Civil Protest....

[EvilEmpryss]

Or just no more F**ks to give?

This guy parked his non-motorized tricycle in a car's parking spot. Granted, there were no bike racks at this particular store, but this is just wrong.

[LoTech]

In what way is it wrong? Guy/gal drove it there and needs a parking spot. Unless there was a vacant motorcycle parking spot available, I'm not sure where the suck lies here.

[notalwaysright]

I'm not sure of the legality of it, but I have never seen a bicycle in a regular parking space. There would be nothing to secure it too, so it would be immediately stolen. If it was me, I would wheel it up on that patch of grass and lock it up to that lamp post on the right. Seems like a nicer thing to do, rather than take up a space unnecessarily. So I do see suck in this picture.

[LoTech]

I suppose the grass is a viable alternative parking spot, assuming the rider has the strength to hurdle the curb. And if parking is in short supply, then not using that alternative is a definite suck.

[cindybubbles]

Just pick up the trike, go over to the lamppost and chain it there. Easy.

I've seen bikes chained to the hydro or phone tower near the local subway station.

[EvilEmpryss]

In what way is it wrong? Guy/gal drove it there and needs a parking spot. Unless there was a vacant motorcycle parking spot available, I'm not sure where the suck lies here.

As I said in the post, that is an NON-MOTORIZED vehicle. A three-wheeled bicycle, not a motorcycle. In no way is it legal for a bicycle to take up a parking spot.

And there was plenty of sidewalk, grass, and trees around the store for it to be parked on. They just didn't have any bike racks.

And Cindybubbles, your answer was my husband's first suggestion.

[bhskittykatt]

I would think it's up to the business that owns the lot whether they want to allow it for not if it's a private lot.

Never saw a trike, but at the motel once we had a couple had a double-recumbent quadricycle that was non-motorized but was large enough it needed a full parking space. They were pedaling from Vegas to Alaska with it.

[Crossbow]

As I said in the post, that is an NON-MOTORIZED vehicle. A three-wheeled bicycle, not a motorcycle. In no way is it legal for a bicycle to take up a parking spot.

And this is where local ordinances differ. In my area, bicycles are considered vehicles and vehicles, motorized or not, may not be on the sidewalk under any circumstances. They are required to follow the same laws as motor vehicles, including being ticketed for the same offenses. Yes, I have seen people ticked for speeding on bicycles.

Taking up a parking space with a bicycle (or tricycle in this case) may seem like a dick move, but here, that is technically the law.

[taxguykarl]

In my area, bicycles are considered vehicles and vehicles, motorized or not, may not be on the sidewalk under any circumstances. They are required to follow the same laws as motor vehicles, including being ticketed for the same offenses.

That's the case in most states....now if the CPD would just enforce that part of the law.

[Gerrinson]

Around here, I'd be afraid of parking a bike like that because someone is likely to smash it to bits when they whip into the parking spot expecting it to be empty.

Over the summer, there were several motorcycles heavily damaged that way in the town where I work. People thought they saw an empty spot because the cars/SUVs around the spot blocked line of sight. Rather than roll up slow and check, these idiots just swerved in and just rammed the motorcycles up onto the sidewalk. Surprisingly, no innocent bystanders nor bikers were actually injured in these incidents.

A regular pedal bike in one of those spots would just be so much scrap metal and/or shrapnel...

[raudf]

Yup, bicycles are treated the same as motorized vehicles. Most business don't have bicycle or even motorcycle parking, something that needs to change.

[LoTech]

Speaking of trikes as vehicles, there is a fellow in the larger town to my south that has a trike no larger than the one in your picture. The difference is, where the one in your picture has an open basket, this guy has a box that encloses the rear axel. I haven't spoken with him about it, but judging from the fair turn of speed he gets up to, about 20 miles per hour, it would seem that his trike has been converted to some form of electric drive. I bet that makes it too heavy to lift onto a curb to reach a bike rack, so I'm guessing he uses a car parking spot for it. To his credit, this electric trike is outfitted with both a Slow Moving Vehicle warning sign and an orange marker flag, to make him more visible.

Granted, this is in a town small enough that they issue permits to use Utility Terrain Vehicles on the city streets (non State Highway), as long as they are equipped with seat belts, signals and lights, so we aren't talking about metroplex traffic.