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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSubmittal-James Torres-Letter to Commissioners Re Miami Scooter Pilot ProgramSubmitted into the public record or it (s) r • on City Clerk Date: January 6, 2021 To: Ken Russell, City Commissioner CC: City Commissioners Alex Diaz de la Portilla, Joe Caro!!o, Manolo Reyes, Jeffrey Watson Re: Please revise/reconsider Miami's Scooter Pilot Program Dear Mr. Russell, The Vizcayne condominium complex occupies a full city block along Biscayne Boulevard near Bayside and is home to several thousand residents. As board members of the homeowners' associations at Vizcayne, we are writing to make very dear our concerns about problems associated with the Miami Scooter Pilot Program. A 'pilot program" by definition is designed to provide an opportunity to test a given concept. In this case, the pilot was designed to improve micro -mobility in downtown Miami. Instead, it s produced significant problems with underage riding, pedestrian and vehicular danger, and immense clutter that worsens, not improves, the life of downtown residents. After the events of Christmas evening at Bayside (including two shootings), one could even argue that the congregation of scooters has at least coincided with worsened crime in our area. if the Miami Scooter Pilot Program in downtown was a test, from our perspective it's been a failure in the following aspects: • Underage Riding: In the Feb 13 City Commission meeting, you admitted that the pilot vendors had failed to provide adequate education/enforcement regarding underage riding. In that meeting, Mr. Diaz de la Portilla was quite clear that a $100 fine was inadequate for this offense, and that to consider even extending the pilot, he wanted the fine to be $250 to both the vendors AND the riders, Neither education or enforcement has been improved —if the vendors can't demonstrate this during the pilot, the City has ZERO chance of have adequate education/enforcement once an ordinance is approved. Sidewalk Clutter: A Vizcayne resident recently counted the scooters in a one -block radius of our building: 4471 This is dose to 20% of the ENTIRE number of scooters allowed in the pilot program since the restart. The City's guidelines require that scooters not block crosswalks, valet parking, or building entrances —our staff spends an inordinate amount of time moving scooters abandoned inconsiderately from exactly these locations. Geofencing and corrals simply have not worked. Either the number of scooters needs to be vastly reduced, OR the locations where they can be set up or turned off needs to be much better controlled. Again, if this is how vendors behave during a pilot, what will it be like upon approval? It's naive to assume it will improve. • Pedestrian/Vehicular Safety: In the Feb 13 meeting, Mr, Reyes expressed grave concerns about the safety both of pedestrians and the riders themselves, citing residents' descriptions of near misses on our sidewalks, concerns of and for the elderly, ieytisceyied- S'Acrv► ri p,-,1 Tows— (Lc. i Am ( S609teA, Submitted into the public recor• for it m(s) S- on I 2P City Clerk and the tens of thousands of head injuries reported across the nation. the Pilot Program allows scooters at 7mph on the sidewalks —nearly any downtown resident can relate an incident of a near -miss with a speeding scooter. Moreover, Biscayne Boulevard is an eight -lane highway, and there are always scooters in the traffic. disobeying traffic signals and blowing through crosswalks. Hundreds of scooters positioned outside Bayside, along the large highway that is Biscayne Boulevard, is a true danger to the riders, the drivers, and the pedestrians, and a serious accident is certain to occur. * Adverse incentives: The City of Miami apparently views this as a revenue -generating opportunity. At the current rate of SS0,000 per vendor and $1 scooter/day, of course the vendors are "flooding the zone" and creating headaches for downtown residents. What is the added cost to MPA and MPD of enforcement? And of course, private entities such as ours are paying the cost to tidy up abandoned scooters on a daily basis, essentially subsidizing an ill -designed pilot. We would respectfully suggest that the City Commission consider curtailing, or at least radically redesigning, the Miami Scooter Pilot Program. If the program is extended/redesigned, the input of downtown residents who have to live with the clutter