LAST week we asked you for your thoughts on the e-scooter trial in Redditch.
Here are just some of the replies we received:
REGARDING e-scooters: These appear to being used successfully in many cities around the world.
I think they are a good idea and Bird appear to happy with the trial in Redditch.
The problems are caused by the users who refuse to use them sensibly.
I have seen two people at a time riding them, scooters being ridden against oncoming traffic, and lying on the ground when not in use.
This is just stupidity by the individuals concerned while most users are using them properly.
M Jones, Redditch
I AM in total agreement the e-scooters should be banned.
I am sight impaired and have had a couple of incidents of tripping over them when left strewn over pavements.
I have seen two people on them at one time.
I am not convinced all users are legally old enough to use them.
There needs to be docking stations and the users should keep them until they are replaced at the appropriate station.
S Lowe, Redditch
REGARDING e-scooters. Mrs Maclean the MP described these dangerous machines as ‘pretty cool’.
Can she not see what the majority of Redditch sees? As a danger to pedestrians and a hazard to traffic.
They are just being dumped anywhere.
Although they may be an advantage in a large town or city, what is the point of having them in our small town were they appear to be used by youths for fun and people with no road sense.
The sooner these things are banned Redditch will be a safer place for pedestrians.
B Cornick, Redditch
THE e-scooters are a danger, and menace left in the roads for cars to go over, especially in the dark.
Left on pavements for blind people to fall over and people with prams or mobility vehicles to have to go in the road to avoid them.
I’ve noticed as well the number of cars parking on pavements.
Pavements are for pedestrians not cars. Don’t these people think about others?
May be heavy fines are the answer – after all you’re fined for illegal parking, and this is what this is.
B Vaughan, Redditch
REGARDING e-scooters (Redditch Standard). I am a e-scooter user. I use it for work and general visiting.
I wear a helmet and safety gear but I feel like we’re a target for everyone who hates them.
I think the scooter users should wear helmets mandatory, if not contact scooter HQ and get it de-activated.
People use them and give backies on them which is pretty stupid.
Every time I go round Arrow Valley Lake for a little ride out I see youngsters dart past with no safety equipment on at all.
As for the rentals it’s a good idea poorly executed.
I mean someone who spends let’s say £1,000 on a scooter is going to look after it and make sure it’s working, right, where as rentals it’s not theirs who cares?
I’m sure 95 per cent of scooter users would pay if they had to to use them legally – I would.
Also make in mandatory not to use on pavements.
Maybe if the government or mayors talked to e-scooter users they would get a idea what would work for everybody.
I mean, hey I have quite a few ideas which might work, but I feel this environmental green vehicle will not have the chance it deserves, but no one will listen.
Please, everybody, give them a chance – you don’t known how much fun it is.
R Smith, Redditch
HAVING just read your article about scooters being trialled in Redditch I have to assume that no account is taken of local terrain when starting these trials in towns.
Given the steep streets, slopes and hills in and around this town how anyone thought this was a good idea is beyond my comprehension.
It’s a nasty accident waiting to happen.
Someone ought to at least visit towns etc where this idiocy is being touted.
Yet another careless idea from a politician with no idea as far as I’m concerned.
If there is a petition against it point me to it.
J O’Connor, Woodrow
REGARDING e-scooters. Before saying the trial should be stopped why not look at the problem why they are being broken.
This is because children are using them.
As they’ve got their parents’ details and the children are abusing the trial it will just ruin it for everybody else, who are actually enjoying it.
The electric scooter is fun safe and very enjoyable and good for the environment when used by the right person,
K Johnson, Redditch
NEARLY every day I witness illegal and dangerous riding by e-scooter riders in the Southcrest area (Redditch Standard).
This scheme has also encouraged the illegal use of private e-scooters too, which is not being addressed.
Riding on the pavements, abandoned e-scooters, lack of safety equipment, residents’ concerns are being ignored.
Both Bird and the council/MP are in denial, constantly saying safety is something taken seriously.
It’s only a matter of time, before there is a serious injury in Redditch, as there has been in other trials, across the UK.
A Jones, Redditch
REGARDING the e-scooter trial.
I want to point that in Bird regulations say they are not allowing young people to rent scooters.
Meanwhile I see lots of young people riding them.
So how the hell can kids rent the scooters?
M Perski, Redditch
I’M not happy that the only e-scooters that are legal are the ones provided from government trials that you have to pay as you go to ride.
It’s a joke!
G McCluskey, Redditch
And on other topics:
‘RESIDENTS have turned their back on the borough council’s much trumpeted Redditch Community Lottery’ – (Redditch Standard).
Bit of an exaggeration isn’t it? The player numbers are down and below target, that’s true, but I don’t think it’s fair to say residents have turned their back on it when numbers are down by just 14 after a pandemic in which community groups could not meet or promote the lottery at their events.
To have a reduction of just 14 players in that context is not bad.
We never claimed the Redditch Community Lottery was going to revolutionise fundraising overnight; it was always an added little extra.
Councillor Mike Rouse,
Portfolio holder for Leisure
I AM sure I am not alone in being worried about the lifting of all Covid restrictions on Monday, July 19.
It’s all very well the Prime Minister asking people to be sensible but we all know there are elements in our society who are anything but.
The other thing is facemasks – useful for you not spreading any potential bugs but what’s to stop you breathing them in from someone who isn’t wearing one?
Will there be air conditioning working in the Kingfisher Shopping Centre and even then, will it be efficient enough to keep air moving and fresh air coming in?
I think we should be told as I for one am worried – we didn’t go through tens of thousands of deaths and all the worry just to land back at square one.
T Saunders, Church Hill
THE coronavirus pandemic has been difficult for us all, but it has been particularly challenging for people living with diabetes.
New figures highlighted by Diabetes UK show almost 2.5 million people with diabetes in England did not get all their recommended checks last year.
These checks are essential to reducing the risk of serious complications such as blindness, heart disease, kidney disease, amputations, and poor pregnancy outcomes.
Coronavirus has also highlighted just how serious diabetes is, with sufferers accounting for one in three deaths in England during the first wave of the pandemic.
Diabetes is one of our fastest-growing health crises, with one in 14 people living with diabetes in the UK.
We want to see the government invest more in diabetes care and prevention and as part of our new campaign, Diabetes Is Serious, we are asking people to sign our open letter to Health Secretary, Sajid Javid, to ask him to make sure diabetes is a priority.
To find out more and to sign our letter visit: www.diabetes.org.uk/DiabetesIsSerious.
P Shorrick, Diabetes UK
