you, at least, can maybe get a head start as they’re coming down (the road), that you get some glimpse that there’s somebody there,” Sandifer said.
During the council committee meeting, Shawnee Police said they would also help educate riders through brochures, social media posts and talking with neighborhoods and homeowners associations about local ordinances for scooters.
That kind of education is needed for both children and parents, Stiens said.
“Maybe they need to put warnings on these packages and things like that. ‘Parents: Make sure you know what you’re buying. These things travel fast,'” she said. “I think it’s just really important that we educate people as much as we can.”
Go deeper: ‘It worries me a lot’ — Shawnee proposes new rules for motorized scooters