and dodge the scooters needs to be solicited at a public hearing. in 110 way do we believe that the use of scooters in downtown Miami is ready for an ordinance making there permanent, There are simply too many problems that the pilot program has made clear and failed to address We would welcome an opportunity to send representatives to a public. hearing, and appreciate your time and consideration of our opinions, You can reach us via the Vizcayne Management Office, at 786.953-1965. Respectfully, Erik Figuere Associ tton , President. Vizcayne North Condominium Association & Vizcayne Master South Condominium Association orres, Vice President, Vizcayne South Condominium Association & Vizcayne Master ciation 1MG_5518jpeg https://mall.googlc.comlmai it u101 Nikki Royer, Submitted into the puklie record or tte (s) # _ on j ca City Clerk Master AssOCiatkin and Treasurer, %Mane South Condominium Association rd Member, Vizcaya(' Master ration 1 of 1 1/8/21, 1;11 PM Submitted into the public record fts) anCity Clerk —��-r For immediate implementation prior to Scooter Pilot Program reactivation: 1. As a result of a series of meetings that occurred on January 4th and January 12th, 2021 between the City of Miami Department of Resilience and Public Works, every vendor in the City's Shared Motorized Scooter Pilot Program, the Miami Parking Authority, the Miami Police Department, and representatives from other City of Miami departments, additional immediate regulations pertaining to the City of Miami Shared Motorized Scooter Pilot Program were agreed upon by all present parties. The following stipulations were added to the program and each vendor has committed to enact and follow them immediately, prior to the lifting of the suspension of the Scooter Pilot Program and are subject to change at the discretion of the City: a. No more than four (4) vehicles per City block face (approximately 300 LF) may be deployed by each vendor in the morning or during a rebalancing period. Contingent on right-of-way availability within each City block, the number of allowable distributed vehicles may be further decreased. b. Each vendor must re -verify a Driver's License or other acceptable form of government ID associated with each of their account holders upon program restart and at the commencement of each quarter (Feb 1 / May 1 / Aug 1 / Nov 1). It is emphasized that any new account holders will have to scan a Driver's License or other acceptable form of government ID. Account holders without an acceptable form of government ID will not be permitted to access vehicles (i.e., underage account holders). c. All vendors commit to not offer group rides on their applications. Each vendor will only allow one scooter to be rented per account at a given time. d. Ail companies must implement financial incentives to increase the use of parking corrals and must provide the locations of all parking corrals in their corresponding digital application. The City will install sidewalk decals visually identifying the locations of the parking corrals and will provide the location information to all vendors. Redeploying vehicles and ending rides in a corral can be made mandatory in Special Operating Zones, thereby effectively banning any unattended scooter from being left outside of a corral at any given time in the Special Operating Zones. e. All motorized scooters must prominently display a disclaimer notifying renters that only riders 18 years or older are allowed, and violators will be fined with $250.00. f. All vendors have committed to deactivate their scooters when a Miami -Dade County or City of Miami curfew goes into effect. No scooters will be able to be rented when a curfew is in effect. g. Each vendor will incorporate into their applications a geofenced "Special Operation Zone" that will cover Biscayne Boulevard from Chopin Plaza to Northeast 11 th Street, including the sidewalks on both sides of Biscayne Boulevard. Maximum speed for all vehicles inside this Special Operation Zone will be set to 10 miles per hour. When a new Special Operation Zone is designated by the City, vendors will have a 24-hour period to activate a geofenced buffer in their respective application(s). Page 1 of 3 Submitted into the record for iteri(s) on City Clerk h. Each vendor will provide a contact person that will be made available in a WhatsApp group that also includes representatives from the Miami Police Department, the Miami Parking Authority, staff from the District 2 