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  4. Personal Transportation Device Policy

Personal Transportation Device Policy

(concerning cycles, scooters and skateboards)

Purpose

Whitworth’s campus has been designated as a walking campus. Personal transportation devices such as bicycles and scooters can help people overcome mobility barriers or commute challenges, or they may simply be a preferred method of transportation, and their use on campus is encouraged; however, it is important to maintain a safe campus, and operators must prevent personal injury and avoid damage to facilities or grounds caused by inappropriate use. This policy is designed to define appropriate and allowable use of personal transportation devices on campus.

Definition

Personal Transportation Device (PTD) describes any small, low-speed, human- or electric-powered transportation device, including bicycles, tricycles, unicycles, scooters, electric-assist bicycles, electric scooters (e-scooters), skateboards, onewheels or other small, lightweight, wheeled conveyance.

A Note on Personal Liability

Operation of a personal transportation device on campus comes with both rights and responsibilities. Please ride carefully and with consideration for the safety and rights of others. Accidental collisions may result in serious injuries to pedestrians or other riders or cause damage to campus property, and operators may be liable for injuries and/or damages.

Policy

Personal transportation devices may be operated upon any road, sidewalk or improved surface used for pedestrian purposes, subject to the following restrictions:

  • Riders must always yield the right-of-way to pedestrians. Personal transportation devices must not be operated in any manner or at any speed that places pedestrians at risk.
  • Riders must always remain in control of their device.
  • When on roads or in parking lots, riders must obey traffic laws and maintain a safe speed.
  • When in pedestrian routes or on sidewalks, riders must obey pedestrian laws and maintain a safe speed.
  • Use of hand rails, outdoor furniture, signs or other campus fixtures to perform stunts is strictly prohibited.
  • Riding on any sports court or field is prohibited.
  • Riding inside any building on campus is prohibited. Roller skates and rollerblades must be removed before entering any campus building.

Personal transportation devices may not be stored inside campus buildings, with the following exceptions:

  • Private rooms/offices, approved storage racks (for smaller devices) or designated storage areas (found in residence halls and the U-Rec) are all allowable. When storing your device indoors you must walk or carry it from the entrance to an appropriate storage location.
  • Smaller devices (skateboards, onewheels, foldable scooters, etc.) may also be carried or strapped to a pack, but must remain out of use and on your person while in the building.
  • Larger devices can be secured to outdoor (bike) racks.
  • Personal transportation devices left in common areas or corridors create a trip hazard and violate fire code, which requires that routes of egress (both indoors and out) be kept clear at all times.
  • Any item left unsecured or out of sight is vulnerable to theft or vandalism. Store at your own risk.

Enforcement

Enforcement shall be administered through Whitworth Security Services and/or the community standards & compliance office depending on the violator's relationship with Whitworth, but any building manager is authorized to impound devices and issue verbal warnings to device operators who are in violation of campus policy. All violations of campus policy will be reported to and recorded by security services.

Registered* devices’ owners will be contacted upon impound with security. If a device is not claimed within ninety (90) days of impoundment, it will be donated off campus.

  • First offense: Device is impounded within the building (info desk in the HUB, circulation desk in the library) or turned over to security. The device will be registered with security and returned upon inquiry to the operator (presumed owner) with a warning.
  • Second offense: $25 fine; device impounded if necessary.
  • Third offense: $50 fine; device impounded if necessary and student owner/operators will be referred to the associate dean for community standards & compliance.

Note: A previously-registered device will only be returned to the registered owner.

Non-university-related persons may be required by security services to leave campus and may be subject to subsequent restriction of campus access.

Impounded property may be retrieved at the Whitworth University Security Services Office

205 W Hawthorne Road (call 509.777.4444 to contact an officer)

Fines are payable at the Whitworth University Student Financial Services Office

McEachran Hall, first floor

*Personal Transportation Device Registration is currently only available through security services; if you wish to preemptively register your device to protect against loss or theft, please email security@whitworth.edu with as much identifying information as possible. If no serial number is available/visible, an identification tag will be provided to you. Once registered, tampering with or relocating the tag to a different device is falsification of university record and strictly prohibited. To void or update an existing registration, simply email security@whitworth.edu again.