Corfu: Regulatory decision and precautionary measures to limit skates

The municipality of Central Corfu and Diapontia will make a regulatory decision, which will define the operating status of electric skates within its administrative boundaries, as was decided during today’s meeting held in Maraslio, led by the mayor Stefanos Poulimenos. The aim is to limit the uncontrolled operation of the dozens of rental skates that have appeared in recent weeks.

At the same time, the municipality will file injunctions against the company that operates them, while it will also impose fines for illegal occupation of municipal space, the repetition of which will lead to the confiscation of the skates.

The meeting was deemed necessary after the problems created by the use of skates, which culminated in the recording of accidents by young users, who also used them to transport bulky objects, without respecting road traffic rules. The meeting was also attended by the vice-mayors Andreas Kardonas, Pantelis Giannoulis and Kostas Voussolinos, the traffic commander Kostas Konstantis, the head of Archeology Tenia Rigakou, the legal advisor of the municipality and officials.

Both Mrs. Rigakou and Mr. Konstantis, as well as the officials of the old town office, were in favor of limiting the use of skates in the historic center and the buffer zone, while the legal advisor stated that vehicles with a speed of more than 6 km are considered bicycles and must move on the road, with all that entails.

In his statements, Mr. Poulimenos emphasized that the specific electric skates, with a speed that reaches or exceeds 25 km per hour, have become the cause of accidents, as happened in the Cyclades and have been wiped out from several cities in Greece and abroad. The legal regime that governs their operation, as he mentioned, is quite strange, as even in the control of their use, the regional tourism office is involved. In any case, he emphasized, “the regulatory framework being created will set general rules for safe movement and the imposition of fines for both professional skates and those belonging to private individuals”.