MILWAUKEE — Marquette University is prohibiting the use of motorized scooters on campus property, effective immediately.
Under the new policy, all motorized scooters — including the rentable dockless variety operated by companies such as Lime, Bird and Spin — are banned from use on any campus property, including walkways and sidewalks within the campus, according to Joel Pogodzinski, Marquette's senior vice president and chief operating officer.
The policy also applies to other personal motorized vehicles, including but not limited to electric bicycles, electric skateboards, hoverboards, Segways and mopeds, the university said.
“While we support the city’s position of making more transportation options available, safety on campus must be our first concern when evaluating whether new services like the dockless scooters now available in downtown Milwaukee are appropriate for our campus,” Pogodzinski said in a news release. “Ultimately we are upholding our tenet of cura personalis by prioritizing the safety of our Marquette community by prohibiting scooters or any other personal motorized vehicles on campus.”
MUPD will enforce the policy. Additionally, MUPD will enforce all city ordinances and traffic laws related to motorized scooter operations, particularly their use on public sidewalks, which is strictly prohibited.
The City of Milwaukee ordinance related to operating on sidewalks reads: “No bicycle or electric scooter shall be operated upon any public sidewalk, any pedestrian path in the public parks, or upon any public school grounds or public playgrounds.”
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has also banned the use of motor vehicles on campus.
We're getting a lot of calls about scooters on campus. Scooters are not allowed on the UWM campus per UWS 18.10(5) https://t.co/45np8dQqjp Students can ride them on city streets near campus. At this point, no tickets have been written, and we're working on educating students.
— UWM News (@UWMNews) August 19, 2019
University bylaws indicate that "No person shall operate an unauthorized motor vehicle or motorized device, including motorcycles, mopeds, motor scooters and self-balancing transportation devices, off designated roadways," according to UWS 18.10(5).
The fine for violating the ordinance is $86.20.
