Sacramento Cracking Down On Electric Scooter, Bike Parking
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — For the first time, Sacramento will be doing parking enforcement for electric scooters and bikes.
After a lengthy education campaign, the city says its time to enforce the rules. Sacramento officials say they have the option to issue warnings or citations to riders.
Chantay White believes the enforcement of e-bikes and e-scooters will be a good thing.
"They're not in the bike lanes, it creates near-misses and hazards," White said.
For the next two weeks, the City of Sacramento will be looking for traffic and parking violations from any rider not obeying the city codes.
"We are going to be issuing a mix between warnings and citations. The citation actually goes to the operator," said Public Works Parking Manager Matt Eierman.
Operators Lime and Jump, which is owned by Uber, can choose to pass the citation charge to the riders.
READ: Neighbors Frustrated After JUMP Bikes Are Left Chained To Fire Hydrant
"The citations are $15, then you have to add a $12.50 state fee on there for a total of $27.50," Eierman said.
Officials say it's about education. Riders face a possible $207 citation for riding scooters on the sidewalk, but you may get a break.
"Just because we are in the enforcement stage of this endeavor doesn't mean everybody's going to receive a citation. It's up to the discretion of the officer," Officer Karl Chan said. "So that's one of the big things we'll be trying to educate people on and let people know that you cannot actually right a scooter on the sidewalk.
Bikes and scooters must be parked in racks or drop zones. If they're found anywhere else, you'll have a problem. Police say the handheld devices they used for citing cars have been modified for scooters and e-bikes.
Parking Enforcement Officer Cameron Campos showed CBS13 how the process works. He said officers will take pictures of scooters or bikes that block the sidewalk or get in the way of pedestrians trying to get by.
Some regulars users weren't impressed.
"I think you can park it a lot of places and it's pretty acceptable," Richard Snyder said.
Others agree some change is needed.
"It bothers me a lot when I see people not obeying the rules and going the wrong way or just leaving lying around, so I think it's good to enforce what everybody should be doing," Whitney Bensing said.