A Nashville police leader said the recent reemergence of motorized scooters downtown created "a major problem that we're going to have to deal with."

Lt. David Leavitt, who oversees security for large special events like Titans games or Live on the Green, alerted police leadership during a meeting Friday. He said the motorized scooters, which returned to city streets after a new ordinance allowing them was approved in August, have created a headache for officers.

In an interview afterward, Leavitt said he's seen several scooters driving on sidewalks in the busy downtown corridor, despite the fact that the ordinance bans the scooters on sidewalks in a "business district."

"They're supposed to stay off the sidewalks, and in fact, we're observing more on the sidewalks than we are on the streets," Leavitt said.

Leavitt said officers also have reported scooters parked in the middle of sidewalks and that a "stack" of scooters had been left at the foot of the pedestrian bridge before a recent Tennessee State University football game.

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'Enforcement's going to be really tricky'

The scooters are not supposed to be parked in a public right of way, like a sidewalk. If a scooter or bike is found there, the company can be fined $25.

Leavitt said that even when officers see violations, "enforcement's going to be really tricky," particularly during busy special events.

"Unfortunately the officers who are trying to control all that traffic and pedestrians don't have time to stop and go write someone on a scooter a ticket," Leavitt said. "And even if they did, truth be told, 15 scooters would go by in the meantime that were also committing the same violations."

Spokespeople for Bird and Lime, two major scooter providers in Nashville, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Reach Adam Tamburin at 615-726-5986 and atamburin@tennessean.com. Follow him on Twitter @tamburintweets.