| SCENE
| October 14, 2004| Send features
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Speed
Cycles
Motorcyclists aren’t special
in finding a place to park their bikes
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| The Shorthorn: Mark Roberts |
| Marketing senior John Wolf stands next
to a sign he sees daily outside Trinity Hall. Despite
the high number of motorcycle permits and low number of
bike spaces, Wolf says he usually doesn’t have a
problem finding parking. ^ |
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By Amanda
Kowalski
The Shorthorn Staff
John Wolf admits he has fun zipping around campus on his Honda Magna
motorcycle, but that’s just one of the reasons he rides a
bike.
“We don’t have a problem finding parking spots because
there’s not enough people who ride on campus, plus we make
our own spots,” the marketing senior said.
Like many college campuses, UTA has issues with parking for its
25,000-plus students. Although the university added eight designated
motorcycle spots this year, with 85 motorcycle parking permits and
just 32 motorcycle spots, some riders are tempted to park in car
spaces, ticking off their automobile-driving counterparts.
“It just seems wasteful to have one little motorcycle taking
up a whole spot,” said Melissa Gault, a journalism senior
who commutes from Fort Worth.
Undeclared sophomore Coby Morrison agrees.
“They get their spots right next to the parking garage, so
they shouldn’t take up our parking spots,” Morrison
explained. “I almost bought a bike just so I could park close.”
That’s why criminology junior Michael Burke, who rides a Honda
Shadow American Classic Edition motorcycle, never parks in car spots
on campus. Plus, finding motorcycle parking is easy, he says.
“We have designated motorcycle parking right behind the parking
garage,” said Burke, who lives off campus. “When I did
live on campus, a friend and I would both park our bikes in one
space.”
He said there are good reasons why motorcycle owners take car spaces,
though.
“At Lipscomb Hall, the motorcycle parking is on the street,”
Burke said. “It’s safer to park by the dorm because
of the high theft rate. You can chop and sell a sport bike for a
lot of money.”
Motorcyclists who decide to park in car spots, be warned. It’s
against campus regulations. Lt. Jay Tillerson said UTA police give
citations for parking in the wrong lot or for a sign violation,
both of which carry a $30 fine.
“I park in car spots all the time,” Wolf admitted. “I
didn’t know that was a problem.”
Wolf, who also drives a Jeep Wrangler, has sympathy for automobile
drivers on campus. As a resident of Trinity House, he has reserved
parking outside the dorm but has to share the lot with faculty members.
He often has trouble finding a spot to park his Jeep, especially
if he runs an early-morning errand.
“I like having reserved parking, but what I don’t like
is that faculty take up all the spots,” he said. “This
is the only place I can park.”
Both riders point out that their bikes use less gas than an automobile,
and they take up less space. They also pay the same $72 as automobile
drivers to park on campus.
“I just think it’s more convenient because they can
fit 13 or 14 motorcycles where they could parallel park only three
or four cars,” Burke said. “A lot of people are like
‘Why is he special?’ We’re not special, but we
are drivers, too.”
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