Commissioner's Office, and staff from the Department of Resilience and Public Works. For implementation within 90 days from Pilot Reactivation: 2. Additionally, several other measures to make the Scooter Pilot Program safer for the riders and pedestrians were discussed with general consensus being that the following interventions could be added to the Pilot Program over the course of the next 90 days: a The City will explore partnership opportunities with the Miami Riders Alliance to create a centralized web page outlining how to operate scooters safely and describing the possible penalties for not doing so. This webpage will incorporate educational and safety messaging from the vendors' education and safety campaigns. b. The vendors and the City will work together to identify additional Special Operating Zones, likely in Downtown and Brickell that will include maximum speed reductions, possible deployment stipulations, etc. When a new Special Operation Zone is designated by the City, vendors will have a 24-hour period to activate a geofenced buffer in their respective application(s). c. Based on the ridership trends seen in the past several months, it is predicted that several vendors will see their fleets further reduced via the mechanism in the City Code Section 8-10 which gives the authority to the Department of Resilience and Public Works to reduce vendor fleets who do not achieve at least two (2) rides per unique vehicle per day. Upon selection of successful proposers of the permanent Scooter Program RFP 3. Finally, there are some measures that are being considered for a more permanent Shared Scooter Program if the RFP process is approved and completed: a. The Department of Resilience and Public Works is weighing the possible benefits of requiring all successful proposers to incorporate biometric face scanning technology into their applications for the purpose of verifying that the rider matches the account holder prior to renting a scooter, thus making it more difficult for unauthorized (underage) riders to rent a scooter. b. Sufficient corral/drop zones must be identified and established in a joint collaboration between vendors and as approved by the City. These corrals must feature more prominent and permanent signage than those corrals tested in the Pilot Program. Vendors will be financially responsible for the identification, establishment, rental, operation and maintenance of the corrals. Vendors must jointly obtain City approval for a corral design that is safe to the public and aesthetically pleasing. Redeploying vehicles and ending rides in a corral can be made mandatory in Special Operating Zones, thereby effectively banning any unattended scooter from being left outside of a corral at any given time in the Special Operating Zones Page 2 of 3 Submitted into the pu c recor or �ite}(s} onZ. City Clerk c. elected vendors will seek to establish partnerships with publicly or privately -owned properties to identify additional drop-off locations outside of the City's right-of-way. d. The City will explore jointly with the MPA a mechanism to reduce vendor fleet size allotments based on the monthly reported number of impounded vehicles. For instance, if the MPA has a total of five impounded vehicles fora given vendor in a month, their monthly allotted fleet size will be reduced by five for the following month. I, a representative of (vendor company), verify the above statements as true and I commit (vendor company) to abiding by the above regulations starting January 29th, 2021. Signed, Page 3 of 3 fri Gmail Submitted into the pub is recor for ite (sj on ity Clerk DNA's position on Scooter program james Torres <miamidnapresident@gmait.com> Claudia Roussel =claudiaraussel@gmail.corn> Tue, Nov 23, 2021 at 12:44 PM To: james Torres <miamidnapresident@gmail.com> Great job prez!! Little Ricky ( our mayor) as so often on the wrong side. Of course he and our absentee commissioner Russel live far away from the scooter mayhem, hence political donations from the industry only thing they care about. It is an outrage that we have a commissioner, who doesn't allow scooters in the Grove where he lives. Same with our oh so hip Mayor t* As long downtown has no real representation we will get screwed over and over!! Thank you James to fight the good fight JIB, Sent from my iPhone On Nov 23, 2021, at 9:01 AM, james Torres <miamidnapresident@gmail.com> wrote: (Quoted text hidden] Scooterprogram_Termination_11.22.21.pdf 663K Gma