| Scooter riders beware. Those who get out and about on these tiny motorized cycles should know if you park at a bike rack, you’re taking your chances.
Despite the freedom these little vehicles offer riders, parking rules don't allow much leeway, says Shelly Trigg of the Calgary Parking Authority (CPA). Under the provincial traffic safety act, scooters are no different than any other motor vehicle on the road, explains Trigg. "Any vehicle found illegally parked is subject to a fine and/or vehicle impoundment."
Given a tiny bit of misinformation about parking, downtown scooter commuter Jessica Klassen ran into one big headache.
Told by a police officer friend that she could ride a few feet on a sidewalk to reach a bike rack and park, Klassen followed this advice when stopping for a quick drink at a favourite watering hole. She drove slowly, about eight metres on a sidewalk, and parked her scooter at a bike stand. No problems, no incident, just like bicycle riders before her.
Moments later, a $272 ticket in hand from a police officer, Klassen still didn't know if she was or wasn't allowed to ride on the sidewalk or park in the bike stand.
"I’ll take a ticket when I know I've done something stupid…. I was saying I don’t know how to find what’s right or wrong," she explains about tracking down information on scooter parking.
"I said, ‘Let me know how I can track down that information, because I don’t want to break the law.’"
Her efforts went nowhere and she wanted to ensure other scooter riders didn’t share her unpleasant experience. (Turns out, she received the ticket for not having her insurance on her – left in another backpack. There was no mention of the infraction for which she was originally pulled over: driving and parking on the sidewalk.)
While scooters take up only a fraction more space in a bike stand than a bicycle, park at one and you’re at the whim of any passing enforcement officer. Even if the municipal government wanted to grant scooter riders a bit of parking leeway, they’re out of luck, according to Trigg.
"The municipality may not make bylaws that contravene provincial regulations," she explains. "A municipal bylaw allowing scooter traffic on sidewalks would be beyond the legal scope or authority of the municipality to enact. As such, any legislative changes would have to be initiated by the province."
Perhaps realizing the parking conundrum faced by scooter riders and motorcyclists, Trigg says the CPA now offers motorcycle/scooter parking in five parkades and one surface lot in the downtown core. Day or monthly passes are available.
Klassen’s story does have a happy ending, however. A note arrived from the police apologizing for the inconvenience and instructing her not to pay the fine. (And in case you’re wondering, Trigg says the CPA receives only about two complaints a month about scooters, but far more about motorcycles.)
SOME REAL MAGIC PANTRY
I stumbled upon a great new addition to backcountry camping food recently. If you’re vegetarian, you may want to check these out.
About eight East Indian dishes are now available in boil bags in local grocery stores. If any backcountry campers remember the pasty, sticky, salty flavour of Magic Pantry boil-bag food from the 1980s, these Indian dishes, made by Ashoka, are a great change. While boil-bag and dehydrated food has come a long way in 20 years, it’s not often you can say you enjoyed delicious lentils or paneer while soaking up the Rocky Mountain air, miles from civilization. |
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