So you bought that fuel-efficient, money-saving scooter thinking it would make parking a breeze. It might.
 
And it might not.
 
It all depends on the size of your engine.
 
First, make sure what you have is really a moped, because motorcycles and mopeds are subject to different parking restrictions. If your ride is truly a moped (engine size less than 50 cubic centimeters), you’re all set. But if you’re packing more power, you’re out of luck, because even if your scooter looks, rides and is the same size as a moped, it officially and legally becomes a motorcycle when the engine exceeds 50 CCs. And then parking becomes a different matter altogether.
 
If you’re within the legal limits for a moped or a scooter, you own the road. Or the sidewalk. You can park just about anywhere: bicycle racks, sidewalks, the street (at your own risk), even in alleys posted as “No Parking” areas.
 
“You can park a moped anywhere a bicycle can park,” said Chelsea Lahmers, owner of Scoot Richmond, Central Virginia’s only full-service scooter and moped shop and showroom.
 
Scooters rule. Motorcycles are required by Virginia law to have a license plate. That means they have to park with the big wheels—cars, trucks, full-sized motorcycles.
 
If your scooter’s engine is big enough to require a license plate, it’s against the law to park it on the sidewalk, Lahmers said. Sidewalk parking is the salvation of scooters when it comes to parking. “That means you can lock it securely.”
 
According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, scooter thefts rose 30 percent between 2003 and 2007. Most thefts are usually preventable. Always, always lock your scooter to something, whether it’s a sign, a bike rack or a light post. But here’s the catch: It’s against the law to ride on the sidewalk, so you have to dismount and push it onto the sidewalk.
 
Even that regulation doesn’t always apply. Downtown, moped-size or not, you can get a ticket for parking on the sidewalk. You’re not allowed to obstruct the footpath.
 
Parking in store parking lots can be dicey. Lahmers came out of Target one day only to find that someone had moved her scooter from where she had parked it, in a space meant for cars. And don’t forget, a little moped is much harder to see than a car or a bigger bike.