Submitted into the public record for itein(s) .ity Clerk DNA's position on Scooter program may mailouh <mallouh.may@gmait.com> To: Mark Kirby <mark@kirbydesigns.us> Cc: james Torres <miamidnapresident a@gmail.com> fames Torres <miamidnapres&dent@gmail.com> Tue, Nov 23, 2021 at 12:43 PM I am also in full support of the DNA's position and completely agree with all the points highlighted in the letter, [Quoted text hidden] Piog Gmail Submitted into the pub i.e record for ite (s) on `. ity Clerk james Torres <miamidnapresident@gmail.com> DNA's position on Scooter program Melissa Rubin <melissaj@cornpass.corn> Tue, Nov 23, 2021 at 9:44 AM To: james Torres <miamidnapresident@grnail.com> Thank you for so much hard work on this subject Agreed Melissa Rubin Broker Advisor G R D U P[ 605 Lincoln Rd, 7th Floor Miami Beach, FL 33139 m: 305.984.7706 On Nov 23, 2021, at 9:01 AM, james Torres <miamidnapresident@gmaii.com> wrote: {Quoted text hidden] zScooterprogram Termination_11.22.21.pdf> Grnail Submitted into the public recur r ite (s) on City Clerk DNA's position on Scooter program james Torres <miamidnapresidenta@gmail.com> William Mathisen <wmathisen@kwpmc.com> Tue, Nov 23, 2021 at 9:28 AM To: james Torres <miamidnapresident@gmail.com> James - agree with your position and the position of the DNA what little scooters do to help with traffic congestion, they just make the rest of our world even more congested / unsafe with unleashed scooters everywhere. William Mathisen, LCAM Business Development Manager A GREAT team delivering GREAT services! KW PROPERTY MANAGEMENT & CONSULTING 8200 NW 33rd Street, Suite 300 Miami, FL 33122 C: 786.218.5236 E-Fax: 786.363.1594 wmathisen@Nkwpmc.com www.kwpmc.com Web j Facebook e Linkedln I instagrami YouTube Proud Winner of the Daily Business Review's "Best of" Property Management Award Hall of Fame and winner in 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020; Proud Honoree of the Inc. 5000 List in 2020, as one of "America's Fastest Growing Private Companies," for the second consecutive year! KWPM does not send nor receive wire instructions or other financial information, including vendor set up, via email without confirming information via reciprocating telephone calls or direct person to person contact. Under no circumstances should you send any funds to any party without first calling and verifying the accuracy of wire instructions or other financial information provided to you. 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On Nov 23, 2021, at 9:02 AM, james Torres <miamidnapresident a@gmail.com> wrote: N� Gmaii Submitted into the pubjic record for ite; n(s) on DNA's position on Scooter program ity Clerk james Torres <miamidnapresident@gmail.com> Alexa Ledezma <ledezmaa300@gmail.com> Tue, Nov 23, 2021 at 9:10 AM To: james Torres ‹miamidnapresident@gmail.com> Hello Mr. Torres, Excellent job! The attachment is well written, and l agree, we must not let the scooters come back. Thank you, .Alexandria Ledezma. President Board of Directors I Mel 1 Condominium From: james Torres ‹miamidnapresident@gmail.com> Sent: Tuesday, November 23, 2021 9:00 AM To: james Torres <miamidnapresident@gmatl com> Subject: DNA's position on Scooter program Hello Downtown Miami [Quoted text hidden] Scooterprogram_Termination_11.22.21.pdf 663K � Gmail Submitted into the public record for ite (s) pity clerk on DNA's position on Scooter program james Torres =rniamidnapresident@gmail.corn> Mark Kirby <mark©kirbydesigns.us> Tue, Nov 23, 2021 at 9:24 AM To: james Torres <miamidnapresident@gmaii.com>, may mallouh <mallouh.may@gmail.com> Good morning James and May, am in total support of the DNA's position on this. Until these practical and completely reasonable conditions are met the scooter program should be ended. Shame on both Ken Russell and Francis Suarez for putting the revenue generated by the program ahead of the safety of their constituents. I'm all for scooters as an eco friendly and economic alternative to other forms of transportation and a transportation mode of the future but only with the those mandatory responsibilities in place . Right now they pose a safety menace and are a contributing factor in urban chaos with vehicles being left haphazardly polluting our sidewalks and building entrances . Mark Sent from my iPhone On Nov 23, 2021, at 9:01 AM, fames Torres <miamidnapresident@gmail.com> wrote: [Quoted text hidden] <Scooterprogram_Term ination_11.22.21.pdf> Submitted into the put., J . t