Scooters blocking campus handicapped spots

Continuing a campus-wide crackdown on unlawful scooter behavior, DOTS and University Police are addressing a new problem: scooter riders parking in handicapped spaces.

Earlier this year, police stepped up enforcement after the Department of Transportation Services received complaints about scooter riders jeopardizing students’ safety by riding on sidewalks and failing to obey traffic signs. While officials said the behavior of scooter riders has improved overall, too many still persistently park in handicapped spaces.

 “It came to our attention because a handicapped student complained,” said Beverly Malone, assistant to the director of DOTS. “We began to monitor the situation. They were full-on in the handicapped spots. I can’t imagine why anyone would do that.”

When a scooter is parked in the federally mandated handicappedspaces, DOTS will immediately tow it without warning the owner. An additional $60 fine, DOTS officials hope, will further deter riders from unlawful parking, Malone said.

“All of our fines are to modify behavior, as opposed to [meeting] some revenue goal,” she said. “Our main goal is to work with campus police to make scooter riders behave safely on campus, so we determined that number to discourage unsafe behavior.”

Beginning in October, DOTS issued new policies that could potentially cost scooter drivers points on their licenses for dangerous activity. If a driver received three warnings for parking violations, the scooter could be towed. The new regulations also required drivers to park specifically in designated scooter parking spots, barring them from parking next to bike racks or on the sidewalk.

“We still see riders exhibiting some risky behaviors, for example, riding with more than one person on a scooter,” Malone said. “There’s been a big cut down on scooters being on the sidewalks. That was a main concern, and there’s been a big improvement.”

Police officials attributed the increase in safe scooter behavior to education and enforcement.

“It seems more scooters are using the roadways,” University Police spokesman Paul Dillon wrote in an e-mail. “We are seeing results and enforcement results will continue.”

Dillon wasn’t able to give exact numbers on how many citations have been given to scooter riders since the crackdown began because reports don’t differentiate between scooters and other vehicles.

Most of the violations, according to DOTS officials, occur in the highly residential South

Campus area. Because of the large number of students who live there, many scooters are parked overnight.

Malone insisted there are ample places to park on South Campus but said many students don’t want to park their scooter in a garage or parking lot and find handicapped spaces more convenient.

“We’re not asking scooter riders to walk any farther than drivers of vehicles would have to,” she said. 

DOTS is continuously adding more parking spaces, Malone said, although it does meet some setbacks when developing in a residential area.

“We have to take away driver parking to make more scooter parking,” Malone said. “If we move a spot, we have to negotiate with [Residence Hall Association] to ensure we’re not inconveniencing students or delivery people.”

DOTS added scooter parking this semester at sporting complexes such as Byrd Stadium, Comcast Center and Kehoe track to serve student athletes. In South Campus, additional parking was added at Mowatt Lane Garage and the South Campus Dining Hall. However, some students feel that these efforts fall short.

“People are always squeezing and trying to fit into the parking spaces,” sophomore family studies major Brittany Dipper said. “I don’t think there’s enough parking. I’ve had my moped physically moved by someone else two different times so they could make room for their scooter.”

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