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Article
Congested Sidewalks: The Effects of the Built Environment on E-scooter Parking Compliance
Journal of Transport and Land Use
  • Rob Hemphill, Portland State University
  • John MacArthur, Portland State University
  • Phil Longenecker, Portland State University
  • Garima Desai, University of California, Santa Cruz
  • Lillie Nie, University of Southern California
  • Abbey Ibarra, California State Polytechnic University-Pomona
  • Jennifer Dill, Portland State University
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
8-1-2022
Subjects
  • Transportation -- Research
Abstract

With the proliferation of electric scooters (e-scooters) in cities across the world, concerns continue to arise about their parking spots on sidewalks and other public spaces. Research has looked at e-scooter parking compliance and compared compliance to other mobility devices, but research has not yet examined the impacts of the built environment on parking compliance. Using a field observation dataset in Portland, Oregon, and novel GIS data, we attempt to understand the spatial distribution of e-scooter parking and the impact of built features on parking compliance, offering recommendations for policymakers and future research. The results of our study show that 76% of e-scooters observed fail at least one of the Portland’s parking compliance requirements and 59% fail at least two criteria. However, compliance varies spatially and by violation type, indicating that parking compliance (or non-compliance) is dependent on features of the built environment. Parking compliance is significantly higher on blocks with designated e-scooter parking than blocks without designated e-scooter parking. A statistically significant relationship is observed between the amount of legally parkable area on a city block and parking compliance. Parking compliance increases with larger percentages of legally parkable area. This finding can help policymakers prioritize dedicated e-scooter parking for blocks with limited legally parkable area.

Rights

Copyright (c) 2022 The Authors

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

DOI
10.5198/jtlu.2022.2110
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/38648
Citation Information
Hemphill, R., MacArthur, J., Longenecker, P., Desai, G., Nie, L., Ibarra, A., & Dill, J. (2022). Congested sidewalks: The effects of the built environment on e-scooter parking compliance. Journal of Transport and Land Use, 15(1), 481-495.