Are there any places in CC to park a motorcycle/scooter on a sidewalk, maybe in an alley that would not be ticketed?

I always see motorcycles parked at 20th and Ludlow on the sidewalk, but don't know what the deal is.

I would be interested in commuting to work via motorcycle but there is no benefit if I need to pay for parking.

I always wondered why cities don't do more to encourage commuters to use more eco friendly transportation like motorocycles. Free parking throughout the city would be a good start. Motorcycles only take up about 1/2 the size of a regular car parking spot.

-Matt

bump.


-UC

I saw a motorcycle chained to a bike rack on Liberty Place's sidewalk across the street from the Art Institute of Phila and thought that there was hope......until I walked up to the bike and saw it had a ticket stuffed in the windshield.

There was a scooter next to it that did not have a ticket.

-UC

Bump. Perhaps someone actually knows the "law"

I park my bike in a garage at night, but when riding it around the city I park it just about anywhere. When I dated a girl who lived in Rittenhouse, I would leave the bike parked a few inches off the wall right in front of the Caldwell Banker office. Never had a problem, but I may have been lucky. I would also park it on the square across from Rouge. In SPhilly, countless bikes are parked indefinitely directly in front of the home, a few inches off the wall.

Most important: Get friendly with shop/home owners in areas that you frequent...a bike is small and easily tucked away. Scooter even moreso.

Anyone have any insight into how the PPA deals with Scooter parked on CC sidewalks?

I see 2 scoots parked and chained to a tree without be ticketed at: On 19th at Market in front of the Marathon Grill and on the 1800 block of Market in front of Au Bon Pain.

I am interested in a scooter if I can use it to commute to CC without getting a ticket.

I have to ask the PPA ticketers when I see them walking around.

-UC

Possibly some light at the end of the tunnel:
http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/view.php?id=8769
-UC

In addition to commen sense, here are two legal arguments that I have used with mixed success to protest scooter parking tickets. The first argument is only relevant if you park your scooter near a bike rack or some other portion of the sidewalk that is not "intended for use by pedestrians," like right along the street next to parking meters. The second argument applies generally to scooter parking. The specifications relate to a Yamaha Vino. There are attachments to this argument, but they are generally derived from the Vino owner's manual.

Of course, this is not legal advice, so consult your lawyer first.

Reason this ticket should be cancelled.

Introduction

This appeal involves a ticket issued against Ms. Smith for parking her moped on a sidewalk. This is an alleged violation of section 12-913(1)(a)(ii) of the Philadelphia Code. This ticket should be cancelled for two reasons. First, the location where Ms. Smith was parked was not a “sidewalk” as that term is defined under the law. Second, even if this board decides that the location where she parked was a “sidewalk,” she can park her moped there anyway because it was necessary to protect the safety of her moped.

1. The location was not, legally, a “sidewalk.”

Ms. Smith committed a violation only if the location where she parked her moped is a “sidewalk.” A location is a sidewalk only if the location is “intended for use by pedestrians.”[1] In this case, Ms. Smith parked her moped in an area that was intended for parking bicycles. Specifically, she parked her moped next to a bike rack and chained it to the rack. (A picture of her moped parked where it was parked when the ticket was issued is attached as exhibit B.)

An area around a bike rack that is approximately the length and width of a bicycle is not “intended for use by pedestrians” because it is specifically set aside for bicyclists to park their bikes. Since Ms. Smith’s moped takes up a space equivalent to a typical bicycle, it was completely within the area around the bike rack that was intended for parking bicycles, not “for use by pedestrians,” so it was not legally on the “sidewalk” and there is no violation.

It is true that the area around the bike rack was intended for bicycles, not mopeds, to park. But that is not relevant. It is nota violation for a moped to park in an area intended for parking bicycles. The only way Ms. Smith could violate the traffic code is if she parked her moped in an area intended for use by pedestrians.

This is not to say that any vehicle may park next to a bike rack. For example, if someone parked a motorcycle next to a bike rack, that would violate the traffic code. That is because a motorcycle is much larger than a bicycle (and also much larger than a moped). A motorcycle is so big that it would occupy an area well outside of the area that was intended for bicycle parking. A motorcycle would, therefore, encroach into the area intended for use by pedestrians and, thus, violate the traffic code.

But unlike a motorcycle, Ms. Smith’s moped actually takes up the same space than a bicycle, so it fits entirely in the area that was intended for bicycles to park. (The specifications of Ms. Smith’s moped, and a comparison of its size to the size of a bicycle is attached as exhibit C.) Since her moped was parked entirely in the area intended for bicycles to park, it was not parked in an area “intended for use by pedestrians,” and therefore was not, legally, on the “sidewalk.” Therefore, since the moped was not parked on the sidewalk, there was no violation.