record or ite (s) C' City Clerk DNA's position on Scooter program James Torres ‹miamidnapresident@gtnail.com> vizcaynespa@nfcamenity,com <vizcaynespa a@nfcamenity.com> Tue, Nov 23, 2021 at 9:07 AM To: james Torres <miamidnapresident@gmaii.com> Good morning, James, in my opinion, people who use scooters as a means of transportation, have no idea how to use them correctly. Most of the time as I leave the downtown area, I have to be extremely careful because they are always going in the wrong direction. They think they can drive any way they please. It is very stressful and an accident waiting to happen. They also park them in parking spaces not designed for them. I have seen them on the sidewalks practically running over people. Not right!'.!! Have a great day. Isabel Viera I LifeStyle Director Vizcayne 253 N.E. 2nd. Street Miami, FL 33132 Phone: 786-953-1963 vizcaynespa@nfcamenity.com www.nfcamenitymanagement.com It's not only where you live, but how you live. [Quoted text hidden] [Quoted text hidden] CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. � Gmail Submitted into the public on City Clerk record or ite (s) DNA's position on Scooter program James Torres <miamidnapresident@gmail.com> Albert Berdellans <alberti manacommon,com> Tue, Nov 23, 2021 at 9:03 AM To: james Torres <miamidnapresident@gmail.com> We 100% agree with you and support the termination of the scooter program. Let us know how we can help Regards, Albert Maloof Berdellans III Vice President, Marketing & Communications address: 100 E Flagler St Miami. FL 33131 website: manacommon.com MRNR COMMON On Nov 23, 2021, at 9:01 AM, james Torres <mramidnapresident[7a gmaii.com> wrote: [Quoted text hidden] &� Scooterprogram Termination_11.22.21.pdf 663K Submitted into the pub) record for ate (s) on 1 1 L'�:�1 ity Clerk fames Torres <miamidnapresident@gmail.com> *Gall to Order* DNA's position on scooters II Jessica Boudreaux <jessica aijessicaboudreaux.com> Tue, Nov 23, 2021 at 3:16 PM To: james Torres <miamidnapresident©gmail.com> Hi James, I am a downtown resident at Ten Museum Park. In first world problems, my nail lady recently landed a new job and I needed an emergency man€ipedi before a trip. The nail salon at 900 Biscayne was closing early so not an option. I had to walk to the one on 16th street. I wore sneakers to walk to the appointment, but, as all ladies know, you have to wear flip flops home. 5 blocks is a bit of a stretch in flip flops so I took a scooter home. It was fast and convenient. There was one waiting right outside the salon! It's not the first time I've ridden one. I enjoy seeing the joy on people's faces when they ride by me on a scooter. It's an opportunity to feel the wind in your hair as well as a cheap, environmentally friendly, and convenient mode of transportation. As a person who walks a dog daily I did not like dodging them in the park. I also don't like seeing them cluttered on sidewalks. However, these are things the companies should be able to manage. The scooters are not allowed on bridges and automatically shut off. I believe they now do the same in the park. If not, they should. If they have the capability to be turned off on a bridge or park, then they should also have a capability to set them to only be parked in certain areas. Sorry to be long winded, but as I was driving to Brickell today on NW 2 Ave. I witness countless entitled Miami drivers driving in the far left lane for downtown which has been created for bikers. It's hard to ask people on scooters to get off the sidewalk where they feel somewhat safe from careless maniacs in cars. Hopefully all of the bike lanes will be divided with a concrete barrier like in NYC and like some the lanes I saw in downtown. I think there is room for the scooters and a need. They just require some further thought and we need to ask our downtown police officers to enforce the entitled behavior of motor vehicleists. Ride shares dropping people off in the middle of road, drivers parked in the middle of the road to get food or whatever (happens a lot on NE 2 Ave by the Lofts), and vehicles in bike lanes are a huge nuisance and danger. Not sure why people aren't as up in arms about that. Just my 2 cents. Thanks, Jessica [Quoted text hidden) [Quoted text hidden] <S co ote rp rog ra m_Te rm i n ati o n_ 11.22.21. p df> Gmail Submitted into the public A record or it (s) on 1 �� f_ ity Clerk *Cali to Order* DNATs position on scooters II james Torres <miamidnapresident@gmail.com> Stephen