ROCHESTER – With Lime scooters returning to city streets this week, local officials are rolling out new infrastructure designed to limit the scattering of scooters and e-bikes downtown.
As part of a pilot program, the city plans to place 10 to 15 designated parking corrals throughout the central business district this season. Riders will be directed through the Lime app to park their scooters in the corrals, which will cover about the same amount of space as a car parking spot.
The addition of the corrals aims to address longstanding criticisms over the scooters cluttering Rochester’s sidewalks and impeding pedestrian access.
In 2024, more than 6,100 warnings were issued to Lime users directly from the app; the vast majority were for improper parking of scooters. Nearly 100 of the warnings resulted in fines by Lime for repeated violations.
“Lime is supportive of the city’s parking efforts, and we know from experience in cities such as Minneapolis and Milwaukee that designated bike and scooter corrals can significantly improve parking and help residents and visitors more reliably find shared mobility options,” said LeAaron Foley, senior director of government relations at Lime.
Lime scooters were introduced to Rochester in 2019, despite some pushback at the time about how rules of the road would be enforced.
Among the biggest concerns then and now has been the presence of scooters on sidewalks, particularly in areas with high-pedestrian traffic. Like bicycles, scooters are prohibited from use on city sidewalks.
Matt Tse, Rochester’s active transportation coordinator, said the challenge is that it’s difficult for Lime, which is largely responsible for enforcement, to measure with a high degree of accuracy whether people are riding on a sidewalk or the side of the street.
