Fighting over the 10% of the ROW that is sidewalk while letting the other 90% get occupied by the leading preventable cause of death of children is ridiculous.
The danger difference between scooters and cars is massive. It's on the scooter driver to be cognisant of their surroundings and the people they could hurt, just like cars
But my coworker got hit by a car while using his scooter on the road 3 days ago. Cars are just way more dangerous to scooters than scooters are to pedestrians
There's still added danger. Crossing a street is hostile enough, but at least the sidewalk is predictable. When I'm behind a row or parked cars, everyone is moving at the same speed and it's fine. Throw motorized vehicles onto the sidewalk and now it's even more hostile.
So long as they aren’t going full speed while on sidewalks and they’re adjusting their speed according to the number of pedestrians, I fully agree. Sometimes you have to go at a walking pace on a crowded sidewalk, and if it’s an empty suburban sidewalk with clear visibility, I see no problem at all.
Should you have to walk your scooter on an otherwise empty strip mall sidewalk whenever there is even a single pedestrian in eye sight? I think it’s fine to walk the scooter before crossing paths and then get back on.