{"id":168417,"date":"2026-02-25T11:05:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T11:05:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/168417\/"},"modified":"2026-02-25T11:05:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T11:05:07","slug":"pedestrians-shouldnt-have-to-fear-walking-at-usf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/168417\/","title":{"rendered":"Pedestrians shouldn\u2019t have to fear walking at USF"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/a>People who use non-motorized vehicles such as bikes and scooters are sometimes a danger to USF\u2019s pedestrians. ORACLE PHOTO\/DYLAN SABOL<\/p>\n

Whenever I walk around campus, I always stay on the side farthest from the road.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I do this because I have the intrusive thought that I\u2019ll be hit by somebody on a scooter, then get run over by a car and die.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Intrusive thoughts like these can usually be dismissed as needless paranoia, but on the USF Tampa campus, the fear is valid.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I have seen with my own eyes pedestrians being hit by scooters, and I know people personally who have been hit by them.<\/p>\n

It hasn\u2019t happened to me, thankfully, but at this rate I feel like it\u2019s only a matter of time.<\/p>\n

There were 12 reported incidents at USF Tampa last fall involving pedestrians, scooters and bikes colliding with vehicles, according to University Police Lieutenant Gregory Vickers.<\/p>\n

The fact that there are so many reckless drivers makes being a pedestrian at USF much less safe than it should be.<\/p>\n

Related: USF police urge students to follow traffic laws after campus incidents<\/a><\/p>\n

People who use non-motorized vehicles such as scooters, bikes and skateboards sometimes take up the entirety of the sidewalk or go at excessive and dangerous speeds.<\/p>\n

This makes them a hazard or obstacles for people just trying to walk to class.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Even motor vehicles smaller than cars, like USF golf carts, have been reported as an issue for pedestrians at USF, according to a post on the USF subreddit<\/a> on Feb. 4.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not saying that everyone on those vehicles is dangerous or reckless, but it\u2019s enough to be a problem that needs to be addressed for the safety of USF\u2019s campus.\u00a0<\/p>\n

UP spokesperson Larry McKinnon said UP has taken measures to attempt to curb this issue.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cUSF Police remind scooter riders to obey posted restrictions and ride safely in pedestrian areas,\u201d McKinnon said. \u201cUSF Police will continue routine patrols, enforce posted restrictions and address reported violations while working with campus partners to monitor problem areas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, I believe USF must take more proactive measures to ensure that the people who ride non-motor vehicles are not a danger to pedestrians.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There are signs that say \u201cno scooters, pedestrian traffic only,\u201d around campus, including in front of Argos Exchange.<\/p>\n

But people on their scooters speed past these signs anyway.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A way USF could enforce the \u201cno scooter zones\u201d is by installing gates in areas where scooters are not intended to be \u2014 guaranteeing a safe haven for pedestrians.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Related: OPINION: USF students, don\u2019t forget driving etiquette when on campus<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, the root of the issue comes from the people who are deciding to ride recklessly on our campus.<\/p>\n

If you own a non-motor vehicle or drive golf carts around campus, please slow down.<\/p>\n

Be considerate of the people around you and read the signs that say where you\u2019re permitted to go.<\/p>\n

If you know somebody who rides a non-motor vehicle, hold them accountable and make sure that they\u2019re not being reckless.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There is nothing wrong with wanting to get to places faster, especially when you have to travel far distances.\u00a0<\/p>\n

All that\u2019s needed is for it to be done responsibly, for your safety and everybody else\u2019s.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That way, USF won\u2019t need to spend extra money and UP won\u2019t have to spend time catching those who act recklessly.<\/p>\n

All in all, we need to be considerate of each other to have a safer USF campus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"People who use non-motorized vehicles such as bikes and scooters are sometimes a danger to USF\u2019s pedestrians. ORACLE…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":168418,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[135,137,136],"class_list":["post-168417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=168417"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168417\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/168418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=168417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=168417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=168417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}