PARKING SPACE PETITION

[FormerStella]

Visit this website and sign the petition. I know that I worry about my buddy if I can't find something to lock it to.

http://www.vespausa.com/Vespatition

Happy Riding!

[rickyd410]

Signed.

Thanks for posting this.

[SteMer]

Signed.

Great idea!

[baptisto]

signed

[ScooterMonkey]

Signed

[hangukhurley]

Signed.

Thanks for doing this.

[lobsterman]

Signed.

I want this stuff available when I get my Buddy (real soon now I think)

[whattheheck]

Good luck - your fighting Bureaucracy. I can not imagine this is going to reach the "top of the priority list" anywhere except perhaps a few very densely populated areas. Even then the argument will be where to put the spaces and more importantly, will it cost more to implement and enforce than it generates in revenue. Inevitably, car drivers will cry that the prime spots are being taken, or something.

Do they do this in European cities? It makes sense, I'm just not sure how "important" the issue is in terms of city politics in most areas. Unless the mayor is an avid 2-wheeler or something.

[dru_]

I'm not so sure, the manager at the Kroger I shop at in the middle of Acre Plus Horse Farms and McMansion central is having a group of parking paces converted for motorcycle and scooter parking. All I did was ask to speak with he and the district manager and we talked about the advantages. Once a few stores start doing it, it starts to take hold, and I like using Kroger as a starter here because they own/develop most of their own land .

[ellen]

I wonder when Vespa is actually going to do something with these signatures. The Vespatition has been up since June.

As someone on Moden Vespa mentioned. Its a great way for their marketing department to collect email addresses

[whattheheck]

A private (or public) company is one thing, a city is quite another! But, I hope it works out - as I said the idea makes sense.

[rickyd410]

totally.

I wonder when Vespa is actually going to do something with these signatures. The Vespatition has been up since June.

As someone on Moden Vespa mentioned. Its a great way for their marketing department to collect email addresses

[dwnthehatch]

I signed it even though we already have reserved scooter parking here in Annapolis.

[dahuffy]

[quote="hangukhurley"]Signed.

Thanks for doing this. [/qu


Ditto

[Babypea]

Signed

[Bryce-O-Rama]

Didn't sign it, and probably won't. Not to be a buzz kill, but an ad campaign isn't likely to have a lot of impact on municipal governments who make parking rules. You'll have better luck if you gather up local scooter and motorcycle data and get 2 wheel riders on board to go to bat with you in talking to your own city council. The other campaign where Vespa sent form letters to the mayors of large cities was really not all that effective in its stated purpose. It's great advertising though.

“The best way to fight Communism in this country [Italy] is to give each worker a scooter, so he will have his own transportation, have something valuable of his own, and have a stake in the principle of private property.�

- Enrico Piaggio, Time magazine 1952

Vespa has a long history of framing their products as the answer to all of the world's problems, if only we would all join the program. It was once communism, now parking is the fashionable issue of the day. By the way, does anyone else see the inconsistency in the quote? Giving every worker a scooter sounds awfully communist to me.

Ok, enough of me being cynical. I would love to see something happen, and Vespa will hopefully take care of business.

[ellen]

Vespa's marketing didn't exactly come up with this on their own.
Call me cynical too.. But I still think its a advertising gimmick.

For a few years, a group in NYC has been working on getting 2 wheeled parking. http://www.parkingnow.org/
They've been talking with local politicians, etc. and it really hasn't amounted to much of anything.

[HotWabbit]

wonderful!!!!

Signed Up

[ellen]

This is how you approach the parking problem.
Op-Ed piece in a major newspaper

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/17/opini ... nted=print

September 17, 2006
Op-Ed Contributor
Scoot Over
By NEIL BARTON
SCOOTERS are quickly becoming the vehicle of choice for many in New York City. This is not surprising, given that they are inexpensive, fuel efficient and easy to maintain and they provide tremendous personal mobility. They are legally considered motorcycles but their smaller size and step-through design set them apart from the bigger bikes, making them ideal for city life. Imagine no longer being at the mercy of a subway or bus schedule, or never having to hail a cab or get stuck in a car during gridlock again. Scooters make New York City life easier, more fun and more accessible.

