The Manager's report back on sidewalk markings for mobility devices

Awaiting Report 19-42 – Sidewalk Markings for Mobility Devices

This memo is in response to Order No. 7 from the April 1, 2019 City Council Meeting (Awaiting Report No. 19-42) requesting that the City report on its plans for this construction season to install sidewalk markings that appropriately indicate what types of mobility devices are allowed on which sidewalks. We have conferred with the City Solicitor in preparing this response.

Currently, the Traffic, Parking, + Transportation Department installs sidewalk

stencils and signs indicating that riding bicycles on sidewalks is not allowed in certain business districts around the city, as a visible reminder to travelers of the restrictions in the City’s Traffic Regulations. As noted in the original Policy Order, many types of mobility devices are used on City streets and sidewalks, and it is often not clear to travelers which devices are allowed in which parts of the public rights-of-way.

This has created a desire for additional information about which of these devices are allowed or prohibited on sidewalks in business districts. However, in addition to the City’s Traffic Regulations, the use of these devices on sidewalks is also governed by state law, which generally supersedes our regulations (for example, the current prohibition on the use of motorized scooters on sidewalks exists in both the Traffic Regulations and in Chapter 90 of the Massachusetts General Laws).

Because of the rapid pace of development of these devices, many of the definitions and rules surrounding the use of such mobility devices (particularly electric scooters and electric bicycles) are currently being discussed and debated in the state legislature.

It seems likely that both the legal definitions for these types of devices and the locations where use is allowed or prohibited will change as the result of these legislative processes, which could then impact our Traffic Regulations and the messages that we want to deliver to street and sidewalk users. Although we had originally expected that these legislative changes would occur earlier this year, it is not clear exactly when these issues will be resolved, and it

is becoming less likely that we will have clarity on these questions during the current construction season. Based on this ongoing uncertainty, it seems prudent to wait to make changes to our signs and/or pavement markings until these questions have been fully addressed at the state level, at which point we can make any necessary changes to the City’s Traffic Regulations and provide any associated communications to street and sidewalk users.

In addition to this legislative uncertainty, there is also a significant challenge regarding how to communicate this information clearly, given the wide (and growing) range of devices that are in use by the public.

Some cities have started to experiment with different graphics to provide this information (see examples below from New York City and Santa Monica, although both of those municipalities use such graphics in parks and use larger “A-frame” signs, not sidewalk stencils), but there is not yet a consistent symbol or approach that is widely used.

Although we intend to develop appropriate communications tools for these messages, we do not yet have these tools in place, particularly given the legislative issues described above. Based on these facts, we do not have any specific plans to install additional markings or signs during this construction season. However, we do recognize the need for additional communications with street and sidewalk users about allowed devices, and are committed to addressing this issue going forward.

Although we hope to receive clarity on the definitions and restrictions under state law by early next spring, either way we intend to reevaluate whether there are additional actions that need to be taken in advance of next year’s construction season.

New York City (Central Park)

Santa Monica (Palisades Park)