New rules for e-scooters in Gibraltar as parking scheme gets green light

ELECTRONIC scooters could be given permission to remain on the roads in a new law being prepared by the government.

Under new rules to be discussed in parliament, scooters would have to be ridden by over-17s, at a max speed of 25 km/h and equipped with a bell or horn.

E-Scooters were mostly used largely by commuters and cross frontier workers before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the Rock.

They were popular as a cheaper alternative to bicycles and a cleaner substitute to cars or motorbikes.

However, many locals were unsatisfied with riders using these on Gibraltar’s roads, as they were considered unsafe.

People were even calling for these ‘personal electric transporters’ to be banned completely after roads served as a free for all during rush hours.

The rules will allow authorities to be able to seize e-scooters and issue penalties to offenders.

“We will not allow the reckless use of these devices by a minority to deprive us of the environmental and healthcare benefits of decreased pollution for the population at large,” said Vijay Daryanani, Minister for Transport.

“The geographic distribution of our workforce and our determination to recover to a new and much better ‘normal’ post-pandemic, requires us to take bold action.”

PARKING

A new pay and display parking scheme is set to be introduced at Coaling Island from June 8.

The scheme will provide 105 new parking bays which will be open from 9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday.

The parking bays will also be open on Bank Holidays and Weekends, and will be free for the public to use while open.

The move will allow more cars to park near leisure areas such as Commonwealth Park and the Small Boats Marina.

It will also help towards the overall amount of parking spaces that are close to the city centre for visitors and commuters.

It comes after news that Midtown Car Park will be charging £1.80 an hour after previously providing free parking spaces.

COVID-19

While the number of swab tests done in Gibraltar continues to rise well over 6,620, the number of active cases remaining at just seven.

With such a small population, Gibraltar is ranked second out of the world in regards to COVID-19 tests per million.

Nearly 3,000 of these tests have been done on front line workers as part of the government’s Unlock the Rock strategy to find and isolate cases.

The number of people in self isolation to prevent the potential risk of spreading the virus is at 36.