Parking tickets for scooter parked on the sidewalk??

[Mulliganal]

OK, so I live and work in Atlanta GA and in downtown Atlanta there are scooters parked on the sidewalk all over the place since the university is downtown. Well the other day I noticed two scooters park next to each other, one was a 50cc and the other was something like a 125cc, and 125cc had a parking ticket on it. I thought, man that sucks.

Today I stopped an officer giving out tickets and asked her about these two scooters and she said, "If we see that it's over 50cc we give it a ticket". So, you can have two Buddy scooters parked next to each other, one 50cc and one 125cc, and the 125cc will get a ticket.

Here's the kicker, there was a Stella parked across the street and there was no ticket on the Stella. I'm guessing that since there was no 150cc emblem on the Stella they didn't give them a ticket, but both the 125cc and the Stella had plates on them, go figure!

I had plans to drive to work and park my Stella on the sidewalk outside my office building, but now I just don't know if I want to take a chance.

[BootScootin'FireFighter]

just peel off the "125" decals and get a velcro license plate backing. Problem solved.

[Uncle Groucho]

I had plans to drive to work and park my Stella on the sidewalk outside my office building, but now I just don't know if I want to take a chance.

But how close is your building to GSU? Is there a high probability the traffic cop will spot your scoot and make the walk over to see if you have the tag on? The cop said "if they see it's over 50cc" and granted they should realize if it has a tag it's indeed over that limit, but c'mon we're talking CoA police here...

You could park on the sidewalk with the back facing the building.

[amy]

That's interesting about the 50cc vs. 125cc.

I had my Buddy 125 parked (fashionably showcased) up against the Crate and Barrel window at Lenox Mall in Atlanta because that is where Mall Cop #1 told me to park it.

I came out and found a notice saying they'd reported me to the police for parking there.

WELL...I made a big stink to the closest Mall Cop - Mall Cop #2, because "that's where I was told to park!"

We argued for a bit. He radioed Mall Cop #3 who radioed back "tell her to park at the bike racks".

Right.

There happened to be an Atlanta copper about 20 feet away (double-parked I might add) and I asked him "Officer, Mall Cops 2 and 3 told me to park at the bike racks, but that can't be correct."

He asked me if my scooter was gas or electric and said since it is gas, I have to park in a space. If it was electric, I could showcase it in front of Crate and Barrel. I haven't gotten a ticket in the mail yet, but I also haven't checked my mail in a few days.

Gas vs. electric. Does that mean a Prius could park up on the walkway?

[teabow1]

Yikes! Does this mean 50cc need to park in a space? Man, these things need to be clearer to the cops!

I wouldn't be comfortable leaving a small 50cc in a space without a chain wrapped around it to stationary object.

[Uncle Groucho]

That's interesting about the 50cc vs. 125cc.

I had my Buddy 125 parked (fashionably showcased) up against the Crate and Barrel window at Lenox Mall in Atlanta because that is where Mall Cop #1 told me to park it.

I came out and found a notice saying they'd reported me to the police for parking there.

WELL...I made a big stink to the closest Mall Cop - Mall Cop #2, because "that's where I was told to park!"

We argued for a bit. He radioed Mall Cop #3 who radioed back "tell her to park at the bike racks".

Right.

There happened to be an Atlanta copper about 20 feet away (double-parked I might add) and I asked him "Officer, Mall Cops 2 and 3 told me to park at the bike racks, but that can't be correct."

He asked me if my scooter was gas or electric and said since it is gas, I have to park in a space. If it was electric, I could showcase it in front of Crate and Barrel. I haven't gotten a ticket in the mail yet, but I also haven't checked my mail in a few days.

Gas vs. electric. Does that mean a Prius could park up on the walkway?

The Mall Cops probably have their orders from the yuppies to keep that area clear so they can drive by at 50 MPH in their Escalades and Buicks while yapping on their phones, ignoring the plebs...

Lenox is bad enough in a cage, but I can't imagine finding a bike rack there would be safe or easy. That CB entrance is the most high profile one though, so it should be safer for your scoot than parking under the deck or around the food court area.

Guessing your best defense if you get a ticket is to cite conflicting info from the mall's staff.

//Can't stand Lenox since it went glam/trashy in the 90s...

[jd]

It's important to remember that rules and regulations are not so much designed to discriminate against bikes with larger displacements, but to give an advantage to bikes with smaller ones.

Once upon a time, a motor vehicle was a motor vehicle. They were all treated the same by the law. In response to the "gas crises" of the 1970s, states started passing laws that gave favored status to bikes under 50 cc. Each state handled it differently but, in general, the new laws made it easier to own and operate these smaller bikes, most of which were motorized bicycles, or mopeds. The maneuver was intended to encourage the use of vehicles that consumed less gas.

So when we see different rules being applied to two Buddy scooters of different engine sizes, we need to realize that the 125cc Buddy is just another motor vehicle, just like a big Harley, a Fiat 500, or a Rolls Royce Silver Ghost. The 49cc bike, gets special treatment because of the 40-year-old rules, because its supposed to be more like a bicycle than a motorcycle. These days, however, these "mopeds" are hardly what we'd call motorized bicycles, but the laws are still there.

Bottom line: The 125cc is not being discriminated against. The 50cc is getting special treatment.

[illnoise]

I bet if you actually look at the law, the cop is wrong and both should have tickets. In Illinois and most states, mopeds/"motorized pedalcycles" (defined as under 50cc and/or under a certain horsepower which is always far lower than any modern scooter, and usually defined as 'having pedals) are allowed to park as a bicycle, but motorcycles and scooters of any displacement must follow the same parking/traffic laws as any "motor vehicle," ie, cars.

Scooters are often marketed as 'park anywhere,' but there are very few places in america that allow them to be parked on sidewalks, usually if you can get away with it, it's just becuase the police and property owners don't mind and don't bother ticketing them, but in most places the law specifically prohibits it.

In Chicago, until a couple years ago and the advent of electronic parking meters, you were obligated to take up a whole space and pay for it, and you could be ticketed if you squeezed in at the end of a row of parked cars, or if someone else shared the space with you. With the new electronic meters, they realized they could charge full price for four or five motorcycles or scooters taking up the space of one car, so they immediately did away with that, ha.

[agrogod]

just peel off the "125" decals and get a velcro license plate backing. Problem solved.

Shame on you for even suggesting that

[amy]

Can't stand Lenox since it went glam/trashy in the 90s...

I'm not really a fan of malls in general, but alas...The Apple Store.

If I were a shop owner I'd WANT awesome scoots parked in front of it.