Scooter club petitioning for compatible parking
Posted on Monday, August 25, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/News/68463/
In the wake of high gas prices, the increasing popularity of alternative transportation is creating a need for new forms of parking.
Members of the Fayetteville Revolution Scooter Club are asking citizens to sign an online petition that would create more parking for twowheeled vehicles.
“ More parking for scooters and motorcycles encourages more scooter transportation, which reduces our carbon imprint on the world, ” said Quentin Daniel, spokesman for the scooter club. “ Plus, if there was a spot where five scooters could fit, as opposed to taking up one parking spot, that would leave more parking for other cars. ”
Sponsored by Vespa USA, the petition suggests turning some automobile parking slots into two-wheeled spaces.
“ It doesn’t matter where you live, ” Daniel said. “ Anyone can sign it — all you have to do is enter in your ZIP code, and Vespa will send the petitions to all the mayors in each city. ”
The petition, which can be accessed online at www. vespausa. com / Vespatition /, encourages city officials to accommodate more scooter parking, thus promoting a healthier environment, Daniel said.
Fayetteville Mayor Dan Coody said he supports the idea of added parking that promotes alternate forms of transportation.
“ We’re really wanting to find ways for people to get around town in every conceivable way, ” he said. “ That’s why we’re always trying to encourage more trails, roads, sidewalks, public transportation and carpooling. ”
In addition to converting existing spaces into slots for two-wheeled vehicles, the Vespa petition calls for more street legal parking, parking garages, sidewalk parking and converting unused space.
Daniel said the lack of two- wheeled parking in Fayetteville will continue to grow as alternate forms of transportation become more popular. Retail locations that don’t provide parking for two-wheeled vehicles, he said, sometimes force bikers to park illegally.
“ A lot of cities love scooters, ” he said. “ If it’s under 50 [cubic centimeters ], they have the same rights as a bicycle. That’s why you see a lot of scooters parked on sidewalks around campus. With gas prices being so high, there are tons of kids on scooters. ”
Daniel said the Fayetteville Revolution Scooter Club is the first of its kind in Northwest Arkansas, and other scooter groups are being formed across the country. Since the group’s inception a few years ago, two subchapters of the Revolution Scooter Club have formed in Russellville and Little Rock.
For more information about the Fayetteville Revolution Scooter Club, visit www. myspace. com / fayettevillescooterclub. The group meets at Arsaga’s on the corner of Gregg and Township streets in Fayetteville at 6 p. m. every Monday.