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SILS student petitions for lower scooter fees
Sept. 17, 2009 - Scooter riders at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill began paying $24 for one-year parking permits, but broader questions about scooter parking and how scooter riding might be encouraged will likely undergo further study.
Earlier this summer, the Board of Trustees agreed to the $24 fee after learning that failure to act would trigger a reversion to higher fees the board had approved in May (the permit regulations are a municipal ordinance already on file with the N.C. Secretary of State’s office).
The board reconsidered the original fees – which would have charged employees from $171 to $371, depending on their salary levels, and students $175 – in response to objections raised in the Carolina community.
Brian Moynihan, a graduate student in information science and self-titled “Scooter Commuter,” rides his scooter to work nearly every day with his wife, Lara Handler, a School of Medicine librarian and SILS alumna (MSLS '07). Along with a group of other scooter owners, they began a campus-wide initiative to protest the earlier proposed scooter fees. The Moynihan-Handler initiative includes an online petition, a Facebook site (run by Ph.D. Religious Studies student Vincent Gonzales), a letter Moynihan and his supporters wrote to the Board of Trustees and e-mail messages sent to UNC officials regarding issues with the new policy.
Scooter owners and UNC Parking officials have worked closely in attempts to resolve the scooter parking issue, although there is still much to be done, in Moynihan’s opinion.
When asked about clear advantages to scooter riding over other forms of private and public transportation, Moynihan points out that “saving space” is key—a point which seems to be particularly true on campus, where parking is scarce. He also says that it is an eco-friendly means of transportation, results in reduced gas prices, and "riding scooters is a lot of fun!"
Although he is optimistic about future negotiations between scooter owners and the University, Moynihan still has concerns.
“UNC has said it will not enforce the new laws until November so there is a grace period in which we'll try to work these issues out," said Moynihan. "It really would have been much more simple, cost effective and efficient to allow scooters to park at existing bike racks. Our suggestion, for instance, to paint certain bike racks a different color if scooters could park there was rejected.”
Moynihan points out that scooter riders are being treated much differently at other universities. At Duke, for example, scooter riders can park their vehicles at bike racks and can register their scooters for free. At North Carolina State University, scooter riders are free to park wherever they want—with registration fees ranging from free to $5. Moynihan would like to see a similar scooter-friendly policy adopted at the University.
“We are working with UNC Parking folks to find new places for scooter parking on campus,” said Moynihan. “We began speaking in person after the Board of Trustees meeting and had a good conversation about possible options. We still disagree about a number of things, but I think progress is being made. In the long run we're trying to organize people to change the laws when they come under reconsideration next year.”
Trustees Chair Bob Winston said the manner and substance of Moynihan’s presentation made it easier for trustees to listen to the argument with “an open ear.”
Chancellor Holden Thorp said the University will work to ensure that adequate parking spaces are available next year for both motorcycles and scooters. He also made it clear that encouraging and supporting the use of scooters will be reviewed in the coming year with the development of a new five-year campus transportation plan.
For more information about the scooter initiative, see: UNCscooters.com
Parts of this article are reprints from the August 12, 2009 issue of the University Gazette.