An Open Letter to Lime Scooter Riders in Evansville
Hi. We've never met (I don't think), but we need to talk.
I see you're enjoying the newest toy we have to play with around downtown Evansville. They look like a good time. I haven't ridden one yet, and truthfully, I'm not sure that I will. I'm kind of afraid I won't be able to keep my balance or stop it in time and end up eating a mouthful of concrete when I flip over the handlebars and plant myself facefirst into the pavement. When my kids were younger, they had one of those Razor Scooters that you push with your feet and I struggled to keep my balance on that. So, I can only imagine the difficulty I'd have trying to ride a motorized version.
I want to be perfectly clear here. I have no problem with you riding the scooters. Have fun. Go nuts. Scream, "WHEEEEEEE!" as you cruise down the Main Street Walkway. I don't care. That's the reason they're here. What I do have a problem with is what some of you have chosen to do with them when the fun is over.
I imagine you're already thinking, "What's your problem, old man?" And, I realize what I'm about to say will likely come across that way, but if you could unroll your eyes from the back of your head for a minute and hear me out, I'd appreciate it. If I understand the concept correctly, you rent the scooters through an app on your phone. That app also helps you find one closest to you so you can rent it and tootle around downtown. The thing is, that only works when the person before you leaves it somewhere it's easy to find.
See the photo above? I took that when I came in to pick up the station vehicle for a live broadcast last Saturday. It's the top floor of the Fifth Third Bank parking garage, roughly six stories off the ground. My guess is if you in the area of the building, the app would tell you there are four of them near the corner of Northwest 2nd and Sycamore Streets. So, you stroll on down to that intersection but don't see a single scooter, much less four. Is the app glitching? Nope, a few people who thought they were being funny decided to ride them up to the top of the parking garage and leave them there where no one can find them. Hilarious.
Outside the inconvenience to others who want to use them, the other issue here is that eventually, someone has to bring them down, and I know that won't be the people who put them there in the first place. It will be someone who works in the building, probably in maintenance, who will have to stop whatever it is they're doing, which is likely far more important, and waste their time getting them back down to street level.
There's also the risk of property damage. In this case it was easy to spot the scooter as I walked up toward them. But, let's say I was in my personal vehicle, and one was tucked away where you might not see it as you drive up, but the back end is sticking out far enough that you hit it with your car. Will it cause major damage, probably not, but it could leave a nice little ding that will cost money to fix.
All I'm asking here is that if you choose to use the scooters, be respectful of others who want to use them too, and those who have no intention of ever using them. Leave them somewhere they're easy to find, and as out of the way as possible. If we want to keep getting fun things, we have to take care of those we have.
Now, get out there and have some fun.