Scooters may seem small, but when it comes to parking on campus, they may not be small enough.
The scooter parking lots, or “corrals,” that dot the University campus have proven insufficient for several student scooter drivers.
Students must park their scooter or moped — which must be under 50 cubic centimeters to be considered a scooter — on the brick pad of a corral and not on the sidewalk or grass if they do not want to be issued a ticket.
Scooter or motorcycle drivers pay $10 each month for a parking permit, according to the Parking Services website.
This allows drivers of these vehicles to park in any corral designated specifically for scooters and mopeds.
One student scooter driver said there simply is not enough parking space for the number of scooters on campus.
“They have cut back on scooter parking dramatically,” said Ricky Lowe, a junior biology major. “If you look at any of these parking places, everyone is really clamoring for a spot.”
Another student, Alex Vagasi, a freshman from Lilburn, said many of the most populated parts of campus are devoid of scooter parking.
“A lot of places that students go to — like the dining halls and the science buildings — don’t have scooter parking,” she said. “And where they do have parking, it’s too small and it’s always overflowing.”
The problem of overcrowded lots for scooters has been on the minds of parking services for some time now.
Earlier this year, The Red & Black reported on a proposal which would eliminate small and crowded scooter parking corrals located in the central areas of campus and move them to larger lots found on the outer edges of the University.
The proposal was laid out by Parking Services and a scooter task force — a committee made up of Parking Services, University Police, scooter riders, motorcyclists and University faculty.
The group worked to help eliminate the safety issues and parking issues caused by scooters and mopeds and enforce existing rules about these vehicles.
University Police Chief Jimmy Williamson said he receives frequent reports about moped misconduct.
“I get complaints daily about scooters and scooter riders,” he said.
For instance, scooter drivers may use the sidewalk to access some of the scooter corrals on campus.
This puts the pedestrians using those thoroughfares in danger.
However, the scooter parking proposal, which was created to help put these issues to rest, has yet to take effect.
“Nothing has changed — it’s exactly the same,” said Don Walter, parking services manager.
For student scooter drivers, this means the crowded parking corrals will remain the status quo.
Even if the proposal became policy, the change would be unwelcome.
“I got a moped to go from class to class, and if they passed this proposal it would defeat the purpose of having a moped,” Vagasi said.
Of the 13 scooter and moped parking corrals located across campus, only a few of them — such as the Fine Arts building and the south side of Myers dormitory — might be considered centrally located.
And for Lowe, this isn’t good enough.
“There’s 50 people trying to clamor for those few places that are worth parking at,” he said. “Its unfair that they sell way too many parking permits than they can handle.”
With the increasing number of scooters piling up at each corral, the potential for scooters being knocked over or students’ legs being burned by hot exhaust pipes is much higher, Lowe said.
Though the scooter parking proposal has yet to take effect, the call for more scooter and moped parking on campus is still on the minds of employees at Parking Services.
“More scooter parking is being discussed,” Walter said.
Source: www.redandblack.com
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