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Electric scooters returned to Portland last weekend. The city's Transportation Bureau hopes it can persuade you to stop dumping your ride in the middle of the sidewalk.
During last summer's inaugural, four-month trial program, the No. 1 complaint from Portlanders was that people rode scooters on sidewalks and left them parked haphazardly, blocking the path of seniors and people with disabilities.
This spring, the Portland Bureau of Transportation has responded with designated scooter parking spaces. The bureau announced its plan with some fanfare last week, but didn't specify how many spaces it would create. So we asked.
The answer: 23 spaces, citywide.
A spokesman for the agency, John Brady, says 10 parking spots have been installed already, and PBOT plans to add 13 more by the end of the week. Like last summer, scooter riders can still drop off the devices wherever they end their ride. The city expects as many as 2,500 scooters on the streets this summer.
Brady says PBOT created the spaces by repurposing former Biketown racks. "All 23 spots are at Biketown stations," he says.
The bureau concedes the spaces are meager, but says it hopes to "show riders where scooter parking is especially encouraged."
Scooter companies are also required to use geofencing technology to keep riders from ending trips in city parks, which is prohibited. Riders caught zooming down sidewalks or parking scooters in a prohibited area can be fined $15 to $50.