FRISCO, Texas — Take a stroll through Frisco Square and they are hard to miss. It was only a matter of time before the city of Frisco had to deal with motorized Bird scooters.
They rolled through last week as a total surprise to the merchants downtown and at Frisco Square. "Woke up and saw them all over town. I saw them downtown first," said Matt Calloway, a business owner.
A council member confirms to WFAA that there was no advance notice from the company. The city says dozens of these scooters were dropped off and now a special meeting has been called for Friday to discuss regulating them.
"We came to see the lights and then we saw the scooters. We thought it would be fun to try it out," said John Castanon who came with two other friends from outside of Frisco.
WFAA reached out to Bird and received the following response:
"Bird is now offering a small fleet in Frisco, Texas, and we are thrilled to already see that residents are quickly replacing short car trips for Bird rides. Bird hopes to work closely with city officials to develop a framework that works for everyone so that the Frisco community can have access to our convenient and affordable transportation option."
WFAA posed a question to a Bird spokesperson asking whether the city was notified the scooters would be arriving. As of late Thursday night, our question has not been answer.
Calloway just started a Facebook Page opposing the scooters called Frisco Residents Against Rideshare Scooters. Posted are photos of a stack of scooters laying on its sides in the rain. Calloway says he doesn't hate scooters but he just doesn't like them for Frisco.
"I'm concerned with them piling up on the sidewalks downtown and it becoming a liability for a business owner and not looking attractive," Calloway said.
The following is a statement provided to WFAA from the City of Frisco:
"Monday morning, December 10, dozens of scooters were dropped off at various locations throughout the City of Frisco. As a result, the Frisco City Council will hold a special called meeting tomorrow to discuss the motorized scooters and the regulation of use."