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An electric scooter discarded on a sidewalk on 10th Street in downtown Boise.

Obstructions on Sidewalk?
Support the ADA and Scoot ‘Em Over

Tell me if this has happened to you: you’ve just purchased a car, when not long after, you begin to see it everywhere. What gives? This psychological oddity is referred to as the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon, or Frequency Bias… and it happened to me the first time I saw an electric scooter on the sidewalk.

The popularity of electric scooters has motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians alike adapting to wild new modes of transportation suddenly side-by-side in traffic. But that which is permitted for use on sidewalks often winds up casually discarded there, too — frequently in the entrance to businesses (which require public accesss). While it is an infraction to impede a sidewalk with a vehicle, there is little incentive for the scootering public to consciously park outside of an accessible path of travel. Scooters parked incorrectly on the sidewalk pose a significant challenge to travelers with impaired physical mobility or limited vision.

An ADA-compliant sidewalk is 36-60 inches (ideally wider) and maintains the minimum width around infrastructure (e.g. telephone poles, bus stops, traffic signals). But those living with a disability may not be able to move or proceed past an unanticipated large object on the path; at 45 inches tall, 40 inches long, and weighing between 27 and 40 pounds dependent on the model (e.g. Xiaomi™, GOTRAX™, Segway™, etc.), attempting to move a scooter (even one that is standing) can be uncomfortable, painful, and even dangerous. Most scooters are also outfitted with anti-theft alarms that when moved prior to activation, release either a multi-pitched scream or a threat to call the police! The first time I moved a scooter, I recoiled at the sound...then scanned the street — panicked and sheepish — for anyone who might call me a thief.

While setting a good example may sometimes be awkward, it only takes a moment for a bystander to prevent someone else’s hardship.

So whether you are a rider, a pedestrian, a cyclist, or a motorist, the next time you see scooters in the accessible path of travel that you can safely access and reposition, simply scoot ‘em over — and help guarantee safety and mobility for all.