Transportation News

Dallas will remove scooters from streets and rethink program

Scooters will be off Dallas streets this week.

Photo by Lime

The City of Dallas Transportation Department is halting the city's scooter program effective Wednesday September 2.

According to a release, the decision was made to halt the program in consultation with the Dallas Police Department (DPD) due to "public safety concerns from residents."

Transportation Director Mike Rogers said in a statement that they plan to make "substantial" changes.

"We have received complaints about scooters and would like to make substantial changes to the scooter program," Rogers said. "The changes will include public safety considerations so that the city may have safe modes of alternative transportation."

Dallas has arrangements with five companies: Bird, Jump, Lime, Ojo, and Wheels.

Scooters arrived in Dallas in 2018, following the 2017 wave of bicycles for rent. Both the bikes and the scooters were designed to offer convenient and valuable travel alternatives. But rather than being viewed as an amenity, they've often been deemed an eyesore by close-minded idio—residents.

The bikes disappeared almost overnight in August 2018, but the scooters have remained and have been a fixation among neighborhood groups located in the Central Business District.

Currently, electric scooters (and rental bikes) are prohibited on sidewalks by city code in Deep Ellum, Downtown and the Cedars/Southside neighborhood. Dallas Police do not currently have the resources to issue citations

The release says that complaints included allegations that companies and riders were not adhering to the dockless vehicle ordinance and it posed a public safety issue.

Scooter operators are required to cease operations by Wednesday September 2.

All scooters must be removed from city streets by the close of business on Friday September 4.

The Transportation Department and DPD will host community meetings with residents, business owners and vendors to discuss public safety solutions while the scooters remain off the road.

traffic transportation

Weed News

Texas AG Ken Paxton sues Dallas over decriminalization of marijuana

Photo courtesy of US Fish & Wildlife

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The City of Dallas has been sued by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for its efforts to decriminalize marijuana.

According to a release, Paxton has sued the city for adopting a city charter amendment that would decriminalize marijuana-related offenses and prohibit police from enforcing Texas law.

That amendment was Proposition R, or Dallas Freedom Act, which decriminalizes possession of four ounces of marijuana or less. Voters passed the amendment in the November 5 election, with 67 percent voting in favor.

The lawsuit, filed against the Dallas City Council, alleges that Proposition R is unconstitutional and violates Texas drug laws criminalizing any amount of marijuana.

Paxton says that cities can't "pick and choose which state laws to follow." He's proposing a permanent injunction to stop Proposition R from going into effect.

"The City of Dallas has no authority to override Texas drug laws or prohibit the police from enforcing them," says Paxton in a statement. "This is a backdoor attempt to violate the Texas Constitution, and any city that tries to constrain police in this fashion will be met swiftly with a lawsuit by my office.”

Before the recent election, possession of two to four ounces of marijuana could result in a punishment of 180 days in jail and a $2,000 fine.

Ground Game Texas, the activist nonprofit that has also helped get marijuana decriminalization on the ballot in elections across Texas, first got the issue on the ballot in July with the necessary 50,000 signatures.

Dallas is not the only city to be sued; Paxton also filed lawsuits against five other cities in Austin, Denton, Elgin, Killeen, and San Marcos in January for their ballots and policies decriminalizing marijuana.

Both Austin and San Marcos had a judge overturn their cases, according to a FOX 4 report.

marijuana