People in a busy Nottingham area have praised the new parking racks for e-scooters - however some said "they still take up space". It comes as 10 new dedicated racks been rolled out across the city following safety concerns and calls for the scrapping of the scheme.
Superpedestrian, which took over from WIND, says it has teamed up with a Swedish design company called Standab that specialises in "micro-mobility infrastructure solutions". The company has designed the parking stations alongside the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) to ensure the racks will help partially-sighted pedestrians navigate their surroundings.
The first two racks were deployed near Nottingham train station - where people have shared mixed views over the addition. Emmanuel Aihiokhai, 21, a food production company manager who lives in city centre, added: “The new parking racks are alright but they still take up space.
READ MORE: Police name man, 90, who died in car park under 'very sad circumstances'
“I also don’t think they are easy to use as it is hard to secure the scooter to the rack. I have mixed feelings about the e-scooters.
“I think 10 racks is enough, I don’t think the scheme should be extended.” Nicola Clements, 54, a senior science technician who lives in Bestwood, went on and said: “I’ve never used one of the scooters."
She said that "requlations should be in place", adding: “I think the racks make the scheme a bit safer, though.”
Mohammed Diane, 34, works in security and lives in city centre. She added: “Before the racks were installed, everyone was leaving their scooters everywhere and it was a hazard. But now, if people can just park all of them in one place and have a pick up point and drop off point, I think it’s safer.
“The scooters are useful but the process to get on them is too complicated. Not everyone has a smartphone, I don’t have one.
“I have the money to pay for the ride but it’s no use if you don’t have a smartphone. If they made the process accessible to more people, it would be more profitable for them as well.
“There should definitely be more parking racks installed around the city. Nottingham is a student town so it gets really busy so something to keep all the scooters in one place is great.”
Speaking of the scheme, Haya Verwoord Douidri, Vice President at Superpedestrian, added: “Shared e-scooters are an increasingly-popular transport choice for a more sustainable future. However, even considerately-parked e-scooters can take up too much room on Britain’s already-crowded pavements.
"That’s why we’re piloting these unique parking stations, which we hope will encourage more users to end their rides at our hubs rather than elsewhere. If the stations work as intended, we’ll bring many more to Nottingham and to our other markets. The stations in Nottingham are the latest addition to the safety improvements we’ve been making since our involvement in Nottingham, which already include full-time parking patrollers and a full-time community engagement and safety manager.”
Councillor Audra Wynter, Portfolio Holder for Transport at Nottingham City Council, said: “Throughout this e-scooter trial we’ve been really keen to listen carefully to feedback from the public about how we can potentially improve things. We really welcome the introduction of these docking stations as they will help to bring more order to e-scooter parking and keep pavements clear for all pedestrians.”
READ NEXT:
