Everett
Everett considers rules for "pocket bikes," scooters

By Rachel Tuinstra
Times Snohomish County bureau

MARK HARRISON / THE SEATTLE TIMES Shaun Kerens, who sells motorized "pocket bikes," rides one in a parking lot on Rucker Avenue in Everett.

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Shaun Kerens draped his 6-foot-2-inch frame around a tricycle-size "pocket bike" to take the minimotorcycle for a quick spin through a parking lot.

Kerens, 22, has been selling the motorcycles on Rucker Avenue near 41st Street in Everett. He knows the bikes can be perceived as dangerous, and he cautions those who buy the bikes from him to wear helmets, he said.

"It is a big responsibility, riding one of these," Kerens said. "If I'm on the sidewalk and there's someone ahead of me, I slow down and putt by them slow. ... I don't like the scooters. I think those are worse. They are more noise. And the pocket bikes have front and rear disc brakes, so they are safer."

If the Everett City Council passes a proposed ordinance today, wearing a helmet won't be a choice, whether on a pocket bike or a scooter. The council will hold a public hearing on the matter during its 8:30 a.m. meeting at 3002 Wetmore Ave.

After complaints from residents concerned about noise and safety, the council is considering adding a chapter to the Everett traffic code to deal with scooters, pocket bikes and other recreational vehicles that are not regulated by the state, city prosecutor Laura Van Slyck said. Full-size motorcycles, electric personal-mobility devices or power wheelchairs would not be affected.

If the ordinance passes:

• Anyone operating a scooter or similar vehicle will have to wear a helmet.

• No one younger than 16 may operate these vehicles, and passengers will not be allowed.

• The vehicles cannot be driven on sidewalks, except to enter or leave an adjacent property.

• The vehicles cannot be driven on city property, parks or trails, or on any public-school-district property.
 
• The vehicles cannot be operated on any street with a speed limit above 25 mph, unless in a bike lane.

• People operating scooters or other vehicles must follow the rules of the road, including traffic signs and signals.

Anyone violating the ordinance could be fined up to $101, Van Slyck said.

Everett is among a string of Puget Sound-area cities, including Arlington, Lake Stevens, Mount Vernon and Seattle, that have tightened local restrictions on scooters and other recreational vehicles, Van Slyck said.

"We are trying to enact an ordinance that has the right mix to keep people safe and keep unreasonable annoyances at bay but not be overly regulatory," Van Slyck said. "The purpose of the ordinance is to help citizens be safe, both those riding the scooters and those sharing the roads."

Sgt. Boyd Bryant, a spokesman for the Everett Police Department, said patrol officers often get complaints or respond to calls from residents about scooters.

"We are seeing them all over the place; they are becoming more and more common," Bryant said. "They are one of those new vehicles that don't fit into any state regulation."

It's up to local jurisdictions to regulate these kinds of vehicles, Van Slyck said.

Helen Kresl is among residents who say the motorized scooters have become a noise nuisance. Kresl, who lives on Hoyt Avenue near 41st Street, grew to disdain scooters when the buzz from their engines would wake her 10-month-old daughter from a nap.

A steady stream of scooters, often ridden by elementary- and middle-school-age students, would zip past her home just after school let out, she said. The noise has subsided slightly during the summer, she said.

"I'd spend a half-hour cradling or nursing her, and she'd just be drifting off and they'd start coming by, and her eyes would flutter open," Kresl said.

Another neighbor, Tom Murray, said the scooters can cause problems on the road, too.

"I've seen them three abreast driving down the street," Murray said. "I just pulled my car to the side and let them go by. I think they shouldn't be on the roadway. I think they should be on the side of the road, in bike lanes or places designated for them."

Rachel Tuinstra: 425-783-0674 or rtuinstra@seattletimes.com