Scooter riders need to show responsibility

By: The Traveler Editorial Board

Posted: 1/16/08

The scooter was invented in 1946 in Europe as an economical alternative to the car. The popularity of the Vespa has soared with the number of registered scooters and motorcycles at the UA increasing to 68 vehicles since the 2005-06 school year, according to an article in today's issue of The Arkansas Traveler.

But as this new toy makes its way back into the popular scene, it has also made its way through our sidewalks.

According to an Arkansas ordinance, it is illegal to ride scooters on the sidewalks, and yet the scooters remain.

In today's article in the Traveler, students and officials alike said the scooters on sidewalks have become a real problem. And we on the editorial board agree.

With more than 18,000 students walking around the already-crowded sidewalks, can we please have some kind of courtesy from scooter users?

It is highly disrespectful to the pedestrians to take over the sidewalk, and there is also a danger of running over someone.

Our campus is designed mostly for pedestrians and bikes, but not necessarily for a scooter, no matter what size.

There are three different citations for illegally riding scooters on sidewalks, said Lt. Gary Crain, public information officer for the UA Police Department.

As of January, no citations have been written for sidewalk riding, Crain said. But we and other students have seen people in scooters on the sidewalks.

So, who's not doing what they're supposed to do?

Are the UA officials responsible for not keeping a better check on the ordinance, or are the students responsible for breaking the rules?

In our opinion, both riders and officials share the fault. University students are not children anymore, and, therefore, should not need police officers to follow them around to make sure they are following the rules. As educated adults, it seems students should have the common sense and courtesy to not ride on narrow sidewalks used by pedestrians.

On the other hand, our question is, if these ordinances are in place, then why is nothing being done about the students who continue to ride on the sidewalks?

We realize UAPD has neither the staff nor the funding to ticket every person who breaks the the laws on campus. If UAPD officers started to follow the offending scooter riders around campus, other more significant duties would be unattended. Nobody wants that to happen.

However, there has to be a balance. If such an ordinance exists, then there is undoubtedly a reason for it. Riding scooters on the sidewalks is clearly a danger and an annoyance for pedestrians.

Several complaints have been filed with UAPD about scooters on campus. Sophomore Erin Scarbrough said she was almost hit by two people riding the same scooter on the sidewalk.

"They drove up on the sidewalk, and I tried to dodge them, but they were coming right at me and I almost got ran over," Scarbrough said.

There are a couple of things that are wrong with the system. First, many people did not know about the ordinance. We hope the article in today's Traveler can help to spread that information. Perhaps UAPD and Facilities Management officials can also help spread the word by erecting signs such as the ones warning students that smoking is not allowed near building entrances.

With these in place, would be no reason for people to argue that they were not aware of the rules.

Scooters don't belong on the sidewalks, not even for parking reasons. Some riders claim to only ride their scooters on the sidewalks to park them. However, under the Parking and Transit manual, it is stated that scooters need to be pushed into parking spots or bicycle racks that are 50 feet away from the street, Crain said.

We realize that, perhaps, in a perfect world, everyone would follow the rules, but we are realistic and know people will continue to get away with riding their scooters on the sidewalks. What we ask is that riders have the common courtesy to not to do so. If you must ride those few feet to reach a parking space or to access a building, please ride carefully and slowly.

We understand our campus is designed in such a way that many buildings are not accessable from the road, but the rest of us park our cars in faraway lots and walk to class. We don't think its too much to ask for scooter riders to do the same.