Proposed plan will add bike lanes to campus
The Borrow-a-Bike committee met Wednesday to discuss the implementation of new bike routes on campus.
The approved project will be presented at the Associated Students of Utah State University meeting next Tuesday.
It was decided the university should consider having two main bike routes, one connecting north and south campus and one connecting the west and east sides of campus .
According to the proposed plan, the routes would be 4 feet wide and placed on the right side of campus sidewalks.
It was also decided that the main streets on campus should have signs on the sides to indicate bike priority but not lanes to separate the bike lane from the cars.
Adam Christensen represented the committee and presented the project.
There were four main options: a 4- or 8- feet wide bike route in the middle of the walkway or bike routes on the right side, which can also be 4 or 8 feet wide.
The stated purpose of the committee is to increase the safety of pedestrians without conflicting with bike traffic. Students present in the meeting presented many safety issues in relation to the alternative of the bike route in the middle of the walkway.
They said if the routes were in the middle students would have to cross the lane frequently and that could cause accidents.
Students also said the bicyclists would have to share the lanes with skateboards and scooters, causing a conflict.
But, it was the consensus that it would be safer for pedestrians if skateboards and scooters were in the bike lane as well.
Among those present at the meeting were Juan Franco, vice provost for students services, Bob Bayn, manager of academic user services and Alyssa “Al” Lambert, ASUSU student advocate.
Christensen said the committee’s biggest concern is the road sections between 500 North and 700 North, on the curve. He said that section of road has a blind spot where drivers would not be able to see the bicyclists.
He also said bicyclists feel vulnerable when traveling there.
Franco said one alternative is to allow students to take their bikes to the elevator of the new parking lot that is being built there which will be completed Summer 2005.
“If the students take the elevator or park their bikes in the parking lot they don’t have to go through that street and they are going to come out right in the middle of campus,” he said.
Christensen said the committee expects the bike traffic to increase eventually.
He also said bike routes would make the students more cycler-friendly and would create a better image of the university for visitors.
Students also had many issues in relation to the width of the lanes.
One student said it was better to have a 6-foot-wide lane in both directions to make the bicyclists go slower on campus.
He said the bigger the space for bikers, the faster they would go.
But Lambert said it would be better if the changes on campus happened gradually.
The committee decided that the 4-foot-wide bike lane would be implemented on spring as a test run and allow student input. The amount of bicyclists using the lanes could enlarge this width.
Students also said it would be a good idea to put bike route signs with the bus route signs to make drivers aware of the bike traffic and avoid accidents.
If ASUSU approves the project the committee will also have to present a proposal to the Logan City Council because some of the changes proposed would affect city property.
ASUSU’s Executive Council meeting is held every Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. on the third floor of the Taggart Student Center.
-acantunes@cc.usu.edu