Our Speech to the Board of Trustees – July 23, 2009

Distinguished Board Members,

I am here speaking on behalf of hundreds of Faculty, Students, Staff and Citizens who have spoken out about scooter policies on campus. We appreciate your willingness to let us speak to the board today about an issue that is very important to us: the proposed regulations for scooters at UNC.

At first glance the modified policy looks like an improvement: $24 for registration instead of $174 – $371, and a promise of having secure parking. A closer look at what is being proposed, however, shows that the policy is still insufficient and problematic.

A review of UNC’s motorcycle parking map shows that there are few places where motorcycles are able to park currently, and these already overcrowded lots will now be forced to accommodate hundreds of scooters. A change of this sort means more than adding racks for secure parking- it means finding additional parking lots on our already crowded campus.

Also, the lower registration costs are just a minor concession to the 380 Students, Faculty, Staff and Citizens who signed our online petition, as Scooter commuters will seemingly have to pay hundreds of dollars to register their space-saving, eco-friendly mode of transportation in the coming years, according to the modified proposal. This regulation contradicts North Carolina state law, which clearly distinguishes between motorcycles and scooters, as well as the policies of other nearby Universities. At Duke University scooters can register for free and they are *required* to park at bike racks. At NC State, scooters are free to park as they please, and registration costs are between $0 and $5. Why would UNC, which has been recognized as a leader in eco-friendly, progressive transporation, choose to punish a group that so clearly benefits the community at large?

Carol Efland of the Vice-Chancellor’s office wrote to me in an email that UNC has parking for only 50% of its staff and 10% of its student population. The Department of Public Safety has also stated since at least September 2008 that the campus parking for motorcycles alone is overcrowded, saying: “Increased use of motorcycles has presented another parking problem, because there are currently not enough spaces.”)

The proposed regulations exacerbate these problems rather than alleviating them.

UNC is a world-class University. We can do better.

How can we, as Bain and Company has just suggested, increase employee satisfaction, reduce bureaucracy, streamline our operations and become more responsive to the needs of students and staff?

We propose the following four things:

-First, that the University realize that the spaces given in the current motorcycle parking are insufficient, and that alternative choices (such as allowing scooters to park at bike racks, or at least opening up the range of places where they can park) are necessary.

-Second, that scooter riders be allowed to dismount and push the scooter to a bicycle rack to secure it, just as the current regulations allow. Those who ride scooters on sidewalks, or perform other dangerous tasks, should be fined accordingly, but the responsible scooter rider should be allowed to use space-conscious, secure and convenient parking at University bike racks.

-Third, that the $24 fee being proposed for the coming year be extended to the future as well, rather than increasing the price to the originally proposed cost of $174-371 in the coming years, which far exceeds the costs of other universities in the area.

-Finally, and most importantly, that scooter riders have a voice in the regulations that are being written about them, both now and in the future. There is clearly a need for ongoing conversation with actual scooter riders. Our group, which includes committed Faculty, Students and Staff, would welcome this role, with the goals of:

A. Promoting good scooter behavior (including safe riding practices and awareness of parking issues).
B. Informing scooter riders of University regulations.
C. Working with the University to find more workable solutions to this issue.

In summary, we would like to thank you for your consideration of our position and for your ongoing commitment to Carolina’s renown system of ecologically-friendly transportation.

Sincerely,
Brian Moynihan

Speaking on behalf of the 380 Petition Signers at UNCscooters.com and the 118 members of Facebook Group “Stop the New UNC Scooter Regulations”

Link to .doc version