Boulder is a place where pedestrians, skateboarders and bikers can thrive, although some bikers and skateboarders aren’t following the rules of the road—or the sidewalk.
More and more, CU Police officers have been ticketing unlawful bikers and boarders on campus. CU spokesman Bronson Hilliard said the new campaign is to keep everyone safe while traveling between classes.
“We need to make the interior of campus safer,” Hilliard said. “With some skateboarders being reckless, some pedestrians being clueless and some cyclists going too fast, it’s a recipe for disaster.”
With back-to-back classes on either sides of campus, students are understandably rushing around to make it on time. Pedestrians, bikers and skateboarders all crowd the sidewalks like Times Square in New York City.
In the time of iPods and cell phones, most people get distracted and are detached from what else is going on around them. If a biker or skateboarder is traveling swiftly and an unsuspecting pedestrian is otherwise distracted…
BOOM: there’s an accident.
“There are too many people not paying attention,” Hilliard said.
Heidi Crespi, 30, a senior architecture major with helmet in tow, agrees with the new safety measure.
“If people are being unsafe, it’s warranted,” Crespi said. “I choose to ride my bike to be healthy and environmentally friendly. I also don’t have a car, so it is a cheap way to get around.”
Hilliard said if students are being safe on campus whether on wheels or heels, they will not get ticketed.
“If you’re just skateboarding or riding your bike and being aware of your surroundings and being considerate of other people, you’re not going to get a ticket,” Hilliard said.
Crespi said he thinks bikers and skateboarders who are already safe don’t have anything to worry about.
“I’m safe on campus,” Crespi said. “I don’t think this new ticketing campaign will change my habits since I’m already safe.”
Some students feel as though the ticketing campaign is unfair. Veteran skateboarder, Andre Orcutt, 22, a junior art history major, thinks that in some cases, the ticketing is random.
“I understand the safety measure because it can get crowded, but I feel like they only pick out a few at random when there are so many others,” Orcutt said.
Bikers and boarders aren’t the only ones who could be ticketed. With such a busy campus, it is important that pedestrians are mindful of their actions, too.
Hilliard said he advises pedestrians to take out their headphones when walking in a busy area.
“I wear my headphones too,” Hilliard said, “but there have been too many times that I’ve seen a pedestrian with their headphones in, oblivious to the car or bus that is coming towards them when they’re crossing the street.”
It is in everyone’s best interest to pay attention to what is going on around them, and be conscious of their actions.
“We don’t want to be a kill-joy,” Hilliard said. “But there are limits that should be observed when getting from place to place on campus.”
The ticketing campaign will last until all on campus are observing the limits, and paying attention.
“Let’s observe limits, and then we can also have fun,” Hilliard said. “Fun is a long standing tradition at CU.”
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Taylor Coughlin at Taylor.coughlin@colorado.edu.