SPOKANE, Wash. — If you planned on using Lime bikes and scooters to make your way through Hoopfest this weekend, you will need to come up with a new plan.
Lime leaders say there will be a geofence near the Hoopfest courts starting at 6 p.m. on Friday, meaning bikes and scooters will not work in Riverfront Park and specified areas of downtown.
“There will be a no service zone in the parts of downtown Spokane where you can’t drive cars. So if people think, ‘I can’t drive a car there,’ I probably can’t take a scooter there,” Director of Strategic Development at Lime Northwest Jonathan Hopkins said.
The no service zone will be in place until 10 p.m. on Sunday. Scooters will gradually decrease in speed as the rider gets closer to the geofence.
Users are asked to park all Lime vehicles at one of the preferred parking zones outside of the prohibited area. A map of the preferred parking zones is below:
Lime also kickstarted a program called Lime Patrol on Monday. It is aimed at improving safety for bike and scooter users.
Lime Patrol staff members can be seen riding around downtown Spokane to ensure that people are using the vehicles properly.
Staff will make sure people are not leaving their bikes in the middle of walkways, riding aggressively or riding on downtown sidewalks. They will be wearing white, green and yellow uniforms.
During Hoopfest weekend, they will remind users about the no service zone and show them where to park Lime vehicles.
The bikes and scooters can be parked on city sidewalks, but a Spokane ordinance prohibits users from riding them on the sidewalks.
The penalty for breaking this law is a civil infraction, which can include a fine.
Lime Patrol staff will mainly patrol the streets of downtown Spokane during the day.
