OUR VIEW: You don’t own the road
As each year goes by, here at USU — and President Stan Albrecht’s yearly initiative of heightened enrollment is effectively executed — we notice certain areas on and off campus continue to swell at the beginning, and to a lesser degree, at the end of each semester. Even though droves of new students are invited to come to USU to enjoy its prestigious research programs, beautiful surroundings and affordable tuition and fees, class sizes continue to grow, parking continues to decrease and roads stay the same size.
If we could successfully poll all students on campus and ask them how they feel about the price and practicality of parking — especially in those places like the Terrace or University Inn parking lot, that do not require an overloaded shuttle ride or a lengthy, sub-zero walk in the winter time — chances are likely the general consensus would be less than positive. And what about drivers whose morning transit routes include a leg on the overcrowded 700 North or 800 East? How many of us, in the first couple of weeks of a new semester, have been in a hurry to get through the intersection of those two roads and screamed expletives at the perpetual stream of ignorant pedestrians who seem to think a flashing-red hand means “come on over, keep on texting, you have plenty of time”?
Perhaps, the issue is we all get tunnel vision when it’s early and we’re in a hurry to get to class without showing up late and looking like less-than-successful future leaders of the world.
Who hasn’t been guilty of running a red light, jaywalking or pulling a “California roll” through a stop sign once in a while? The problem surmounts when a few thousand people are all doing this at the same time. It’s surprising so few people end up in the hospital — or heaven forbid, dead — because of the negligent disregard for laws we all had to know to get a driver license. Returning students may recall a few years ago when a faculty member biking down the hill on 800 East T-boned a vehicle making a left turn. What turned out to be a couple of fractures and broken bones could have resulted in a coffin and tombstone.
Last year, Logan City donated some time, funding and effort to painting “sharrows” on the road to reduce the anxiety and risk cyclists experience while riding in traffic with cars, trucks and buses. Furthermore, after a few repairs to the roads most proximate to USU, the “sharrows” were repainted and are now more easily visible. These road designs, consisting of a picture of a bike and an arrow, instruct drivers to be aware and have consideration for bike riders who legally and rightfully share the road.
Unfortunately, what’s harder to do is get bike riders to acknowledge they are still subject to the same set of laws as licensed drivers. Low energy, running late or not wanting to give up downhill momentum are not excuses for running stop signs and stoplights on your bike. Sidewalks and roads are not interchangeable — bike riders shouldn’t, and don’t, have the luxury of using one or the other depending on convenience. People behind the wheel of a vehicle aren’t going to expect a cyclist to come barreling down a sidewalk and seamlessly merge into traffic on the street. This is reckless, dangerous and illegal.
Lastly, how many people have witnessed collisions on campus sidewalks between cyclists, boarders or Razor riders? There’s a reason the USU Bike Plan was concocted this year (the reason there are “Yield your wheels” signs all over campus). We’re all adults here, and regardless of what you’ve been told, we all need to be considerate of one another. So let’s take our blinders off, and realize there’s a whole world out there that needs some of our attention.