By Savannah Lewis and Kourtney Husnick
The city of Cleveland began allowing four private companies to place dockless electric scooters — otherwise known as e-scooters — around the city on Aug. 26 as part of a six-month trial period. Since then, Cleveland State University has allowed the scooters to be operated on campus with a series of guidelines for on-campus use.
Some of these rules include:
- No wearing headphones while riding the scooters.
- Motorized scooters should be ridden in the street, following all traffic laws. Use bike lanes when possible.
- Scooters must be parked at bike racks or designated scooter parking areas.
- Operators of scooters must not carry passengers.
- Scooters are not permitted on sidewalks.
- Scooters are not allowed in the Student Center plaza or pedestrian walkways.
“When we drafted these rules, safety was our top priority,” Anthony Traska, Cleveland State’s chief of police, said. “We had two goals, safety of everyone using them, and goal number two is to inform the community that these are in the city.”
The rules were emailed out to Cleveland State students Wednesday, Sept. 4 and are listed on the university police department’s website. A link to those rules is also available on the Parking Services electric scooters frequently asked questions webpage.
“Most importantly, it talks about how they are only supposed to be ridden in the streets and the bike lanes,” Traska said. “They are motorized vehicles, so they shouldn’t be on the sidewalks.”
While there are rules in place, enforcement will not be strict, according to Traska.
“When our officers see that or it is brought to our attention, we’ll just give them a friendly reminder of what the rules are for the city,” Traska said. “These aren’t CSU rules, per say. These are the rules of the city of Cleveland that we adapted.”
Cleveland State also considered other universities’ policies before emailing out regulations. The main focus, Traska explained, is students’ safety whether they are riding the scooters themselves or walking outside with scooters around them.
“We just want to advise folks ‘hey you’re not supposed to be on the sidewalk, and be safe when you’re riding them,’” Traska said. “[It is] just a reminder, we won’t even call it a warning, it is a verbal reminder of what the rules are.”
Diana Schoder