What if there were laws in Cincinnati that were enforced by the city yet disregarded on a DAILY basis by members of law enforcement?

I am a small business owner in Over The Rhine. Because of the nature of what I do, I am running errands downtown throughout the day. My choice of transportation is a Vespa scooter.

I have been parking my scooter on the sidewalk in front of my office for over 3 years. I do this for a number of reasons. First, it is absolutely the safest place to park. I can keep an eye on it and parking it on the street is dangerous as cars have a hard time judging their distance from the scooter and it runs an extremely high risk of damage from a parking car. Secondly, the only place I have to park it overnight is in my office and it is a pain taking it in and out. Lastly, I want to promote alternative transportation.

Now, you can ask yourself, what's the big deal? The scooter is parked next to the building. It does not impede pedestrian traffic and clearly there are potted plants and signage that stick out further on the sidewalk than the scooter. It seems it is a big deal to the Cincinnati Police Department and Cincinnati Parking Enforcement. For OVER a month they have stopped by my office almost daily demanding that I move it or face getting it ticked and impounded. It is a $50 fine for parking a motorized vehicle on the sidewalk. I know as That is what my ticket said.

It would seem like a no harm no foul situation. What harm does parking my scooter next to my office cause? Nobody can seem to answer the question.

My problem is that it is selective enforcement of the law. While I am ticked in front of my office, employees of the justice Center (Deputy Sheriffs) can park on the sidewalk all they want in front of the Justice Center. Also, District 1 police officers (the ones that have come out and made me move my scooter) can park their personal bikes on the sidewalk all they want. They also park the police motorcycles on the sidewalk all they want. This is clearly "do as I say and not as I do".

I take full responsibility for my actions and I parked my scooter on the sidewalk in violation of Cincinnati Municipal Code. I just think that it is completely unfair that those that are sworn to uphold the law can ticket me and turn a blind eye when it is a fellow police officer committing the same violation. One law for them and another for us.

You can email me here.