Marietta bans electric scooters before any problems roll in

MARIETTA, Ga. (FOX 5 News) - Marietta has launched a pre-emptive strike against electronic scooters. The Marietta City Council voted to ban the scooters before they even rolled into the city. The ban went into effect Wednesday night. 

"It would have been fun for some, but just not a good fit," said Mayor Steve Tumlin.

Mayor Tumlin said after seeing the problems the e-scooters have caused in other cities, city leaders had a lot of concerns, from safety to abandoned scooters piling up on sidewalks. 

"The majority of our businesses on the square are restaurants, with tables out front, the sidewalk ambiance. We're just ahead of the game to say this is not a good location for them," said Mayor Tumlin. 

Joe Migliore owns WR Social Club. He likes the idea of scooters saying they might get more people out on the square, visiting businesses, enjoying themselves, but he says he understands the concerns. 

"I could definitely see it being a problem during events, we get really packed here so it could be an issue if someone's not responsible when using the scooters," said Migliore. 

Randall Rutledge was visiting the square Wednesday night. He said the city is off track with an all-out ban. 

"It provides a service that clearly people want or they wouldn't be here, so why not try it here," said Rutledge. 

Bri Haverhals works on the square. She thinks the city should have given scooters a shot. 

"A lot of us walk to work if we live close to the square, we walk so a scooter would be even better," said Haverhals. 

The city said if e-scooter companies decide to drop a few dozen scooters on the square despite the ban, they will be fined and the scooters will be impounded.