Equiticity Sign-On Support for the City of Chicago Scooter Program

Dear City of Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot:

We are writing on behalf of community organizations, stakeholders, and concerned citizens to advocate for the City of Chicago to extend the current Chicago scooter pilot through at least November, move the pilot program to a permanent program by March 2020, and require both the city and the scooter systems to achieve explicit racially equitable outcomes.

Chicago’s scooter program will support the Mayor’s efforts to increase mobility, operationalize racial equity, reduce congestion, and increase revenue through fees associated with ridesharing companies.

Collectively, we offer Mayor Lightfoot the following recommended strategies to establish a permanent, long-term scooter program in Chicago, reflecting the city’s expressed commitment to racial equity and mobility justice:

• Extend the current scooter pilot through at least November 2019. 
• Move the pilot program to a permanent, long-term program by March 2020, with a citywide scale and increased fleet size.
• Require both the city and the scooter systems to achieve explicit racially equitable outcomes, such as geographic access to scooters, increased ridership, LMI-focused membership programs, car replacement trips, and increased socio-economic mobility.
• Given that mobility and enforcement are inextricably linked, end the ongoing racial inequities at the Chicago Police Department, ensuring Black and Brown people are free of police violence, over-policing, and racial profiling.
• Explicitly remove police enforcement as a strategy from the Vision Zero Chicago traffic violence reduction plan, due to the risks of increased police traffic stops in our neighborhoods further criminalizing our communities and the potential abuse or worse that comes with this further criminalization of Black and Brown people at the hands of CPD.
• Given the potential for increased mobility in our neighborhoods to accelerate gentrification, establish aggressive, comprehensive policies and legislation to increase affordable housing and to arrest gentrification, supported by the city’s budget line item dollars.
• Create and invest equitably in open streets events and other related mobility programming in Black and Brown neighborhoods which help people re-imagine our streets and promotes mobility, place, community, social cohesion, collective efficacy, health, safety, security, and economic development.
• Invest equitably in community-based education and safety events and programs in Black and Brown neighborhoods.
• Create and invest equitably in a comprehensive, connected network of barrier-protected bicycle/scooter lanes in Black and Brown neighborhoods and throughout Chicago, reflecting the needs, concerns, history, and culture of Black and Brown people. Making our streets safe for pedestrians, cyclists, and scooter riders requires a massive commitment to investing in new, improved, creative, and innovative infrastructure.
• Invest in a coalition of shared mobility and micromobility companies operating in Chicago, purposed with developing a “safe streets” marketing campaign focused on changing the dangerous behaviors of drivers, cyclists, scooter-riders, and pedestrians.

Yes, we embrace and support scooters, bicycles, dockless bikeshare, public transit, micromobility, and all the various forms of shared, active, or sustainable mobility on our Chicago streets.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Respectfully,

Concerned Citizens of Chicago