Falls Church has formally opened its doors to e-scooters. Now it just needs to find some takers.
City Council members voted 7-0 on Monday night for a one-year pilot program, hoping to entice companies to deploy up to 100 e-scooters and e-bicycles within the community’s 2.2 square miles.
The proposal has been in the works since last fall. If all goes as planned, companies will be selected by “July at the latest,” environmental planner Kurt Lawrence told Council members.
If the scenario sounds vaguely familiar, it is. The city attempted to recruit e-scooter companies in 2019 but was unsuccessful.
Seven years later, city officials hope the industry has matured enough to make Falls Church a logical service target.
Under the staff proposal, there would be no maximum or minimum number of companies licensed — at $5,000 per year — to provide service. The initial cap of 100 e-scooters could expand to 150 depending on rider interest.
While the Council vote was unanimous, some concerns lingered. Council member Erin Flynn cited “continued resident concern around scooters on the sidewalks.”
The adopted resolution calls for limiting speeds to no more than 6 mph on sidewalks, compared to 15 mph on streets, and gives staff the ability to impose “no-go” or “slow-go” zones throughout the city.
“I’m confident we can be pretty agile during [the pilot] process,” Lawrence said.
Falls Church joins Arlington, Alexandria and Fairfax County, which have each permitted e-scooters for at least five years. Currently, Arlington has three operators, Alexandria has two, and Fairfax County has one.
Falls Church will impose a minimum rider age of 18, similar to that in several neighboring jurisdictions. Riders will be encouraged, but not required, to wear helmets.
The application period for prospective providers will open in April, followed by a public-relations campaign to alert the public.
“We want to do a really broad outreach — get that out before scooters come to the streets,” Lawrence said.
While establishing the pilot program did not require a public hearing, Mayor Letty Hardi asked at the March 9 meeting if anyone in the audience wished to speak on the topic. No one did.
Still to be worked out is whether companies will be allowed to cross jurisdictional boundaries. That’s a key issue, in part because the two Metro stations serving the city (East Falls Church and West Falls Church) are located in Arlington and Fairfax counties, respectively.
Council members swap roles on regional transportation body: Falls Church City Council members David Snyder and Justine Underhill have swapped roles on the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission.
Effective with a meeting earlier this month, Underhill became the city’s primary representative to the regional body.
Snyder, who long served as the primary member and was the commission’s chair last year, is now Falls Church’s alternate member.
City Council honors Women’s History Month: Council members have issued a proclamation designating March as Women’s History Month and encouraging local residents to take part in the May 9 Falls Church Women’s History Walk.
The event is presented by the Women’s History Group in partnership with other community organizations. Grand marshals for the event will be Marty Behr, Sharon Schoeller, Sandy Tarpinian and Melissa Teates.
Students taking part in the Young Women of Action groups at Meridian High School and Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School also will be honored as part of the event.
The Women’s History Walk was established in 2017. It features the stories of more than 65 local women, including many whose stories are memorialized in city sidewalks on S. Maple Avenue and Tinner Hill Road.
