I love my bike…so should campuses
posted by Niles Barnes on July 25th, 2007 Go to comments
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With the cool spell of weather that has recently swept over Lexington, I have been more excited than ever to hop on my bike to get to work or run errands (like getting ice cream last night around 11pm). Although not the most bike friendly town, the culture of biking in Lexington continues to rise and gain more acceptance. We now have a yellow bike program for the downtown area along with a free bicycle library for students, faculty and staff at the University of Kentucky (which sits right next to downtown). These programs, together, have raised awareness and helped spur a healthy discussion on biking on campus and in the community. Be on the lookout soon for a podcast on the AASHE web site profiling and hearing about these two innovative programs.
It is becoming evident that campuses across the US and beyond should embrace alternative means of transportation and provide incentives for biking or using public transportation instead of relying on single occupancy vehicles. I have heard of some schools who have restructured the way parking passes are sold at the beginning of the year: if you live within one mile of campus you cannot buy a parking pass (except for special circumstances), within two miles it cost ‘X’ more than those who live 5 miles away etc. This method, coupled with removing on street parking (and installing bike lanes instead) could go a long way in demonstrating institutional support for alternative transportation.
The most common reasons students and others give for not utilizing a bike to get around is they do not feel safe riding on the road. Proper education of new cyclists on the rules of the road, clear road signs and painted bike lanes are crucial, along with motorist respecting and treating cyclists as ‘vehicles’ with the same rights and rules.
What thoughts do you have for improving bike culture on campuses? Any cool examples of community bike programs or policies that could be useful to other schools? Post up!
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Who needs a truck when you have these? I’m on the left preparing for a night of bike racing tail-gating (what is it called when you don’t drive?) The picture on the right shows the rig of choice for carrying and transporting anything-including people.
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Photos 
Shane Tedder
August 4th, 2007 at 12:26 am
How does your yellow bike program and bicycle library avoid vandalism? I was on another campus and read in the campus newspaper that while their community bikes were popular, they tended to have short lives because drunk students apparently enjoyed damaging them on the weekends. Is it just a culture thing? Some campuses have a culture where that kind of thing wouldn’t happen? Does your program do something to promote respect for the bikes?
August 7th, 2007 at 2:59 pm
Great questions Rose. The Wildcat Wheels bicycle library at U of K has not experienced significant vandalism (I actually have never heard of any). Theft of bikes is always an issue but what we have found is educating those that check out the bikes is crucial. The key to avoiding lost/stolen bikes is partly reminding riders that they *must* lock the bike at all times when not riding it and having an effective check in/check out policy that is accountable.
I would guess that vandalism to campus bikes could most likely be attributed to a small group of people and that the problem is not too widespread. I think one way to promote respect for the bikes is by having the bicycles and overall program demonstrate a high level of respect in its operations. For example, keeping bikes in good maintenance so that they look good and run good, not letting flat tires and other problems take over are important so that people view the program as legitimate and something they would like to participate in and see grow. You can never stop drunks from doing dumb things like kicking in a wheel, but hopefully such a problem will not deter a bike program from starting.
August 17th, 2007 at 1:12 pm
One of the things that students or sustainability staff members can do is try to work more closely with members of the community. At my small liberal arts college, there is a group in the community working to develop a bike trail in our area that would go through several towns. Since part of this trail will (hopefully) go through and around the campus, greater communication with them will be beneficial in supporting the bike culture on campus. Granted, not everyone will have a group like this working in their community, but if you do, I recommend that you coordinate efforts with them. To see if there is a trail group near you, a great starting resource is the Rails to Trails Conservancy (railstotrails.org).
September 2nd, 2007 at 7:04 pm
I’m originally from Lexington KY. My sister is a huge biker around the city, which seems very suitable for biking. She once had her bike stolen and recovered it from a bum a year later. I am a full time biker now. My sister always complains about how her coworkers make fun of her for biking everywhere, like it is some giant sacrifice. I recently cemented my car into a parking spot at my school. I had the help of the campus and bike club. I want to now get other colleges to do it and I was wondering if you knew anyone who would be interested in at least taking a look at the project? Check out http://autovoid.blogspot.com and pass it to someone who hates their pain in the ass car and wants to get rid of it for the sake of the future of the planet!
October 23rd, 2007 at 1:33 pm
Give me an old cool bicycle, and I’ll ride around the city for days.