Editor:
In September the City of Santa Monica Planning & Community Development Department and the City Council approved 2,000 e-scooters in Santa Monica for a 16-month Shared Mobility Pilot Program for “Providing more low-emission mobility options can create a more diverse, convenient, and accessible transportation network that would reduce emissions and congestion and improve the quality of life in the city.”
What about “walking”? With one e-scooter per 45 citizens, Santa Monica is overwhelmed with e-scooters clogging our side-WALKS. At the end of the Pilot Program in December 2019, it will be interesting to see the average distance per e-scooter trip, especially if the average ride is less than two miles. Walking two miles per day takes about 30-45 minutes, has a minimal carbon footprint, improves physical well-being, enhances mental health and improves the “quality of life in the city”. However, there is nothing sexy or cool about walking and no one to make $million$, like e-scooter investors Ashton Kushner and Bay Area venture capitalists: Sequoia, Accel, Greycroft, etc.
Walking is old-school, especially for Baby Boomers who are much less likely to use an e-scooter. Walking is a healthy, low-emission mobility option that does not endanger others on sidewalks, unlike the many e-scooter drivers who continue to illegally fly by on sidewalks harming others and endangering themselves.
WALKING - Healthiest and Lowest-Emission Mobility Option!
John Medlin
Santa Monica