The Scooters Are Coming–Coming to Downtown Yakima
I have seen those lime green scooters being ridden by people all over downtown Seattle and even as far away as downtown Washington D.C. They look so cool to ride, but knowing me, I'd fall off and break a leg or something. That won't keep me from trying one of these little do-dads out when they arrive in downtown Yakima soon! We are so lucky not to have that ridiculous bumper-to-bumper downtown traffic like the bigger cities! Riding a scooter here will likely be fun, quick, and easy.
Except if you are a little kid being chased by a bird.
Lime and Bird scooters are set to hit the mean Yakima city streets thanks to a vote by the Yakima City Council, as the Yakima Herald reports. No word on their exact arrival though, the City wants to look over the proposals from both companies before making their final decision.
Naysayers be damned! Some people are against the scooters coming to Yakima. I just have to say, what do we have to lose? I mean, REALLY!
Let us try these contraptions out and see where the road takes us (in downtown). I, for one, think having these around will be epic, as the kids say. I think it would encourage more people to go downtown and ride up and down Yakima Avenue and the nearby side streets.
Heck, it might even encourage more businesses to open up shop downtown (now if they could just lower the rents, I'd probably move there in a heartbeat).
How will it work to use one of the scooters? There's a video way down below from Lime that shows you the easy steps:
1. Download the Lime (or Bird) app in your app store, set up an account, and enter your payment information.
2. After you search for and find a nearby scooter to borrow, walk up to it, hold your phone up to the (I'm guessing) QR code printed on it. It will accept your payment through the phone.
3. Use your foot to throw back the kickstand (again, I'm guessing since I've never ridden one before), and you're all set to ride, ride like the wind.
4. After you've finished riding like the wind, you'll return the borrowed scooter at the defined scooter racks at designated areas defined by the city.
5. Rinse, repeat the next time you are ready to borrow a scooter.
Easy, peasy! Make sure to stay OFF the sidewalk when we get them here, these scooters will be roadside-friendly only in a bike lane. (Does this mean downtown Yakima is getting a new bike lane?) I hope that the scooters will be limited budget-friendly because I sure would love to use one. (People under age 18 will not be permitted to ride the scooters.) Have fun, be safe, always wear a helmet, and watch out for cars, pedestrians, and random, dart-y Yakima cats and dogs.