News from The Arizona Republic
by Kevin Blocker
Activist knocks machine's noise at demo
Next to the droning whir of an over-accessorized motor, the most noise generated during a scooter demonstration before Chandler's Motorized Vehicle Task Force was from an anti-scooter activist from Gilbert.
"Come on, ride it like they do in the neighborhoods," Bill Wrightson yelled at 14-year-old Joseph Kinyon, a scooter enthusiast and a member of the task force.
As Kinyon rode around the parking lot he gave his machine a little more gas - producing the revving sound Wrightson was looking for.
"It's that blip, blip, blip that drives people crazy," Wrightson said.
Scooter enthusiast Larry Iseli, who works at Meyer Distributing in Tempe, a small business that sells scooters and parts, offered Wrightson a chance to take his own test drive.
"I wouldn't be caught dead on that thing," Wrightson said.
The task force's second meeting was held Tuesday evening in the parking lot of the police and courts building, 250 E. Chicago St., where the public was invited to hear - and ride - a selection of different scooters, both gas and electric.
The task force was appointed by the City Council last month to look at the divisive issue between supporters and opponents of motorized scooters. The council is considering tightening regulations on the scooters, which are popular with teenagers but have been targeted as a nuisance in neighborhood streets and parks.
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