SAN ANTONIO — Just feet away from the Pearl entrance stands a handful of electric scooters. That's as close as they're going to get, e-scooters are no longer allowed on the property.
For Marcella Stafford, the ban is a great idea.
"They look for fun but they can be dangerous," Stafford, a safety engineer visiting from Indiana, told KENS 5 on Sunday.
"We were talking about that last night as we were walking towards the hotel, a scooter came and this woman says, 'Excuse me.' I didn't know which way to run," she said.
That's the main reason the Pearl said they decided to ban them in the center of the campus. Those with the Pearl did not want to speak on camera but sent a statement to KENS 5 on Sunday saying:
"Pedestrian safety is of paramount importance at Pearl. In response to the release of electric scooters we’ve designated “scooter-free” zones in the center of Pearl’s campus. Pearl’s operations, security, and property management teams meet regularly on the topic of scooters and remain vigilant in this transportation development. We are committed to having ongoing dialogue with scooter companies, Pearl’s tenant community, and the public at large about scooters and the role they play in transportation and community safety."
Last week, New Braunfels temporarily banned the alternate form of transportation while cities like Kirby and Alamo Heights are figuring out how to regulate it.
Last month, the San Antonio City Council Transportation Committee voted to temporarily cap new permits for dockless e-scooters until the completion of the pilot program.
"I like the idea of them but the only thing I don't like is that there's no guidelines to use them," Mario Hernandez, a San Antonio native visiting the Pearl on Sunday, told KENS 5.
Hernandez said he doesn't mind the scooters downtown, but as a father, he does worry.
"I'm afraid he's going to get hit or they can get hurt as well," he said as he held his son Leo.
Injuries are not unheard of. E-scooters can go up to 15 miles an hour. In December, the Fire Department told KENS 5 they received at least two calls a day for people injured on them.