Bike riders on campus must ride at walking speed or slower (maximum is 5 mph), or they will be ticketed, said Capt. Garth Gunderson and Sgt. Doug Barker of the BYU-Idaho Division of the Rexburg Police Department.

“We have [violations] every day,” Barker said. “People are always weaving in and out of [walking] traffic.”

Student security guards are the ones that ticket bike riders on a daily basis.

If bike riders are riding just above the walking speed they receive a warning; however, warnings are only given out once.

When bike riders are riding at an extremely fast speed, or are speeding for two or more times they are given a $10 ticket.

There are other reasons students may receive a ticket, unregistered bikes receive a $5 ticket and if students vandalize the university’s private property in any way they are given a $50 ticket.

However, Gunderson stated that any damage done to the university will be under the police officers and therefore have to be taken to court and the end bill will most likely cost a lot more than $50.

Tickets are given to those who use roller blades, roller skates or skateboards on campus as well.

Last spring, the administration asked campus police to increase enforcement for the speed limit of bike riders. The campus police trained and educated people in the summer and have now hired three student security guards to ticket bike riders, roller bladders, roller skaters and skate boarders specifically.

Vandalism was one of the leading forces that caused this change. Bikers and skate boarders were damaging school property with the tricks they would perform. Students also expressed their concern about speeding bikers on campus.

“People were afraid they would get hit as riders whizzed past,” Gunderson said.

The President’s Council therefore initiated this enforcement under the Rexburg City Ordinance 759.

This city ordinance gives private property owners the right to have their own speed limit if it is open to the public and the speed limit would increase safety. Police officers of Rexburg enforced this city ordinance and state laws.

Student security guards enforce the rules of the institution, namely the speed limit of BYU-I.

“This is causing change,” Barker said, “I’ve seen a lot more people riding at a much slower speed, whereas hardly any did before.”

The ticketing is not meant to discourage students from riding a bike, but rather to provide a safe atmosphere for everyone on campus and avoid any potential injuries.

“We are not trying to discourage bikes by any mean, the problem is we must cooperate on the speeds. Biking is great because it cuts down on those who drive cars; however, we must slow down on private sites because of pedestrians,” Barker said.