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In latest neighborhood scooter sweep, police seize nine mopeds in Downtown Crossing

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By adamg on Tue, 07/16/2024 - 10:19am
Police, tow worker getting scooters ready for transport somewhere else

Scooters away, in Downtown Crossing.

Boston Police report seizing nine scooters whose owners were driving down Washington Street in Downtown Crossing despite the road legally being closed to them.

Police had the vehicles seized at Washington and Franklin streets yesterday afternoon:

The Boston Police Department would like to remind everyone that vehicles are strictly prohibited in the Downtown Crossing pedestrian zone. This area is designated for pedestrian use only to ensure the safety and enjoyment of all visitors. Police say one operator proved particularly recalcitrant and initially refused to give up his scooter, but police seized it and handed him a court summons to answer "various motor vehicle law violations."

Police add:

Additional pedestrian zones in downtown are located at the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway, Quincy Market and Faneuil Hall.

Last week, police seized 31 scooters and motorcycles with various violations in Mattapan and seized 13 mopeds and arrested 3 people in the Back Bay.

Neighborhoods: 
Downtown
Topics: 
Driving
Free tagging: 
Downtown Crossing
Washington Street
Franklin Street
mopeds


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Comments

By CH on Tue, 07/16/2024 - 10:31am.

They should seize the cars that drive through the DTX pedestrian zone, too.

By Username Unknown on Tue, 07/16/2024 - 10:48pm.

Commercial vehicles can use the streets between 6pm & 11am. Utility co vehicles DPW and some senior shuttles can use anytime.

By Kinopio on Wed, 07/17/2024 - 11:31am.

That doesn't explain the random people driving through all day. Not a minute goes by that an entitled driver doesn't illegally enter the pedestrian zone.

By lbb on Wed, 07/17/2024 - 1:40pm.

...that they have a legitimate reason to be there.

(but since no one ever stops them, I guess we'll never know)

By spin_o_rama on Thu, 07/18/2024 - 9:04am.

Wouldn't that be a qualifier for legitimacy here?

But hey the couriers running reds downtown have a legitimate reason to do so (business!) so we can hand wave that away too

By Lee on Wed, 07/17/2024 - 8:08pm.

One actually came up behind me while I was walking and blasted his horn to try to get me to move out of his way. I just kept walking straight ahead in front of him only slower.

By anon on Tue, 07/16/2024 - 10:32am.

But what took so effing long? I have been sideswiped on more than one occasion by these guys. It's been going on too long.

By bikenerd on Tue, 07/16/2024 - 10:57am.

...they've been showing up in the parks, too. Mainly Back Bay Fens and Southeast Corridor paths....

By spin_o_rama on Tue, 07/16/2024 - 11:00am.

Would love to see similar consequences for all the illegal activity like double parking, blocking the bike/bus lane, parking on sidewalks, blocking the box, blocking crosswalks, speeding.

EDIT: Multiple cars parked in the pedestrian only zone today. To be fair, later in the thread its clarified that these cars were gone by 6pmish and some tickets were handed out. Still, come on with this performance: https://twitter.com/WalkerInBoston/status/1813295327132401927

You know, make motorists answer the "various motor vehicle law violations" that occur daily in this city. Really missing out on the low hanging fruit.

Oh but that cyclist I saw slowly go through a red today, tisk tisk

By Bobp on Tue, 07/16/2024 - 11:05am.

there are 10 or more all the time parked at Franklin and Washington by the Millennium tower

By John Costello on Tue, 07/16/2024 - 11:22am.

The ones closest to Millennium (between the planter and door) are their spots. All legal.

The ones parked next to the landscaping and the headhouse are illegally parked.

The city does ignore rich people and their violations.

Next time you go to DTX with a car. Park next to the planter on the side facing the Marshalls. If the valets say anything, ask them why they get to park there? You may encounter some yelling, but you are doing something just as illegal as they are doing.

By Angry Dan on Tue, 07/16/2024 - 11:28am.

I'm curious about the selective seizing of vehicles. You never see them citing, let alone seizing pickup trucks, even though they often contain the most dangerous motorists.

I'm wondering if the cops are doing the civil forfeiture scam and they're just grabbing up scooters because they get to sell them off and keep the proceeds.

By Kaz on Tue, 07/16/2024 - 12:13pm.

A number of those scooters are licensed, which suggests the owners did their diligence on paperwork and things (unless they're stolen).

If a car illegally drove into the DTX pedestrian zone...would they immediately sieze/tow it away or just ticket the driver and escort them safely out of the zone?

There's nothing in the state moped law that says violations are answerable by immediate seizure or anything.

So unless they're claiming all these scooters were involved in drug crimes, I don't know how they're seizing them all legally.

By Lecil on Tue, 07/16/2024 - 2:43pm.

Reading the report I think they just seized the ones which had additional violations, like maybe expired registrations and/or lack of insurance? (Or possibly stolen?). If that's the case, imagine just how many scooters there were in that area that they just warned or ticketed!

But it is possible I'm misreading, and then yeah, not sure how they're justifying the seizures.

By Rwgfy on Tue, 07/16/2024 - 11:49am.

Better late than never

By tjridesbikes on Tue, 07/16/2024 - 12:08pm.

Now, just instantly confiscate any scooter with "150" on it without a plate. "150" denotes that it has a 150cc engine, and all unlicensed scooters, by law, must be less than 50cc. If a 150cc scooter is on the public way, and it doesn't have a license plate, then its being operated illegally. Get it off our streets, sidewalks, bike lanes, paths, and walking trails!

