A bike safety campaign this week featured free helmet giveaways, tune-ups and educational films, but some cyclists say DOTS needs to make more of an effort to create a bike-friendly campus.
The five-day Share the Road campaign satisfied the Department of Transportation Services’ public outreach goals outlined in the university’s Campus Bicycle Study, but critics dubbed many of the physical improvements to bike trails insufficient “quick fixes.”
This week’s campaign included two commuter breakfasts, a bike fair, fliers and brochures that discuss bike safety and mechanics and experts offering free services to cyclists. The events will conclude this afternoon with a bike rally, where cyclists will be able to gain experience riding in the streets and see the facilities the university has established to help make on-campus biking safer.
Other than the recent installments of seven “bikes must use full lane” signs and the creation of more bike parking in Mowatt Lane garage, plans outlined in the study are largely in the early stages, Assistant to the Director of DOTS Beverly Malone said.
Joanna Calabrese, the Student Government Association’s director of environmental affairs and an avid cyclist, said the campaign was successful in terms of the people it attracted and educating students about bike safety. But she added that if the university wants to reach the goals outlined in the plan in three years, it must use more human and financial resources than it already is.
The study outlines a number of objectives, with education and small physical improvements being the primary targets for improvement this year. In that vein, DOTS launched several initiatives to increase awareness about cyclist rights on the road and sidewalk, including creating bike regulations in July 2008 and a website that outlines cyclist rights, bike maintenance and routes that cyclists may use both on and off the campus.
However, physical improvements to make the campus more accessible and safe for cyclists have been sparse, some students said.
The university installed signs, covered bike parking and bike lockers over the last year, but the bicycle plan called for upgrades to bicycle routes on Paint Branch Drive, Stadium Drive and Regents Drive, as well as spot improvements to curb ramps, streets and intersections.
The bike plan still needs more money for its goals to become a reality, Calabrese said. The program is currently spending $109,000 a year, which she called a “tiny” investment in the three-year plan.
“DOTS needs to be creative about finding resources for this, to look at all the revenue that’s coming from shuttles, student fees, whatever, and delegate it to this program,” Calabrese said.
korkut@umdbk.com
