Hands off our scooters: Overturn the new parking regulation

This is absurd. Scooter riders will now have to pay for a motorcycle permit to park on campus.

The Department of Public Safety lobbied the Board of Trustees to regulate scooters with internal combustion engines. And the board approved the new regulation at its May meeting.

DPS argues that scooters zipping through campus are dangerous to pedestrians and that scooters displace bikes from racks. It has a point.

But that doesn't mean that scooter riders should have to pay for a motorcycle parking spot.

The fee is going to be a deterrent to riding scooters at all.

Scooters act as a low-cost means for employees and students to commute to campus.

They're also more environmentally friendly than a car given their low gas usage.

University employees might as well drive their cars to work given the price of a motorcycle spot. Students might just stop using scooters altogether.

The price is just too high.

So DPS and the board should change the new regulation.

Instead of charging scooter riders for a motorcycle pass DPS should issue scooter passes at $30 a permit.

DPS should then use or build racks close to roads for scooter parking. This would keep scooters out of pedestrian areas.

Scooters might be annoying but they're better than cars.