There will be a special meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 4 for families who want to discuss electric scooter use in Barrington. The meeting will take place at Barrington Middle School — people can meet in the outdoor meeting space near the school’s rear entrance — at about 3:20 p.m. 

Barrington Police Chief Michael Correia will attend the meeting, and is expected to share information about the use of e-scooters. There will also be an opportunity for families to share concerns they may have about the newly amended town ordinance that bans people from riding e-scooters and/or e-bikes on sidewalks and on town-owned property, such as ballfields. 

Barrington resident Dr. Monissa Solberg helped organize the meeting along with Chief Correia and local school officials. Dr. Solberg recently shared her concerns about a growing anti-e-scooter sentiment in the community. She believes that some of that stems directly from the town’s recent ordinance change as well as a new rule banning the use of e-scooters and e-bikes in the Barrington Shopping Center. 

“I understand the importance of public safety. Accidents happen, and reasonable rules are necessary. However, I believe we have gone too far when our children feel unwelcome in their own community,” Dr. Solberg wrote in a recent letter to the editor.

Chief Correia said he is concerned about the safe operation of electric  scooters. He said many of the children riding the e-scooters do not know the rules of the road. He said they have not taken driver’s education. They have not passed a driver’s license test. 

“We’re trying to prevent an accident,” he said. “I am on record that I am concerned. I do think it’s a safety issue.”