PUEBLO — Some fun on two wheels could soon be coming to Pueblo. Bird, an electric scooter company, recently brought the idea to city council members and it was welcomed news among all council members.
"It's good for the community as a whole, to have more fun things for people to do," said Bob Schilling, District 1 Representative, who mentioned the other council members were also on board with the idea. "It makes so much sense for downtown Pueblo. I think it's a home run."
Most of the scooters would be placed in the downtown area, near the Pueblo River walk, on Main St. and Union Ave.
During a presentation to city council, a spokesperson for the electric scooter company said their scooters are currently in 150 cities after being founded in 2017. Their services would come at zero cost for the city of Pueblo and its taxpayers.
"I'm not sure what your push back on something is, that you don't have to spend a dime on. You don't have to manage it. You have no maintenance, and you just collect the revenue," said Schilling. "I'm for the city getting involved."
Among some of the push back and concerns in other cities however, include the scooters blocking sidewalks and ADA ramps and being abandoned.
"Unfortunately I'm afraid with some folks they may end up in the water," said Kriss Montierth, who lives in Pueblo.
However, Montierth thinks the pros outweigh the cons, and that the scooters could ease traffic congestion. She also thinks the city could benefit from another affordable, convenient mode of transportation.
"I think it would be a great opportunity for folks to have a separate way to get to work besides the bus," said Montierth. "If they planned it well, I think we could all really use them."
Eve Norton has lived in Pueblo for three years, and also believes the scooters could attract more people downtown and create business.
"I'm very pleased and excited. The river walk is really well advertised. There's a lot of great places to eat and stuff like that, so yea, why not," said Norton.
When asked if she would ride on, she said, "Oh heck yes! Yes, yes, yes I would."
The scooters could be brought to Pueblo within the next couple months. The City says their attorney and scooter company are working on a contract right now. That contract will be discussed in the next city council meeting on April 12, with hopes it will be finalized two weeks later.
If an agreement is made, the spokesperson for the scooter company said they would start off by placing 200 scooters around town. Then they would study user performance to see if more scooters should be added.