Dutton <stevedutton1948�7a gmail.coma Tue, Nov 23, 2021 at 3:41 PM To: James Torres <rniamidnapresident[7a grnail.coma Jim, I concur with your opinion about Scooters and support it being the DNA position. Sincerely, Steve Stephen Dutton Founder, Avenue 3 Miami www.avenue3miarni.org On Nov 23, 2021, at 3:00 PM, james Torres <miamidnapresident ct gmail.coma wrote: [Quoted text hidden) <S coote rp rog ra m_Te rm i n ati o n_ 11.2 2.21. pdf> Gmail Submitted into the public record for ite(s) on RE: Call to order* Scooter item 2 messages ity Clerk fames Torres <miamidnapresident cr gmaii.eom> One Miami Manager <propertymanager@onemiami.us> Tue, Nov 23, 2021 at 10:27 AM To: james Torres <miamidnapresident@gmail.com> Mr. Torres, Thank you for all the hard work on this. This program was obviously implemented with very little thought. They are left everywhere blocking ingress and egress to pedestrian pathways and vehicular driveways. They are also dangerous to inexperienced users. I've seen several people have falls and have been nearly hit by several riders. I am in favor of terminating the program immediately. A few years ago, when the program commenced, we were continuously told it was a pilot program. The pilot time frame should be considered over. It is a failed project. Ylexander "Lex" Baluja, CMCA®, AMS®, PCAM® General Manager A GREAT team delivering GREAT services! KW PROPERTY MANAGEMENT & CONSULTING One Miami East, West & Master Condominium Association, Inc. 335 South Biscayne Boulevard Miami, FL 33131 Phone: 786-425-1515 Ex. 5013 Fax: 786-425-1509 Email address: propertymanager©onemiami.us Website: http:llweb.kw-ic.com/onemiami Submitted into the public rccordtfor items)'�— on til■ rc�,1 .� +^ityClerk james Torres <miamidnapresident@gmail.com> Miami E-Scooter program and lnterContinental Miami 1 message 5ampert, Glenn <Glenn.Sampert@ing.com> To: "miamidnapresident@gmail.com" ‹miarnidnapresident[7a gmail.com> Cc: "Cervera, Elio" <Elio.Cervera@ing.com›, "Rivera, Arminio" <Arminio.Rivero@ing.com> Tue, Nov23,2021 at11:2"4AM Good morning Mr. Torres, my name is Glenn and I am the General Manager of the lnterContinental. Thank you for your continued efforts to improve the livability of our downtown neighborhood. 1 believe that policies and programs that balance the needs of our and residents and businesses make for a thriving community. Elio Cervera passed along your message regarding our thoughts on the E-Scooter program in Miami. My response is not to be considered an official position of the hotel as I have not had adequate time to fully review with my team, however 1 am happy to offer my thoughts as anecdotal information for you. I see the benefits that micro mobility platforms can bring to residents and visitors, however I was not personally disappointed to learn that the pilot program was ending last week. I spend many days and evenings on our downtown sidewalks and streets and have witnessed firsthand the safety concerns of these scooters, from both active riders and dumped scooters, as well as the eyesore of abandoned scooters in seemingly every corner of our neighborhoods. I would support a permanent program if a company could resolve the negatives while preserving the benefits, i.e. docking stations, fewer companies competing for business and better self -policing by these companies. Prior to moving to Miami in 2020 I spent four years in Boston where there were similar trials of public shared bikes and e- scooters. The only program that was successful and stayed was BLUEbikes Boston. They successfully have 3000+ bikes in the network and all bikes had to be returned to a docking station at the end of a rental period. Although it is legal to ride on sidewalks in many areas of Boston, most riders stayed on the streets which made the program much safer for pedestrians on the cities busy sidewalks. Our visitor industry definitely benefits from having micro transportation services and I would support future programs as long as they can be developed to avoid the known problems of our recently ended pilot program. Please let me know if you have any specific questions for me. It would be good to connect in person when time allows. Many thanks Glenn Glenn Sampert, CHA General Manager lnterContinental Miami 100 Chopin Plaza Miami, FL 33131 Tel: 305.372.4467 Web J Book IHG J Join IHG Rewards J Linkedln J Facebook 'Twitter J [nstagrarn Submitted into the public recor r ite s) 5e• on City Clerk Miami Luxury Bayfrorut Icon