UW-Madison campus police and transportation services have been vigorously ticketing moped violations on both new and existing laws during an \enforcement phase,"" which began Monday and lasts until Sept 30.
""We believe that word has gotten out ... and it's fair game,"" said UW-Madison Police Officer Kristen Radtke.
During ""Education Week,"" Sept. 6 to 16, police officers stood at certain intersections and concentrated moped areas around campus getting the word out about the moped laws, but not enforcing them. They handed out flyers that showed a map of where mopeds can and cannot be parked and the different prices that coincide with certain violations.
Radtke says that throughout the ten days the police department issued well over 600 verbal warnings. UW-Madison sophomore Brandon Friedlander was given a warning from an officer during ""Education Week"" for driving on the sidewalk.
""I was supposed to turn off my moped and walk it up [the sidewalk] which I think is ridiculous considering it is two-and-a-half feet from the street,"" he said.
While Friedlander is frustrated with the strict enforcement, it is something UW-Madison campus police practice at the beginning of every semester.
The big difference this year is that the amount of mopeds on campus has reached such high numbers that transportation services is inventing new methods to deal with them. In areas such as outside Social Science and Van Hise, drivers park their mopeds in undesignated moped parking spaces, impeding pedestrian traffic and unclear walkways.
Lance Lunsway, director of the department of transportation, said his department is working near the Elizabeth Waters residence hall to put in more moped parking and that students will have to park their mopeds a few buildings down the street from their classes. Lunsway also said that many students have been inclined to cooperate, while others seem to disregard the new laws.
""We really are trying to educate and have been getting a lot of good feedback from students. A few of them have been like, if I'm not going to get a ticket for this, I'm pretty much going to take my chances,"" he said.
However, with the enforcement phase underway, students' attitudes towards these new moped laws are bound to change; moped parking violations are $40, and some driving violations are as pricey as $216.
In past years, violators could take a driving safety class, which would void their parking tickets. However, Radtke said police have decided to do away with the system this year.
Though the enforcement phase ends Sept. 30, campus police will continue ticketing and enforcing moped laws.
Therefore, as of Monday, if a moped driver receives a citation, their only choice is to pay the fine.
