A group of downtown enthusiasts/scooter fans met this past Friday to discuss ways to enhance the urban experience and how it relates to moving people in, out and around downtown Columbus.
The brew-ha-ha started on May 30th when $40 tickets were issued to motorcycle and scooter drivers who were parked in Pearl Alley. The “no stopping” sings had been ignored by both four and two-wheeled vehicles, however only the two-wheeled vehicles were ticketed. Scooter and motorcycle riders parked between sets of dumpsters which had no impact on pedestrian traffic
Those who commute to work on motorized two-wheeled vehicles are seeking solutions. This group is interested in safe and secure parking, not unlike any other commuter. Their challenge, however, is unique, in that most parking garages prohibit scooter parking and securing a scooter is often essential, as some weigh less than 200 pounds.
The urban enthusiasts are seeing opportunity. There is an opportunity for the city to reduce congestion by promoting the use of two-wheeled vehicles. There’s an opportunity for downtown businesses to see increased foot traffic when more people arrive on two-wheeled vehicles – it leave more spaces open for four-wheeled vehicles.
And both groups see dollar signs. Two-wheeled commuters use less gas and therefore have a higher rate of expendable income. The city has the opportunity to see dollar signs as well since lighter, smaller vehicles are less destructive to roadways and lessened fuel consumption translates into better air quality for the city.
Considerations discussed at Friday’s meeting included designating specific two-wheeled vehicle areas in and around downtown that would offer no-cost parking. Private lots and city owned parking spaces were considered, as was the potential for advertisers, such as Harley Davidson or Vespa, as sponsors these various locations.
“Scooter Valet” was discussed as a way to highlight designated two-wheeled parking areas during high-profile events such as the Arts Festival, Gallery Hop, Pride, Comfest and so forth. Perhaps Scooter Valet will welcome two-wheeled motorists back into Pearl Alley when the city designates it as the first such no-cost parking option of its kind.
Watch the various Columbus blogs to stay up-to-date with the topic, or RSS feed the new Columbus Scooter Parking blog.
I am torn on this issue. Yes, bikes and scooters need places to park that are secure and out of the way of car traffic, I don’t deny that. And it sounds like this alley, which I’m not familiar with, is hardly used by any cars and the no stopping signs are there for no good reason.
On the other hand, there is a no-stopping sign there. I actually have a no-stopping zone in front of my house and it’s violated all the time. In the case of my house, though, it’s near a corner, there are several houses that have driveways right near that corner (including my house), and across the street is a rather popular local market, so there is a lot of traffic on the corner. It makes it dangerous for people coming into and out of the market when cars park in this no-stopping zone as passing cars try to jockey into position just to get by. It also makes it near impossible for my wife to get her car out of or into our driveway when there are cars there (I bike, so it’s not an issue for me).
Those no-stopping signs were obviously put there for a reason. Has anyone looked into what it might be?
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[...] June 11, 2008 · No Comments Jeff over at Urban Infill has a good recap of our first meeting, held last week. His post also does a good job of summarizing the problem. As he explains, this presents an opportunity. http://urbaninfill.wordpress.com/2008/06/10/columbus-scooter-parking-debate/ [...]
Thanks for posting on this Jeff – the debate on two wheeled transportation and options for these modes of transportataion has come – I am glad you are spreading the word.