But as far as the city is concerned, unfortunately, scooters don’t fit in, and they are being towed, ticketed and fined more than ever before.

The main problem, of course, is parking. There is almost no officially designated scooter or motorcycle parking in Manhattan. While cities across America — from Annapolis, Md., to San Francisco — are encouraging scooter drivers by offering parking spaces, in New York City, it’s a free-for-all: if you park on the street, you’re liable to have your bike damaged by a driver using the “park by feel� method or even picked up and moved elsewhere without your consent.

Some of my nonscootering friends have suggested that I avoid all this by using a garage or parking lot. This sounds like a good suggestion, but most garage owners don’t allow bikes because they aren’t insured to take two-wheeled vehicles. And those garages that do take scooters or motorcycles insist on charging the standard auto rate, which doesn’t seem fair.

At the moment, sidewalk parking is really the only alternative. Those scooterists, like myself, who park on the sidewalk are usually pretty careful about trying to find unobtrusive spots, out of the way of pedestrians and automobiles. This, however, eventually results in a ticket since parking on the sidewalk is in fact against the law.

In reaction to the ticketing, a lot of scooterists remove their license plates when parked so that there is no way to identify them. But this trick no longer works now that parking enforcement officers are armed with scanners to read registration stickers and issue summons. Recently the city began towing bikes parked with their plates removed, treating them as abandoned vehicles.

I may not be speaking for all scooterists, but I’m sure many, like me, don’t enjoy breaking the law to park somewhat safely. We want our scooters to be there when we walk outside; not knocked over or stolen or moved or towed.

The reality is that this parking problem is not going to go away. Scooterists are a growing constituency. According to the Motorcycle Industry Council, a national trade association, scooter sales in New York City, Long Island and northern New Jersey grew 310 percent from 1996 to 2005. Last year, there was a 64.5 percent increase in scooter sales nationwide.

Aside from providing scooter-designated parking on the street, separate from cars, New York City needs to require garages to provide parking for two-wheeled vehicles. And the city needs to regulate what rates garages charge. After all, if garages can charge a premium for S.U.V.’s because they take up more space, then shouldn’t they provide a discount to a scooter for taking only a sixth of the space of a standard car?

And although sidewalk parking is controversial, the city should consider this option. By looking at underused areas both on the street and the sidewalk, the city can find the space. Designated sidewalk parking also has the benefit of providing a structure to which scooterists can lock their bikes. In many cities around the world, sidewalks are where most scooters are parked.

As a final thought, consider Toronto. Until recently, the city also ticketed and towed its scooterists. But last year, the Toronto City Council passed legislation to make motorcycle and scooter parking free. The legislation also called for increasing the amount of parking space available for two-wheeled vehicles. Toronto obviously realized that it did more harm than good to punish those who reduced congestion and emissions in the city. It’s only a matter of time, I hope, before New York City comes to the same conclusions.

Neil Barton is a founder of the New York Scooter Club and is a co-author of the blog vespaway.com, which is underwritten by Vespa

[dnpicardy]

signed

[Corsair]

signed

[EP_scoot]

That was a very old original post, but signed it as well in case it is still used. Does anybody know ?

[jmazza]

This is how you approach the parking problem.
Op-Ed piece in a major newspaper

.......

Neil Barton is a founder of the New York Scooter Club and is a co-author of the blog vespaway.com, which is underwritten by Vespa

Yeah I've recently started lurking at the NYSC forum and the stories they have regarding parking are insane!!

[HipCat]

Signed

[10gallonhat]

Signed.

[KABarash]

Great thing for the bigger and congested citys. Even Lancaster, Pa. has a decated scooter parking in one of its downtown area parking garages, BECAUSE the Mayor of the city rides a scooter!

[HipCat]

Now that's pretty darn cool!

The only place I have seen them is in Asheville, NC, when I was there Thanksgiving.

[Valgal20]

I wouldnt mind more/ safer spaces to park. I mean you can park anywhere now- but it would be nice if you could lock up your scoot, or have it in an open area where it can be watched. I signed it- and even if it is a selling thing- We've got our Buddys, we don' need no stinkin' Vespas (no offense all you nice vespa raiders)