2. It was necessary for Ms. Smith to park her moped where she did to protect the safety of her moped.


Ms. Smith’s moped weighs only 163 pounds. (A copy of the specifications of Ms. Smith’s moped is attached at exhibit C which verifies this weight.) If it were not chained to a bike rack, it could easily be stolen because two people of ordinary strength could lift it into a van or a truck. Thus, to protect her moped from theft, Ms. Smith must chain it to a bike rack. This is exactly what she did when her moped was ticketed. But since parking her moped there was necessary to protect it from theft, it fit into the “safety of any vehicle” exception.

Moreover, Ms. Smith’s moped is only 40 inches tall. (See specifications at tab C.) Thus, it is barely as tall as the doors on a car, and does not even come close to being as tall as the doors on an SUV or a truck. If Ms. Smith parked her little moped in a metered parking spot on the street, it is very likely that a car, SUV or truck would back into it and completely destroy it because it is out of the sightline of those big vehicles. Thus, to protect the physical safety of her vehicle, Ms. Smith parked it out of harm’s way (and out of the way of pedestrians) next to a bike rack. Thus, for that reason also, Ms. Smith fits into the “safety of any vehicle” exception.


In conclusion, this ticket should be cancelled because Ms. Smith was not parked on the “sidewalk,” and even if she was, she fit into the “safety of any vehicle” exception of the traffic code. It is important to stress that, if this board cancels this ticket for these reasons, it will not be opening the floodgates of motorcyclists parking motorcycles all over Center City. Motorcycles do not fit into either of these exceptions: Motorcycles are not small enough to fit into the area set aside for bicycles around bike racks. And they are heavy enough not to be stolen and tall enough to be seen by other vehicles if they are parked on the street, so off-street parking is not necessary for their protection. It is only mopeds that need special protection (and that fit nicely into the exceptions in the city traffic code). Thus, we respectfully request that the board review the evidence and the legal authority presented in this appeal and cancel the ticket issued in this case.


[1] 72 Pa. C.S.A. § 102 (state Vehicle Code defines “sidewalk” as that “portion of a street between curb lines, or the lateral lines of a roadway, and the adjacent property lines, intended for use by pedestrians”). (A copy of this law is attached as exhibit A for your convenience.)


[2] Phila. Code § 12-913. (A copy of the ordinance with this exception highlighted is attached as exhibit D.)

__________________
Kyle O. Sollie

A co-worker rode her scooter and chained it to a bike rack near in CC for a couple months. Then suddenly started getting tickets. She sold it.

If scooter owners get special parking alloted and motorcycles remain as they are, a new term should become PC.

Cyclist profiling or maybe cyclist gentrification.

__________________
___________________________



___________________________

Learn the truth about Danny Faulkners
murder and his murderer here:

http://www.danielfaulkner.com/

Guys, the war's finally over. Here's an email from 04/26/2007 stating where it is legal to park a moped or scooter (sorry, I don't know about motorcycles) from the PPA Street Director, along with my original request for information below:


Dear Ms. xxxxxxxx:

I am in receipt of your e-mail sent to the City of Philadelphia requesting clarification on where you may legally park your moped. A moped may be parked on the sidewalk, as long as it parked against the wall of a building and is within the property line. For example, a moped must be within the area between the wall and where the steps reach the sidewalk. You may also chain your moped to a bike rack. You may not park or chain your moped to a pole or to a meter.

Recently a memo was given to all Ticketing personnel explaining the guidelines for enforcement of moped parking. If you have the badge number of this Parking Enforcement Officer that told you that you could not park on the sidewalk I would like to have it so I can further explain moped parking to him/her. In the meantime I will request the head supervisors talk to the ticketing department to make sure everyone understands the memo that was issued.

I applaud you in your efforts to better the environment and any if you you need any further assistance please feel free to call me at
215-683-9431 or e-mail me at CO'Connor@philapark.org

Sincerely,

Corinne O'Connor
----

Dear Sir/Madam:

I am the owner of a new 50cc vespa-like vehicle and I would like to
inquire as to where I am legally able to park in the city. I have heard
contradicting statements from different meter-maids and today I’ve
been threatened by one that she’ll ticket me if she sees my moped on
the sidewalk again. There’s also no information on the Philadelphia
Parking Authority website.

I cannot park my moped on the street for the following reasons:
1) it is under the line of vision of a SUV or other similar
vehicle and therefore would be run over and possibly totaled by such
vehicle when parallel parking.
2) it weighs only 180 lbs and so two average-sized men
could lift it onto another vehicle, unless it is chained onto a tree,
light pole, or bike rack.

Since my moped is about the size of a bicycle and I park it in such a
way that it doesn’t obstruct pedestrians on the sidewalk, I don’t
see a valid reason to be harassed for parking it in the same fashion I
would park a bicycle.

Also, I would like to mention that I sold my car and bought the moped
not only as a result of the city’s impossible parking and traffic
congestion situation, but also because I don’t want to contribute to
the city’s growing pollution problem.

When making your decision, please take into account that encouraging
the presence of mopeds will greatly improve the city’s air quality,
reduce noise pollution, lessen dependency on foreign oil (a moped goes
100 miles/gallon), alleviate traffic congestion to a great extent, and
significantly reduce wear&tear of the streets.

Thank you for your time,
xxx xxxxx