Tuesday 21 May 2019 9:56am
Campus Watch's Michael Shore with some of the new signs reminding people to walk their wheels through the Dunedin campus.
The University of Otago’s Dunedin campus is a pedestrian-friendly zone and a new campaign is being rolled out to remind students and staff that they should walk bikes, scooters and skateboards through the campus.
The Dunedin campus can have thousands of pedestrians walking through it at any time, and it’s particularly busy in between weekday lectures. Cyclists and scooter and skateboard users present a health and safety risk so Property Services is ramping up its work to ensure people “walk their wheels” on campus.
Director of Property Services Dean Macaulay indicated that the influx of electric scooters to the Dunedin community in early 2019 triggered a review of existing regulations that govern the use of mobile transport on campus.
“The University has been designed for pedestrian and wheelchair use and this campaign reiterates the safe use of our campus. While service vehicles are permitted in certain controlled areas, such vehicles are not permitted to exceed 10km.
“Users of scooters, bicycles, skateboards and other forms of mobile transport are expected to disembark when entering campus. This is about protecting the safety of the many pedestrians that use the campus on a daily basis.”
New signage and reminders are being placed around campus and all staff and students are being asked to do their bit to look after themselves and the rest of the University community by spreading the message or dismounting at campus entrances.