The City of Portland has prohibited parking or riding of its fleet of shared electric scooters in the downtown core due to concerns over protests that could follow tonight’s election results.
The Portland Bureau of Transportation, who oversees about 2,000 e-scooters from Lyft (under the Biketown moniker) and Lime, issued a statement this morning saying the prohibition went into effect at 4:00 am this morning. “As we approach the upcoming election, we understand there are questions and concerns about the potential for vandalism or violence involving e-scooter devices,” PBOT wrote. “Thus, based on direction from the Portland Police Bureau and Portland Fire & Rescue, PBOT is implementing riding and parking restrictions.”
The boundaries of the no-ride zone are SW Harvey Milk, SW First, SW Clay and SW Broadway. Access to the Hawthorne and Morrison bridges via Naito Parkway is not impacted by this policy.
The move comes after weeks of preparation by local law enforcement and first responder agencies to stay ahead of any unrest that might happen later tonight and in the coming days. Police and fire officials likely encouraged this move because of a history of scooter throwing during the 2020 protests. During one stage of the protests in May of that year, the city announced a similar e-scooter prohibition.
Reactions to the decision have wondered why the most dangerous form of transportation — cars — aren’t facing any restrictions. During the racial justice and police accountability protests in Portland that took place between 2020 and 2021, there were several incidents involving assault of protestors with a car or truck. There was even a car and truck-based “cruise rally” where at least one person on a bicycle was assaulted by a driver. In June 2020, a Portland Police officer drove their patrol SUV into a crowd of people on the street.
While it’s a tempting comparison to wonder about cars and their drivers — keep in mind what PBOT is doing is shutting down a public system, and only one part of it at that. Biketown’s bike share system, and riding personal bikes and scooters, are still allowed downtown. That being said, why single out e-scooters for a potential for vandalism or violence? It seems odd and unnecessary.
This also makes me wonder if Lime and Lyft (Biketown’s operator) forced the city’s hand because they wanted to protect their investment. But if that’s the case, why are bikes not part of the ban? And if the city was truly concerned with vandalism and violence from vehicles, they’d make the entire downtown core vehicle-free. Then again, government tends to do what it can with what it has. And they can easily flip a switch and turn off the e-scooter system. So they did.
PBOT hasn’t stated when the downtown e-scooter riding prohibition will be lifted, but says they’ll stay in touch with police and fire officials, “As public order proceeds following the election.” “Our goal is to return to normal, uninterrupted service as quickly as possible.” Learn more at the city’s website.
