Transportation Dillemma: Scooters, Love ‘em or Leave ‘em?

Some people at the University of New Mexico have noticed the increase in motor scooter use on campus. Furthermore, not only has the increased use been noted, the increased nuisance due to these motor scooters has also been commented on. By looking at some differences in where scooters are more frequently used, versus where they are less commonly used, we may be able to identify if this is as big of a problem so as to consider banning motor scooter use altogether.

Transportation on main campus, aside from the shuttle system, involves a variety of numerous skateboards, scooters (both electric and non-electric), bicycles, sometimes even roller blades, and we can not forgot those who use good-old fashioned walking! On the north campus the majority of people either walk, ride a bicycle, and even a small amount of people ride scooters.

Although there are labels on the walk-ways of main campus that direct where bicyclists are supposed to ride, and where walkers are not supposed to walk, this seems to be a lost concept. It would be assumed that if one is riding a scooter, the same principal would apply to follow the labeled path. However, there have been many commentators who have mentioned one time, or several, when almost run down by someone riding on a bicycle or skateboard, and even scooter.

On north campus, although there are no labeled sidewalks for bicyclists, the populations are such that there is no confusion in which direction to walk when a bicyclist, or scooterist, is headed in your direction. It seems as though this may be proof of harmony between pedestrian and bicycle/ scooterist.

I do not think that banning motor scooters is the solution to the ever-growing “alternative transportation lifestyle” that the main campus faces. If anything, scooters are a better option than even bicycles because at least you can hear them coming behind you! Furthermore, a much more debated topic is the issue of being environmentally “friendly”, which scooters are more environmentally, and economically, sound, and produce much less pollution than cars and busses.

Therefore, rather than banning scooters I think it would be a much better solution if it could be enforced that bicyclists, scooterists, skateboarders, etc. could simply follow the bike pathways. Furthermore, this would also be easier to do, following the bike pathways, if there weren’t pedestrians walking on them. Needless to say, it may also help if people watched where they were walking, and could help to avoid these biker paths. This would be a great solution because than everyone would be happy. The only problem left is really HOW does one go about implementing this seemingly simple concept?

-Christina