Raleigh tightens scooter rules as downtown sidewalk complaints rise

Raleigh is adding parking corrals, warnings and fines across Glenwood South and the core of downtown as scooter clutter piles up on sidewalks. The fight is playing out on sidewalks where blocked space can slow storefront traffic, deliveries, tourists and people using wheelchairs or strollers.

Raleigh’s dockless e-scooter program runs with Lime and Spin, and the devices are GPS-tracked and rented by the minute to help reduce congestion, cut greenhouse-gas emissions and improve access to key destinations. Riders must be at least 18, should not ride on sidewalks and are expected to end trips by parking upright in a designated corral when possible, or behind the curb without taking pedestrian space.

If a scooter is reported parked badly, the company is supposed to move it within two hours. Raleigh uses Ask Raleigh to track those complaints. Submitted details may be publicly viewable. Under the citywide compliance policy that took effect in January 2025, repeated violations can bring warnings, a $15 fine after the first two violations, account review, suspension and possible banning from the platform.

The complaint rate remains below 16 complaints per 10,000 trips. Operators had issued 622 warnings and 4 fines under the policy, and the city launched a scooter parking reporting tool through Ask Raleigh in February 2025, with 28 reports submitted since then.

The city first piloted dedicated scooter parking infrastructure in Glenwood South from October 2021 through June 2022, installing 13 corrals on Glenwood Avenue between Hillsborough Street and W. Johnson Street. In March 2025, the Transportation Department upgraded those same 13 corrals with the city’s first micromobility-specific signage, durable pavement markings, vertical delineators and bike racks at six locations.

Raleigh says more than 72% of scooter trips ending in Glenwood South have been parked in the designated corrals since the upgrades. The city is now adding 13 mandatory parking zones in Glenwood South, working on more than 70 additional corrals around downtown and installing 10 more at Dix Park, the 308-acre destination in the heart of Raleigh.

The new downtown corrals are being painted by eight local artists, and Raleigh Arts is using street space where cars cannot park, including near fire hydrants and intersections.