Please Do Not Ticket
An old co-worker of mine used to have terrible fights with the parking enforcement workers about whether or not he could park his scooter on the sidewalk. This scooter in my neighborhood has a laminated sign affixed to its license plate that cites specific Illinois code that make it legal to park on the sidewalk. I wonder how effective it is.
The complete text of the sign after the jump:
Please Do Not Ticket
Because of its 49cc engine size, this scooter qualifies as a motorized pedcycle (moped), although it does not have pedals (625 ILCS 5/1 – 148.2). It should not be confused with larger scooters with 80-150cc motors.
Per law, the provisions that apply to bicycles apply to mopeds and pedalcycles (625 ILCS 5/11 – 1512b) and bicycles can be parked on sidewalks (625 ILCS 5/11 – 1513a).
Per law, this scooter is legally parked on the sidewalk.
Chicago City Clerk Website:
www.chicityclerk.com/legislation/codes/index.html
Illinois General Assembly Website:
www.legis.state.il.us.icls.ch625/cb635act5artstoc.html [sic]
Does it really need to be parked next to a bike rack and take up bike parking?
Hi, thanks for linking to my site re: scooter parking code, but note that my story you linked to
http://2strokebuzz.com/index.php/?p=2564
actually concludes that it’s NOT legal to park on the sidewalk in Chicago. In short, the laws listed on that card are Illinois laws that are selectively cited and the interpretation is arguable, which is all moot anyway because CHICAGO laws are very clear that NO motor vehicle may park on the sidewalk and motorcycles and scooters are bound to the same laws as cars in the city.
Any scooter salesman will say “You can park anywhere” (and that card was distributed by a former scooter shop here in town) but parking a scooter in Chicago is not really much easier than parking a car (and often harder because they attract more attention and many lots and garages forbid scooters)
I’m a big scooter fan, so it hurts me to say all that, but it’s important people know the facts.
Bryan
Also note that scooter is not displaying a city medallion, the scooter/motorcycle equivalent of a city sticker, so if the plates are registered to a Chicago resident, they’re in more trouble than a simple parking ticket. Also note that the city frequently sends flatbeds out to plasma-cut locks off illegally parked scooters and motorcycles and throws them in a pile on the truck and hauls them to a bigger pile at the tow yard.
Thanks for that, Illnoise.
I do still wonder how effective it’s been for this rider. It may be that, even though the legal argument wouldn’t hold up in court, displaying a bunch of legal citations on your scooter might prevent a ticket or two. I’m not *advising* it — just speculating.