Congested sidewalks: The effects of the built environment on e-scooter parking compliance

Rob Hemphill

Portland State University

John MacArthur

TREC at Portland State University

Philip Longenecker

Portland State University

Garima Desai

University of California, Santa Cruz

Lillie Nie

University of Southern California

Abbey Ibarra

California State Polytechnic University-Pomona

Jennifer Dill, Ph.D

Portland State University

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5198/jtlu.2022.2110

Keywords: micromobility, e-scooters, shared, parking, compliance, land use


Abstract

With the proliferation of electric scooters (e-scooters) in cities across the world, concerns continue to arise about their parking spots on sidewalks and other public spaces. Research has looked at e-scooter parking compliance and compared compliance to other mobility devices, but research has not yet examined the impacts of the built environment on parking compliance. Using a field observation dataset in Portland, Oregon, and novel GIS data, we attempt to understand the spatial distribution of e-scooter parking and the impact of built features on parking compliance, offering recommendations for policymakers and future research. The results of our study show that 76% of e-scooters observed fail at least one of the Portland’s parking compliance requirements and 59% fail at least two criteria. However, compliance varies spatially and by violation type, indicating that parking compliance (or non-compliance) is dependent on features of the built environment. Parking compliance is significantly higher on blocks with designated e-scooter parking than blocks without designated e-scooter parking. A statistically significant relationship is observed between the amount of legally parkable area on a city block and parking compliance. Parking compliance increases with larger percentages of legally parkable area. This finding can help policymakers prioritize dedicated e-scooter parking for blocks with limited legally parkable area.


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