E-Scooters Are Now Blocked On Busy Stretch Of Sheridan Road In Edgewater

EDGEWATER — Electric scooters from Lime and Divvy will no longer work along a busy street in Edgewater.

The Department of Transportation and the 48th Ward announced last week Sheridan Road from Devon to Bryn Mawr avenues now has a geofence blocking the popular e-scooters from being used on the road or its sidewalks.

The geofenced portion of Sheridan Road, about a mile long, is a busy and popular stretch of street and sidewalk that connects Edgewater and the Far North Side to DuSable Lake Shore Drive and the Lakefront Trail.

Geofencing technology slows electric scooters down and eventually stops them once they enter a particular zone, according to the city. This is an extension of an existing geofence, which prohibits e-scooters from the Lakefront Trail, the city said.

“This particular geofence responds to the unique conditions along this section of Sheridan Road, where there was a sustained pattern of sidewalk riding in an area with high pedestrian activity and a large number of vulnerable road users,” a spokesperson for the transportation department said.

Manaa-Hoppenworth also said her office is still coordinating with the city to include Divvy’s electric bikes into the geofencing along this stretch of Sheridan.

Ald. Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth (48th) also said the city has made recent investments in the Kenmore Avenue and Winthrop Avenue greenways, which run parallel to Sheridan Road, and encourages all riders to use those paths as they navigate to and from the Lakefront Trail. Greenways are residential streets improved with bike and multi-modal transportation infrastructure that provide low-stress alternatives to biking or using a scooter on busy streets.

Her office has also helped install bike wayfinding signage, including signs reminding riders there’s a $200 fine for riding on Sheridan Road sidewalks.

“Getting bikes off of Sheridan Road sidewalks has been a public safety priority for me and my team, because we know that everyone is safer when we organize our streets with clear spaces for pedestrians, vehicles, and cyclists,” Manaa-Hoppenworth said on social media.

Other places that are geofenced to not allow e-scooter riding including the 606 Trail, the Riverwalk and O’Hair Airport, according to the city.