The number of bikers traveling through campus increased this semester, while the University promoted bike usage and safety.Easy Streets Phase I reduced traffic between 30 and 62 percent on roads throughout campus compared with data from 2004, said Gary Graham, director of the Office of Parking, Traffic and Transportation.A consequence of car traffic reduction was an increase in bike usage, said Jason Soileau, assistant director of Campus Planning.With an increase in bike usage, the University and Student Government worked to promote bike safety during the semester.Student Government, the Environmental Conservation Organization and the Baton Rouge Advocates for Safe Streets partnered together to create LSU Bikes — a one-stop Web site dealing with the increasing number of bicyclists, to map out safe routes around town and to provide the rules of the road in the state and on campus.”One of the biggest things we noticed in this past year was that a lot of people had complaints about bikers on campus, but what people don’t realize is that everyone needs to understand the rules,” said Martina Scheuermann, SG vice president. BIKE WEEKStudent Government, ECO and B.R.A.S.S. hosted bike week Oct. 30. through Nov. 7.Bike week included a Halloween ride, exploration ride, bike repair workshops and the annual bike auction.”[We hosted] events we thought would help students become more comfortable riding on the road with other people,” Scheuermann said.The bike auction raised $4,050 by reselling abandoned bikes left on campus.”It’s environmentally friendly because we pick [the bikes] up and recycle them back to the students,” Graham said.The Bike Auction raised $4,000 last year, which went toward the tire pumps around campus.BIKE RACKSNew bike racks were constructed in high-traffic areas around campus this semester. As part of the University’s parking master plan, more than 700 new bike parking spots were added around the core of campus, said Brad Silva, facility development and campus manager.These new racks were constructed in the Quad and next to Lockett Hall based on the lead standard for bike parking, which states sites must provide bike parking for 5 percent of the occupants in an area, Silva said.Phase I of the plan included construction in half of the Quad next to Middleton Library, and Phase II will add bike racks to the other half of the Quad, Silva said.”One of the incentives to ride a bike is to be able to pull up closely,” he said. “We located where the demand is, and the next step is to link the paths so [cyclists] won’t be riding bikes on sidewalks.”EASY STREETS PHASE IIWhile Easy Streets Phase I reduced automobile traffic throughout campus, Phase II will focus on separating cyclists and pedestrians for safer travel on campus, Graham said.The Walker Parking Consultants are working on the Walker Plan — a proposal that outlines three different scenarios to enhance bike use and pedestrian safety on campus, Soileau said.The proposals outlined in the Walker Plan include one-way streets, dedicated bike lanes and share the road arrows — or sharrows, Soileau said.The Walker Parking Consultants will give the final report before the end of the year, and Campus Multi-Modal Transportation Management Team will vote on the best options for the University, Graham said.Construction is projected to begin in 2010, Soileau said.”It will probably be a low-cost implementation with some signs and painting,” Soileau said. “We try to target site construction in terms of streets when minimal students are here. We would not do any construction that would impact students or bus routes.”
 
 
 
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