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Top Stories: Dallas City Council Member Says Electric Scooters Need More Regulation

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Bird debuted some its dockless, electric scooters in Dallas last month.

The top local stories this morning from KERA News:

It's been about a year since the first dockless bike-share companies entered Dallas, and now you may have noticed new electric scooters around.

But not everyone on the City Council is convinced Dallas is ready for scooters just yet. Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway shared his major concern on WFAA's Inside Politics.

"Making sure that we have the bicycles that are everywhere at least docked and not dockless," Caraway said. "Now, at the end of the day, instead of cleaning up the mess, we chose to move forward and add on top of that some scooters.”

The city council opted to make the scooters legal for six months and revisit the subject after reviewing for any injuries, complaints or noncompliance with the rules.

The scooters aren't allowed to be driven on downtown sidewalks, but Caraway said there needs to be more regulation.

"We'll look and see that these bikes are still not being picked up, and it's going to all boil down on enforcement, and some of 'I told you so.'"

Scooter rentals cost $1 to start, plus 15 cents per minute via smartphone.

Other stories this morning:

  • A three-lane highway interchange in Southern Tarrant County will get a $1.2 billion makeover. The Texas Department of Transportation is considering a combined 16 miles of improvements to the Southeast Connector, near Lake Arlington. 

  • It can enhance your looks, but eye makeup can lead to some serious problems if you’re not careful in how you apply or remove it. As part of Vital Signs, KERA’s weekly series on real-life health, Sam Baker talks with Dr. Stephen Verity, an ophthalmologist with Parkland Hospital and a professor of ophthalmology at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

You can listen to North Texas stories weekdays at 8:22 a.m. and 6:20 p.m. on KERA 90.1 FM.

Gus Contreras is a digital producer and reporter at KERA News. Gus produces the local All Things Considered segment and reports on a variety of topics from, sports to immigration. He was an intern and production assistant for All Things Considered in Washington D.C.