By plt3012 on Tue, 07/16/2024 - 12:50pm.

I hope to see a lot more of this. Have a nice day everyone!

By Kinopio on Tue, 07/16/2024 - 1:04pm.

It is good news. Now ticket and tow all the car and truck drivers who think "PEDESTRIAN ONLY ZONE DO NOT ENTER" doesn't apply to them.

By John Costello on Tue, 07/16/2024 - 3:54pm.

Let's not forget to ticket all the people who bike on all of the parts of the Greenway, Common, and Public Garden where biking is not allowed as well.

By spin_o_rama on Tue, 07/16/2024 - 5:40pm.

If you really want law and order, give up your gig and apply to BPD/BTD traffic enforcement divisions. Get on that.

Otherwise you gotta clam up, right?

By lbb on Wed, 07/17/2024 - 10:55am.

Cycling wasn't allowed in the Public Garden since forever, with signs at pretty much every entrance, but last I heard, the Common was not posted as no bicycles.

By Lee on Wed, 07/17/2024 - 8:03pm.

… on the Greenway either.

By John Costello on Thu, 07/18/2024 - 10:36am.

It says on the pavement along the sidewalks near High Street and Rowes Wharf.

Use the bikelanes provided in the street.

By Lee on Thu, 07/18/2024 - 2:27pm.

.

By ElizaLeila on Thu, 07/18/2024 - 4:20pm.

the website has a document that indicates no bicycles.

b. Unauthorized Vehicles: To ensure the public’s safety and protect park furniture, infrastructure, and planting beds, skateboards, segways, rollerblades, bicycles, Pedicabs, scooters, personal motorized devices and horse-drawn carriages are prohibited.
Driving these vehicles or unauthorized vehicles of any type is prohibited in the park.
Motorized personal devices required by persons with impaired mobility are permitted.
Park visitors with a bicycle, skateboard, scooter, etc. must dismount and walk with it while in the park. Bike lanes are located on the public streets that run along either side of The Greenway; use Atlantic Avenue for northbound travel and Surface Road for southbound travel.

Page 4 of this link:
https://www.rosekennedygreenway.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Greenway-...

And on this page of the Greenway website:

For pedestrian safety, biking, skateboarding, skating, and Segways are not permitted.
Smoking is prohibited on The Greenway.
Dogs are welcome but should be kept on a leash and cleaned up after.
Park activities cannot limit or obstruct general public use.
Respect park garden bed, artwork, structures and trees.
Events with equipment, setups, or amplified sound must have a written permit from the Greenway Conservancy and the City of Boston.

I've been looking on Streetview^tm for signs with these rules, but I am not having luck

By Fred Belmont on Tue, 07/16/2024 - 1:16pm.

This is a good start, but little more than an empty political gesture as allowing this sort of lawlessness in the first place is a conscious and willful decision and appeasement by Ma politicians to burnish their so-called “progressive” and to boost progressive dopamine levels in general. Not only are politicians virtue-signaling, but what politicians are truly doing with non-enforcement is corruptly serving firms like Uber, Grub Hub, Go Puff and all the rest by using their position to maintain these companies’ competitive advantage by not only exploiting their drivers, but inducing them to take risks and break the laws.

By chaosjake on Tue, 07/16/2024 - 8:56pm.

Can anyone translate this into words that make sense?

allowing this sort of lawlessness in the first place is a conscious and willful decision and appeasement by Ma politicians to burnish their so-called “progressive” and to boost progressive dopamine levels in general.

By Don't Panic on Wed, 07/17/2024 - 6:07am.

allowing this sort of lawlessness in the first place is a conscious and willful decision and appeasement by Ma politicians to burnish their so-called “progressive” and to boost progressive dopamine levels in general.

My Translation:

Those democrat politicians in Massachusetts permit minor crimes because it shows how "Liberal" they are. They get high off of that kind of thing.

By Lee on Tue, 07/16/2024 - 5:16pm.

They target the less dangerous vehicles mainly used by the low income and people of color while giving a free pass to the far more dangerous monster pickups, Jeeps, SUVs and passenger cars driven mainly by the wealthy white elites.

By Bob Leponge on Tue, 07/16/2024 - 10:30pm.

Speaking specifically about the lawbreaking delivery drivers on scooters and not about the miscellaneous hooligans on scooters…

… life seldom hands us easy-to-parse morality plays with clear and clean ethical frameworks. On the one hand the rampant low-level lawlessness infuriates me, and the prospect of some of these assholes who drive scooters at high speed the wrong way down one way streets, or on the pedestrian paths in the parks, getting flattened under a truck or brutalized by the police certainly has its moments of appeal…

… on the other hand they’re living at the margins of the economy and I’m not, and wishing them harm isn’t a good look on me.

I’m not in the slightest suggesting that being poor gives you a pass on acting like a civilized person; I’m suggesting that there may be better places for me to be demanding that the state exercise its power.

By runforit on Thu, 07/18/2024 - 1:55pm.

Vehicles, private and commercial parked solid along the so called "pedestrian zone" on Washington St at 1pm. Lots of cops around but no one is ticketing...

By Frelmont on Fri, 07/19/2024 - 7:33am.

Waiting to see if multiple scooters have common owner, or straw owners to defect racket/syndicate.