Badly parked e-scooters cause mayhem in Pelham Parkway
Lime says they have designated parking corrals in ride zones, and while the majority of their riders do park properly, there is still a handful of riders who do not follow parking protocol.
People in Pelham Parkway say that improperly parked e-scooters are causing chaos in their neighborhood.
"It's causing a mess," said Christopher Colon.
Scooter rentals like Lime and Bird have become an increasingly popular way to get around the borough. Lime says ridership is up 72% in the Bronx from last year. While convenient, people who live in the area say they are having to dodge scooters that are piled up in the middle of the sidewalk, blocking crosswalks and driveways.
"They are convenient, but we need to make sure they are not in the way of other people," said Dangelin Pena, a Lime scooter rider.
Lime says they have designated parking corrals in ride zones, and while the majority of their riders do park properly, there is still a handful of riders who do not follow parking protocol. Lime says these riders are first sent parking reminders, but it can escalate to fines and, in some cases, a complete ban from the app for repeat offenders.
Council member Kristy Marmorato says she has recently received multiple calls, emails and texts to her office from people with complaints about scooters.
"It's just not a good situation. You know, I see people get thrown all over the sidewalk and we have old people that are dodging them left and right, and there's no uniformity on how they dock these things. There's no docking stations," said Marmorato.
Lime says they have a team dedicated to maintaining scooters for safety, organization and tidiness on the streets and they are adding foot patrol staff to ramp up their efforts.
"They should make a dock station like they have for Citi Bikes, to clean it up," said Colon.
Marmorato says will be meeting with Lime to discuss ways to satisfy both riders and the community on Friday.
