Sidewalk or side run-over?
By: Veronica Stephen
Everyone on Utah State University campus has experienced it at least once in their college career.
While walking to class, a bike or a notorious long boarder comes right up behind a student and scares the bejeebers out of the clueless, music-blasting pedestrian.
For some students, this is not a huge problem — they recognize the need for their peers to get from place to place quickly. But for others, this is becoming a problem that needs to be fixed.
Natalie Peterson, an undeclared freshman, rides her bike to class every day.
“Quite a few people listen to music while walking to classes. I go faster than people so that’s not too big of a problem,” she said. “But sometimes I have to try to not hit people.”
So the problem is not just bikers and long boarders. It is about pedestrians, too. Music can be a way to de-stress between classes and tune the world out — literally. Pedestrians can solve part of this problem by turning down music, only putting one earbud in or just waiting until they get back to their apartments.
“I wish the bikers would give you a little more room,” said Jordan Provost, an animal dairy and veterinary sciences freshman.
Long boarders are also a large part of the chaos on the sidewalks.
“I’ve almost been run into sometimes, by long boarders especially,” said Lauren Bennett, an undeclared freshman. “There will be a crowd of people walking and they will just go through the crowd, but at the same time we should probably ask pedestrians to share the road.”
The increasingly popular trend of long boarding has taken over the USU campus. It can be a convenient way to get around campus and is not as bulky as a bike, but sidewalk etiquette should still be followed.
“I do think that if you don’t know how to ride a long board, you shouldn’t ride it around campus. You should practice and get better so that you can ride on campus,” Provost said.
Aside from campus, the Logan community in general can also be a little chaotic for all types of transportation.
“I rode to Walmart once and that was a terrible idea,” Peterson said. “First of all, because it is so far, but also because riding in Logan is really scary. I’m not from here and there are so many cars and lanes, and it is really hard to cross the street or just ride, because I feel like people driving aren’t really paying attention to me and I have to pay attention to what they should be looking for, which are pedestrians and bikers. I usually take the bus when I go places because I don’t want my bike to get stolen and logistically it’s just a nightmare.”
It is easy to find chaotic driving anywhere, but especially in a college town, it is important to have a safe flow of traffic by obeying the rules.
“There are a lot of J-walkers,” Provost said. “I almost ran somebody over, but she was walking in the middle of Main Street.”
Peterson said there could be ways to improve the sidewalks on USU for bikers, long boarders and pedestrians.
“Especially on the bigger sidewalks like near the TSC where there is tons of space I kind of wish it was divided or there was a separate bike lane or walking or long boarding lane,” Peterson said. “I avoid the areas where there are a lot of people because it is hard for me to go at any speed, which is why I ride my bike in the first place.”
Instead of dividing sidewalks, pedestrians can be more conscious of who or what is coming toward them.
“We should ask pedestrians to stay to one side and share the road a little bit,” Bennett said. “I think it’s a mutual relationship. They shouldn’t cut through a crowd of people, but there shouldn’t be a crowd of people to begin with.”
There are already bike lanes designated for bikers and long boarders.
“I think people should leave room along the side of the sidewalks for them to bike and the bikers should stay in that lane.”
— roniastephen@gmail.com