Toward the end of the 2015-2016 academic year, the All University Traffic and Transportation Committee informed MSU Police Chief Jim Dunlap regarding the issue of moped parking on campus.

In an email, Captain Doug Monette included the requirements recommended by the Committee. All mopeds are now required to obtain a parking permit to deter confusion over whether mopeds belong to students or employees.

Bike racks are no longer a parking zone for mopeds due to safety reasons of blocking entrances and paths.

Monette said Associated Students of MSU, or ASMSU, suggested waiting an extra year before adjusting moped parking rules. However, the department wanted to give time for students to adjust to the new registration requirements in 2017-2018, he said.

“This change in plans was beneficial because it allowed more time for communicating the changes, more time to receive feedback and the chance to obtain better data on the number of mopeds operating on campus through permit sales,” he said.

Parking and Code Enforcement (PACE) collaborated with Infrastructure Planning Facilities and Landscape Services to decide where to pave new parking lots. 1,249 permits were sold during the 2017-2018 school year, and that data helped identify where to pave, he said.

The office also reached out to other Big Ten universities, including the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the University of Minnesota and the University of Maryland, to understand their parking changes. The result was installing moped parking in the same lots as motorized vehicles.  

“By keeping the mopeds parked within an existing parking lot, we will maintain all traffic safety standards for required signage, sight lines, lane widths and turning radiuses, while maintaining that motorized vehicles remain off of the sidewalks,” he said.

Concerns about moped theft

Some students relied on bike racks to lock up their mopeds, something not allowed in the new rules. Electrical engineering senior Cory Hilton said mopeds should be allowed access at bike racks as well as their designated parking area.

“There are some spots where the bike rack is more efficient (than other) spots,” Hilton said. “It’s really just depending on what you need at that time.”

Moped lock anchors were placed in Lot 76 and Lot 70 in a test to determine their viability to deter theft, Monette said.

Hilton said the regulations were a way for the university to make more money. Last year, he said he paid $30 for a permit to park his moped with bikes. With the new system, the price rose to $50, while reducing his options to park.

“I'll be completely honest. I've been parking all year without a parking pass,” Hilton said. “I didn't buy one this year, and PACE has not said anything to me. They still look at last years' parking pass as the current parking pass.”

Psychology senior Jackie Kosmas also said she wishes mopeds were still allowed at bike racks. She suggested the university create extra parking for mopeds or explore a way to lock them in the ground. 

When bringing her moped back over the summer, Kosmas said she was unprepared to park and not lock it.

“I ended up having to put insurance on my moped, so I'm now paying a lot of money to insure my moped just in case,” she said. “But if it does get stolen, there's nothing the police can really do except report that it's been stolen. It's really unsafe.”

Kosmas said many students relied on locking their mopeds to bike racks. Now that mopeds are just sitting in a parking spot, there’s nothing to lock them onto — making it easy to steal them even if people attach a U-lock to the back tire.

“That does not prevent someone from literally picking it up, putting it in a truck and driving away,” Kosmas said. “It's really concerning.”

She said the purpose of owning a moped is combining the ability to drive with the convenience of a bike.

“You're not hunting around for a parking spot like you would with a car — that's the whole appeal of having a moped on a campus like this,” Kosmas said.