Riding on sidewalks and improper parking are among top complaints from residents in the D.C. areas where dockless electric scooter vendors are allowed to operate. The District Department of Transportation will attempt to address both issues more broadly next year.
As part of DDOT’s 2020 Shared Dockless Vehicle Program, which could more than double the number of dockless scooters and bikes in the city, the department will install a total of 100 parking corrals for dockless vehicles across the city.
Riders will be encouraged to use them when their drop-off point is within proximity.
DDOT calls them micromobility corrals. Each is able to accommodate six bicycles and six scooters. They replace a single curbside parking space, instead of taking up sidewalk space.
DDOT has already installed several micromobility corrals in the city.
DDOT is also painting stencils on sidewalks within D.C.’s Central Business District, labeling those sidewalks as dismount zones for bikes and scooters, which aren’t allowed to be ridden on sidewalks in the CBD.
Separately, the D.C. Council is considering legislation introduced by Ward 3 Council Member Mary Cheh that would, among other things, require dockless vehicle operators to staff a toll-free phone number 24 hours a day to take reports of illegally parked scooters and require operators to move illegally parked scooters within three hours of a complaint.
The Council won’t likely vote on Cheh’s measure until early next year.
