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

Authors

  • 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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Published

2022-08-12

How to Cite

Hemphill, R., MacArthur, J., Longenecker, P., Desai, G., Nie, L., Ibarra, A., & Dill, J. (2022). Congested sidewalks: The effects of the built environment on e-scooter parking compliance. Journal of Transport and Land Use, 15(1), 481–495. https://doi.org/10.5198/jtlu.2022.2110

Issue

Vol. 15 No. 1 (2022)

Section

Articles

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Copyright (c) 2022 Rob Hemphill, John MacArthur, Philip Longenecker, Garima Desai, Lillie Nie, Abbey Ibarra, Jennifer Dill, Ph.D

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