Elephants on Bicycles

As with the biker noted in the article I too knew I was living on borrowed time parking in the alley.  I’m not going to argue the merit of being ticketed but I find it interesting that the construction workers who park their personal vehicles so tight sometimes you can’t squeeze between them in Pearl Alley, (abutting the State Office Tower – nice safety eh?), were NOT ticketed. I’m sure I know which door was blocked and I had concerns about that as well; with the exception of the door being blocked however there was zero interruption of pedestrian travel. The motorbikes are all lined up against the wall, bookended by the several dumpsters that line Pearl Alley.

Now I normally bicycle commute so this isn’t a huge deal for me but I agree that it was handled poorly and that the city has taken a step backwards in terms of making it desirable and welcoming to work downtown. If the public safety enforcer is serious about enforcing the parking based on the signs then NBC4’s contractor’s should owe one hell of a bill to the city. If the city sees (and they should) how beneficial it is to have motorbikes instead of cars, or worse trucks, driving downtown then they should do what other cities have done and make arrangements that are in line with the greatly reduced cost to infrastructure and time loss normally associated with larger vehicles. Anyhow, here’s the article from the Dispatch:

Bikers served $40 notice to clear out of Pearl Alley

Friday,  May 30, 2008 3:11 AM
By Bobby Pierce
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Steve Rath, who commutes on a scooter, was among 11 scooter and motorcycle riders who received a parking ticket for parking in Pearl Alley on Wednesday.

Motorcyclists and scooter riders say the tickets they found on their bikes Wednesday afternoon mean they’ve lost their parking haven Downtown. But Columbus officials say they’re trying to find ways to accommodate the smaller vehicles.

“I was living on borrowed time,” said Steve Rath, who was ticketed for parking his scooter in Pearl Alley between Broad and Gay streets. “I won’t park here tomorrow.”

The city is considering scooter and motorcycle parking in Pearl Alley, on Gay Street and near Columbus City Center, said Mike Brown, a spokesman for Mayor Michael B. Coleman.

Rath rides a yellow scooter from Hilliard to work Downtown. He said he has been parking in Pearl Alley for just less than a month, and Wednesday’s ticket was his first. When he arrived in the alley, he said, there already were a dozen scooters or motorcycles.

The alley appealed to Rath because it is well-traveled, reassuring him that his lightweight scooter wouldn’t be stolen.

Rath was one of 11 riders who received parking tickets on Wednesday.

“It’s really random, I think,” said Christopher Edwards, who rides a blue sport motorcycle. “It’s in an alley and we’re out of the way. We aren’t inhibiting traffic.”

Edwards, who works at Tip Top Kitchen and Cocktails, said that, except when it was raining or too cold to drive his motorcycle, he had parked in the alley for a year. This was Edwards’ first citation, too.

He said if bicycles can park for free, he should be able to; his motorcycle is just a big bike.

Both Rath and Edwards said it would have been nice to get a warning before the $40 ticket.

“The problem is, where there used to be one or two, now there are a lot of them,” said Mary Carran Webster, Columbus’ assistant public service director. The city was lenient when there were a couple of scooters in the alley, she said, but too many block the way for pedestrians. The alley is clearly marked “No Stopping.”

Webster said parking enforcers showed up on Wednesday after a business complained that a large Harley-Davidson with a sidecar was blocking its back door.

Rath, who works for the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, said he would like to see the city find more ways to accommodate small vehicles like his. He said Ohio State University offers parking tags for scooters and motorcycles that are good for a year and cost $25.

Webster said she has talked with the city’s Transportation Division to consider adding meters for small vehicles in the alley. But the alley is designated as a pedestrian zone, and she’s concerned that too many scooters and motorcycles could be a danger.

Lelia Cady, an aide to Councilwoman Maryellen O’Shaughnessy, said there used to be an unwritten rule that allowed kick-started mopeds to park in bicycle racks. That stopped as more commuters switched to scooters, which have larger motors.

Cady said that the city is looking into ways of making it easier to drive motorcycles and scooters in the city as part of Columbus’ green initiative. Most motorcycles and scooters get very high gas mileage.

The city of Denver allows bike-rack and sidewalk parking for scooters with motors smaller than 50cc. Portland, Ore., permits motorcycles and scooters to park in alleys as long as they are not obstructing traffic.