Formerly unenforced bike policies have been given a facelift and will go into effect fall of 2014. The recently updated policies define stricter permit requirements and highlight more areas on campus that bicyclists will be able to use.

MORE BIKES ON CAMPUS

“The issue is we have a lot more bike use on campus than we’ve ever had before,” said Greg Balsano, vice president of university services.

The increasing number of bikes has caused problems when they are locked to handrails and when students attempt to ride through busy sidewalks, said Brian Phillips, senior director of operations for facilities management.

“We anticipated an accident in our future,” Phillips said.

TEMPORARY RACKS INSTALLED

Surveys were conducted to determine where the new racks should go, and temporary ones have been installed where bikes are typically found chained to trees, poles or handrails in place of a bike rack.

“We have to determine whether or not we should put it in concrete, so we wait and see how it’s used,” Balsano said.

The most recent installation is near Fluor Fountain. The next one will be added near the north side of the Library next to the Health Center before the end of the semester, Balsano said.

By waiting to enforce the policy until next fall, students will have a chance to read the rules and get bike permits if need be, according to Balsano.

“By fall, there will be enough racks, so we will start handing out the first bike tickets,” Balsano said.

NEW REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS

Enforced rules will include immobilizing or impounding bicycles without registration identification stickers, as well as ticketing cyclists who do not adhere to bicycle registration, parking, operation and equipment regulations. Tickets will be a maximum of $20.

The university intends for the policy to accommodate bicycle owners, as well as keep pedestrians safe, Balsano said. The previous policy was unfair to bicyclists because it restricted the areas where they could ride, confining bike use solely to areas where cars drive, such as parking lots and roads.

“We knew we needed to expand where bikes could go, but also have some rules that would protect pedestrians, and so students would know what was expected of them,” Balsano said. “In the past, if a bike was somewhere it shouldn’t be, we would just take the bike and hold it until someone claimed it. So we felt that it was unfair the rules were so limiting and that there were rules students didn’t really know about. Some are common sense, but we never published them.”

BIKING ON SIDEWALKS

The policy now defines which sidewalks students are allowed to ride bicycles on. Bikes may be ridden on sidewalks wider than six feet unless prohibited by signs. They may not be ridden on standard-size sidewalks, between four and six feet wide.

Bike lanes were installed over interterm to ease the traffic, but still some bike owners choose not to ride.

“I don’t usually ride on campus. It gets really congested and nobody abides by walking outside the bike lanes,” said Kaylor Myers, a sophomore film major.

The bike lanes were created to give cyclists a space to ride through campus without weaving through people, and to keep pedestrians safe, Balsano said.

“In time, we hope people will get used to using the bike lanes,” he said.