Bird Scooters Land in Pittsfield

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Bird scooters landed in Pittsfield this week and iBerkshires took a ride on one to see what they are all about.

Pittsfield is partnering with micro-mobility company Bird to provide a fleet of electric scooters that can be rented by the ride. It is at no cost to the city and the company has agreed to hold all liability. Pittsfield's only job is to provide messaging, education, and preparation for the fleet.

According to the city's Facebook page, the scooters arrived on Wednesday and were placed in a few places in the North Street vicinity.

Renting a scooter starts with downloading the free Bird app, which then shows a map of where the nearest ones are located. You must be 18 years or older to reserve and have a way of paying electronically.

The company's website states that there are non-smartphone and cash payment options — and other similar services — available to increase accessibility.

iBerkshires picked up a scooter in front of ServiceNet that was in a neat row with a few others. The app allows you to prepay different amounts of money that can be used for the ride.

The process starts with scanning a barcode on the scooter with the Bird app.

After inputting payment information, the app goes through a short instructional slideshow on how to use the scooters when it recognizes that it is your first ride.  

The first slide shows how to start by getting on the scooter, pushing off with your preferred foot, and pushing down the "gas" lever to get moving. It then shows how to stop by squeezing the brakes located on the handles as you would with a bike. The app then instructs you to ride in the bike lanes and keep sidewalks clear for pedestrians.

Riding an e-scooter warrants all of the same etiquette as riding a bike. The wheels take minor bumps well but avoiding large potholes that are often spoken about in the city is recommended.

Some locations are considered "slow zones" but the scooters are able to travel at about 15 miles per hour.

Riding on the sidewalk is not permitted but the scooters are intended to be parked on the sidewalk where they are not obstructing pedestrians.

If you want to make sure that another person doesn't rent the scooter while it is parked, it can be reserved for 30 minutes.

iBerkshires rode a total of 1.26 miles and paid $6.29, though was offered a free ride for referring a friend to the app. It was certainly faster than walking.

The takeaway? Riding the e-scooters seems to be similar to riding a bike in the city.

Dalton Board Signs Off on Land Sale Over Residents' Objections

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
05:50AM / Tuesday, December 23, 2025

Residents demanded the right to speak but the agenda did not include public comment. Amy Musante holds a sign saying the town now as '$20,000 less for a police station.'

DALTON, Mass. — The Select Board signed the sale on the last of what had been known as the Bardin property Monday even as a handful of residents demanded the right to speak against the action. 

 

The quitclaim deed transfers the nine acres to Thomas and Esther Balardini, who purchased the two other parcels in Dalton. They were the third-highest bidders at $31,500. Despite this, the board awarded them the land in an effort to keep the property intact.

 

"It's going to be an ongoing battle but one I think that has to be fought [because of] the disregard for the taxpayers," said Dicken Crane, the high bidder at $51,510.

 

"If it was personal I would let it go, but this affects everyone and backing down is not in my nature." 

 

Crane had appealed to the board to accept his bid during two previous meetings. He and others opposed to accepting the lower bid say it cost the town $20,000. After the meeting, Crane said he will be filing a lawsuit and has a citizen's petition for the next town meeting with over 100 signatures. 

 

Three members of the board — Chair Robert Bishop Jr., John Boyle, and Marc Strout — attended the 10-minute meeting. Members Anthony Pagliarulo and Daniel Esko previously expressed their disapproval of the sale to the Balardinis. 

 

Pagliarulo voted against the sale but did sign the purchase-and-sale agreement earlier this month. His reasoning was the explanation by the town attorney during an executive session that, unlike procurement, where the board is required to accept the lowest bid for services, it does have some discretion when it comes to accepting bids in this instance.