The University is making some changes for the next 10 years, including an increased effort to make the campus safer for bicyclists. These efforts are already showing some dividends, such as the Bike-Friendly Campus designation received by the University in December.
“We are making every effort to add bike lanes to campus streets, reduce conflict between cars and bicyclists/pedestrians, provide access to maps that show [the] safest routes to travel around the city on a bike and are also in the midst of planning a bike month that will include free classes on bike safety for students, faculty and staff,” Tammy Millican, executive director of Facility and Property Oversight said.
One of the goals of the Comprehensive and Strategic Campus Master Plan is to make the campus more sustainable over the next decade. During the planning process, researchers found 80 percent of students drive to campus, as opposed to only 14 percent who ride bikes. One of the goals of the Master Plan is to move traffic out of the core of campus to better utilize the space as the academic core of campus.
Another objective is to help make the area surrounding campus friendlier to bicyclists. The Master Plan notes the University is primarily a car-driven commuter culture, but there is still a demand for more bike options, such as covered bike racks. The Master Plan also notes the area surrounding campus is not ideal for cyclists citing scarce infrastructure, such as a lack of properly maintained bike lanes, as a safety hazard.
The Master Plan documents state the current high demand for increased bike options. To this end, the University partnered with organizations in Baton Rouge to bring Bikeshare to the city and campus. In a study conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency on the feasibility of the program in the city, the campus area was identified as one of the most bike-dense areas of the city. The Bikeshare program is projected to launch in September.
Bike usage increases on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017, on campus.
