10/10/2022
Photo by Rodolfo Alvarado / Vaquero Radio.
Hundreds of students walk the Bronc Trail on the Edinburg campus everyday to get to different buildings for classes, meetings or events; however, there may be a safety concern to consider when walking down the walkway.
Computer Technician for Desktop Support at the Edinburg campus, John J. Rivera, spoke to Vaquero Radio about his concerns regarding the Bronc Trail
“I’ve noticed that most people seem to ignore the signs about no personal vehicles or no motor vehicles on the trail…”
Rivera takes the Bronc Trail at least 4 times a day due to his work as a technician. He said he has seen many people, both students and faculty, use personal transport vehicles such as skateboards, bikes, hoverboards and golf carts.
He said this is a safety concern
“I think it creates a big liability for UTRGV. One day, somebody is going to get seriously hurt and it’s gonna lead to litigation and a lot of cost to the university. It’s a nice policy to have but I wish they would actually enforce it.”
According to the UTRGV Handbook of Operating Procedures, policy ADM 10-904 states that “Personal transportation riding devices are prohibited from use on covered walkways, breezeways, and pedestrians on all UTRGV campuses.”
Despite this, Rivera said students may not be aware of this rule due to the locations of signs.
“I believe they don’t know the rule because there’s only those signs, but they’re real obscure, they’re not real prominent where they’ll see it. They’re off on the side,” said Rivera.
Entrepreneurship Junior Michael Kelly says he’s seen people use vehicles on the Bronc Trail and heard of an incident.
“I remember someone, a classmate of mine, who accidently almost got hit by someone on a scooter or a bike…they forgot to tell them they were coming through,” said Kelly.
Computer Engineer Freshman, Jose Luis Almaza Jr. says he does not feel there was a safety issue, in fact, he said he thought it normal.
“I actually thought it was very normal for people to skate and use skaters and stuff like that cause I thought it was like a ‘wild west’ kind of Bronc Trail. That is what I interpreted.”
For more information on the rule, visit the UTRGV Parking and Transportation website.
This is Rodolfo Alvarado for Vaquero News.
