BY PAUL MITCHELL
North Country This Week

CANTON - The village board took a second look at allowing a fleet of electric scooters to cruise through the village streets but made no decision at Tuesday's night monthly board meeting..

The concept was first introduced at the board's July 21 meeting by Jeremy Lynch, senior account executive for Bird, an electric scooter sharing company, who was available via Zoom at Tuesday night's meeting.,

Trustee Carol Pynchon posed the question whether the company had taken a look at Canton's population and demographics, along with the North Country weather.

"The population is strongest in the winter with the students," said Pynchon. "And the students are gone in May."

She also asked if the company had a pilot program in place for communities as small and rural as Canton.

"It's an unusual scenario but similar to Oswego weather wise," said Lynch. "It's not for everyone but another option to get around."

Bird currently has E-scooters operating in Oswego and Olean, N.Y.

He encouraged the board to reach out to those communities to receive feedback on how their scooter operations are working.

Trustee Anna Sorensen said she was not opposed to the idea but voiced concerns about safety issues.

"I'm not opposed but I want to make sure we're ready," she said.

Lynch said he would like to have an answer from the village in two weeks in order to get the operation up and running in the fall to give residents a glimpse of what to expect.

"If not we can do something in the spring," he said.

The matter was turned over the village's Complete Streets Committee, led by Trustee Klaus Proemm.

"We'll get the discussion going," he said.

Users would join via an app and must be 18 years or older and submit a driver's license.

Before taking a cruise on the scooter, a person must watch a safety tutorial which explains how and where to operate the scooter, where to park and not park and local regulations. There would be a $1 ride fee and then a charge of 39 cents a minute.

Riding on sidewalks is prohibited and illegal.

Bird would hire someone locally to serve as fleet manager. there would be no cost to the village.

The scooters weigh 44 pounds and have a top speed of 15 miles per hour.