A few weeks ago, we told you the city of Toronto was ticketing two-wheelers they found parked on the sidewalk. Now, some people are trying to do something to change that.
The movement started with a petition on Change.org, asking Toronto’s parking enforcement officials to stop handing out $50 to riders who park on the sidewalk, as they have for years. Now, Matt Faulkner, who started the petition, is taking his action to the next step. Here are the details from his email:
“On the morning of Tuesday, July 16th we will be handing over our change.org petition (re: restoring the right of scooter riders to park on city sidewalks) to Councilor Josh Matlow in front of Toronto city hall. We are going to hold a RALLY and ride the petition to city hall on our scooters! There will be media coverage. So, please consider coming out if you are able. The more people that attend, the more scooter horns blaring, the better we look. Details below…
Tuesday, July 16th at 8:45 AM we will meet at the corner of John and Wellington (the north west corner of the CBC building). We will then ride our scooters to city hall going north on John and east on Queen. At 9 AM we will be met by Councilor Matlow and his team in front of city hall. We will then hand our petition over to Councilor Matlow.
After that, the rally is officially over and we will cross our fingers and wait. Our petition and the issue of scooters parking on city sidewalks will be brought before city council by Councilor Matlow on July 16th or it might be later in the week. It might pass easily or it might be held up by councillors depending on whether or not it is deemed controversial. These are questions that can’t be answered at this moment.
If you are a scooter rider, please consider being a part of the rally. AND, if you haven’t already, get your friends to sign this petition and email your city councilor now. Finally, please forward notice of this event to every scooter rider you can think of. I want a big, noisy (but orderly) gang of scooter riders making themselves heard!”
So there you have it. Sign the petition, show up, and let your elected leaders know what you think of current city policy.
Well, crap. I had hit “reply” directly below the comment to which I was responding. My first reply is to GPFAN, the second for Bvardi.
I totally agree! I rented a scooter in Paris and found the parking situation delightful. Major tourist areas (Notre Dame, Montmartre) had designated scooter parking (with poles to keep cars and huge bikes out). It was easy, efficient and brilliant design.
Toronto could stand to look at European urban planning for guidance.
So, you’re under the impression that Toronto has to much parking available for cars that we should put scooters on the streets as well? I would never argue that poorly parked scooters shouldn’t get ticketed, but one parked neatly on the edge of a sidewalk should not cause problems. Before ford saw dollar signs connected to scooters I parked mine neatly in otherwise impassable space (against poles, behind pay stations, etc). As a driver as well as rider, I prefer to get as many vehicles off the street as possible.
In Paris, there are designated scooter parking zones. Thy work wonderfully!
[…] For a while now, we’ve been keeping you updated on the scooter parking issue in Toronto. Now, in an upcoming meeting with city bigwigs, you can have your own say. […]
To be fair, scooters are often quite a bit smaller and shorter than regular motorbikes (Not always I admit.) This means they are more susceptible to being knocked over, moved around, or thrown into the back of a van than a full sized bike.
It also means they take up less room on the sidewalk – I’d agree that they shouldn’t block where people walk, but there are often little areas between sidewalk fixtures where they could go (and being lighter, and easier to maneuver than a regular motorcycle – they can be put there more easily.)
You look at a European city (Paris for example) and you’ll find extra spaces stuffed with smaller scooters… it’s a handier way to get around than with even a full sized motorcycle. (I myself have and have had both a variety of scooters and larger bikes. One of the bigger machines I wouldn’t throw up on the sidewalk… but I would do it with a scooter. Different tool for a different job. A small scooter is made for the downtown core… it’s easy to ride, good in stop and go traffic, and is light enough and small enough to toss into a space that would otherwise be wasted… I don’t personally think it is unfair to full size bike owners to make a reasonable bit of legislation to allow scooters and mopeds to park on a sidewalk – so long as they aren’t blocking the main path.
Screw ’em! I’m sick of idiots blocking downtown Toronto
sidewalks with bicycles, fruit stands, bar patios and so
on. The scooters really got me miffed! Park on the street
and pay, like any licensed motor vehicle.
And, now, it is free street parking!
Toronto is too politically correct, turning a blind eye on
vendors in Chinatown and other areas. The sidewalks
should be cleared. Period. Plus, scooters get free street
parking now, so I have absolutely NO sympathy.
Why is a scooter any different than a motorcycle, when it comes to parking? If a scooter can park on a sidewalk, I figure I should be able to park my motorcycle in the same spot, if the scooter wasn’t there occupying that space on the sidewalk!
Agreed HuhOreally. I parked my motorcycle on the sidewalk and my friend who has vespa parked right next to me. When we came out, I had a ticket and he didn’t! Total BS.
I’m in the downtown core, during the week, and my experience has been the scooters are not being ticketed, while motorcycles are. This, even while this particular initiative has been in force. Scooters are motor vehicles, as are motorcycles. It is patently illegal for them to park on sidewalks and it doesn’t matter if they’ve been getting away with it for decades. The fact remains that it’s illegal.
We were recently faced with the possibility of losing the LEGAL free parking of motorcycles in on-street pay & display spaces and narrowly dodged it. Priorities people.
I’ve ALWAYS paid to park my motorcycle on the street! The 1 time I tried parking my motorcycle on an extra wide strip of city sidewalk, where other scooters were, I thought I was being real smart as well as thrifty, but the green hornet parking monsters came around and ticketed my bike, spoiling my WORK OF ART motorcycle image!
Are you telling me I needn’t pay for parking in Toronto when I park on the street, if so, please clarify in detail so I won’t have any misunderstandings with the green hornets down the road? (’cause I know they will come out of nowhere and spank me!) Thanks for the input Rob. Huh!?!
Unless things have changed, motorcycles can be parked free of charge in any legal on-street parking space. The same restrictions apply to them as to cars, save that one doesn’t have to pay & display. I’ve only been ticketed once doing this – I was a bit over the line demarcating the parking zone – so be careful.