Are Valley streets ready for a fleet of electric scooters? Sherman Oaks residents shared their skepticism and concern Monday night about the arrival of Lime and other electric scooters as a representative of the “micro-transit” company said such scooters are likely to appear on streets within the next few weeks.

Lime’s community affairs manager in Los Angeles, Karla Owunwanne, brought a scooter to the Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council meeting to present company and scooter basics, from the vehicle maximum speed — 15 mph — to Lime’s allegedly carbon-neutral operations.

She explained that Lime applied in recent weeks to the City of Los Angeles for a conditional-use permit, according to Owunwanne, which will be valid for 120 days. Once issued, the company plans to deploy 3,000 new scooters around city streets, including in the Valley.

Micro-transit companies Bird, Lime, Razor and Uber’s Jump want to revolutionize short-distance transit, but critics find them to be an eyesore and safety hazard.

The average ride of such scooters is just over one mile and tends to supplement use of public transportation. It costs one dollar to begin a ride and 15 cents thereafter, after a user creates an account on the app and completes a safety initiation.

With low-income residents in mind, Lime has a need-based 50-percent off program and features a texting-based service for people without smartphones.

To ride, users 18 and older must present a driver’s license. Other than in Santa Monica, helmets are not required by law.

Bird Rides Inc., a Santa Monica startup now valued at $2 billion, is the largest scooter company operating in the city after launching one year ago. It’s fleet of 15,000 scooters are mostly in the Westside: Santa Monica, Venice, Hollywood and Century City.

Lime wouldn’t respond to a reporter’s requests for numbers of scooters and where they would be deployed on Valley streets.

Lime representative Owunwanne said the company plans to deploy scooters predominantly around transportation hubs or low-income areas, where more residents depend on transportation alternatives to cars.

Recent reports show that Lime and Bird, the first and largest dockless electric scooter company, are lowering their fundraising ambitions slightly in response to vandalism, rising competition and growing pains.

Since their launch, Los Angeles City Council members have approved regulations limiting the number of dockless vehicles and sought to crack down on speeding along busy sidewalks.

As part of Lime’s coming city permit, the city will receive around $30 per scooter in revenue. In the 120-day interim, Lime will apply for the city’s one-year pilot program as part of city regulations.

Vandals such as those behind Instagram account @BirdGraveyard have found creative ways to destroy the scooters and post them to social media.

To Sherman Oaks residents, rider and pedestrian safety is a primary concern. They also brought up issues of haphazard scooter parking, crowded sidewalks and riders who don’t wear helmets.

A representative from Razor scooters was to make a presentation at Monday night’s council meeting but did not attend.

“I used to love going to Santa Monica and now I hate it because I’ve gotten almost ran over multiple times on sidewalks or in bike lanes,” said Neighborhood Councilwoman Lisa Petrus. “Nobody’s wearing a helmet. There’s no enforcement, it’s free fall.”

Another resident detailed a story about how a scooter rider crashed, breaking her arm and collarbone on a Lime scooter in Venice.

Owunwanne noted that Lime is looking to redesign its scooter to be more durable, with wider wheels and shocks.

Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council President Ron Ziff isn’t sure Valley neighborhoods are a suitable market for electric scooters in the first place.

“I don’t know if it makes sense in this area. Around Westwood and around UCLA makes sense, but Sherman Oaks isn’t a campus,” he said.

“It will be interesting to see how it works out.”

According to a statement from Lime, “Lime is awaiting our permit and excited to serve the Valley. Like in all of our markets, we will rely on feedback from our users and the community to provide a great transit option for residents in the safest way possible.”