Stricter control over the operation and leaving of scooters in public spaces in Burgas in order to minimize the risks of accidents. This decision was taken today by the Municipal Council with changes and additions to the Ordinance for the Protection of Public Order on the territory of the Municipality of Burgas.
With the changes, the maximum permissible speed for the movement of electric scooters on the territory of the municipality of Burgas is 20 km/h for movement on roads and streets on which the maximum permitted movement speed is up to 50 km/h, as well as on streets with a built-in bicycle infrastructure. and 13 km/h for movement on a dedicated bicycle infrastructure on the pavement area and on the territory of the parks.
It is also prohibited to park in parks, gardens, squares, children’s and sports grounds, green areas, areas intended only for pedestrians, sidewalks, public transport stops, crossing paths and in front of ramps for access by disabled people.
The report was the work of municipal councilor from GERB Yordan Valev, who together with his colleagues from the Standing Committee on Transport insisted that measures be taken and the indiscriminate dumping of vehicles be stopped.
“This is how we start a very serious debate. Scooters are a good thing and I admire the eco-friendly lifestyle, but they also have their risks. We have many cases of polytrauma and this debate must continue. People need to follow the rules” said the importer Valev.
Marijan Ivanov from Vazrazhdane admired the actions to change the ordinance, but expressed concern that they could be appealed in court and overturned.
“I am not convinced that we can sanction the operator of the rental scooters with a municipal ordinance. It is not clear whether the operators or the tenant will be sanctioned. If it is about the operator, then we will impose sanctions on something that was done by a third party. In this draft regulation, we are talking entirely about Lime, which provides such a service, and other operators also work on the territory of Burgas. It is also a concern that the designated parking spaces are not included in the report” he said.
“The parking spaces are yet to be specified. The main operator of electric scooters is also willing to designate certain parking points. Regarding the penalties for improper parking, we have given a period of 4 hours during working hours and much longer during non-working hours, during which employees of the operators can take care of their property. answered Valev.
Hristina Hadjiatanasova from PP-DB also made partial criticisms of the report.
“We support the initiative, but there is no way to anticipate the provisions in Art. 18, and from there on the administrative-criminal ones. In the first part, which refers to the speed limit, I have no objections, but the rest of the texts I cannot support them” she shared.
The chairman of the Legal Commission, Ivo Baev, said that this is a very important regulation, because at least 4 times he had to save his children from furiously moving scooters on pedestrian streets.
The municipal councilor from GERB, Elena Kokalarova, answered the councilors from Vazrazhdane and PP-DB that it is possible to sanction violators with an ordinance.
“A municipal council has the right to impose sanctions when its regulations are violated. Fines can be up to BGN 5,000 for individuals, and up to BGN 50,000 for legal entities and sole traders” she said.
Evelina Mihaleva from GERB shared that the report is the result of very long discussions on the part of the citizens of Burgas, who filed reports about the thrown scooters all over the city.
“Many people wanted more control over the operator. There must be rules. There were none for Lime until now. There should also be a sanction, because when there isn’t, nobody follows the rules. There must be control whether the regulation is being implemented,” she said.
