GRAND CHUTE, Wis. (WFRV) – Bird scooters are back, and while you may be excited to ride again, officials are reminding riders to stay safe.

In Grand Chute, this is the first year the town has the scooters available. Town chairman Jason Van Eperen says it’s just another way to commute to some of the Fox Valley’s biggest amenities.

“I think a lot of it was just for the connectivity part of it. I know Bird wanted the Fox River Mall and the [Appleton] airport, and since we have the Champion Center, we have a lot of big attractions for the Fox Valley that this helps people commute to,” Van Eperen says.

While many communities, like Appleton, are bringing the scooters back for another season, there are always safety concerns.

Lieutenant Meghan Cash with the Appleton Police Department says, “A lot of what we’ve been trying to address the last few years as [the scooters] have been in our community are those reckless riders, pulling out into traffic, not paying attention to where they’re going. For us, it’s really just monitoring what’s happening and addressing when we see it.”

Riders must stay away from sidewalks to avoid colliding with pedestrians. Bird also encourages riders to wear a helmet while operating a scooter.

While APD says to report anyone breaking the laws or acting dangerously on the scooters, any issues regarding parking or scooter maintenance should be reported to Bird directly.