Scooter club petitioning for compatible parking
Posted on Monday, August 25, 2008
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.
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