If you walked through the Quad during the day you’ll find several people riding their bikes and another 30 or 40 bikes locked-up to the bike racks in front of Middleton Library. Many of my fellow cyclists may be surprised to hear this, but it is a violation of campus traffic laws to ride a bike in the Quad. Obviously this rule has not been enforced as long as I have been attending the University, but new legislation passed Wednesday night by Student Government is seeking to end this debauchery.
The Student Government Senate unanimously voted in favor of a new initiative that would call for cooperation between SG and the Office of Parking, Traffic and Transportation in reforming the rules and enforcement regarding pedestrians, cyclists and “vehicularists.” I want SG to remember cyclists’ have basic rights on campus, and I want my fellow cyclists to remember we have responsibilities to the safety of those around us as well as our own.
Pedestrians apparently feel vulnerable when bikes speed by them on the way to class, but when these same people jump into their cars do they consider how cyclists feel when they speed by on their drive home? I have my doubts. In fact, one serious accident on campus involving a bike happened to my extended friend this past Sunday when an impatient driver ran down a cyclist on Tower Drive, but that is a current legal case, and I will say no more. Easy Streets must be made safe for cyclists, especially if we won’t be allowed to cut through the Quad anymore.
It may seem like there are plenty of bike racks early in the morning, but by roughly 9:30 a.m. they become so overcrowded that bikes are chained up to various trees and street signs nearby. Surely the University wants bicycles to stop locking onto the landscaping and handicap parking signs, so more bike racks will need to be provided for everyone.
While not part of Easy Streets, the cycling/jogging trail along Nicholson Drive is a life saver, but similar bike lanes are needed. Highland Road, Burbank Drive and several other streets near campus are very unfriendly to cyclists. I have personally taken different routes home during this semester, and only Nicholson ensures my safety. Burbank is progressively more impossible for a cyclist to cross the closer to campus I get. I’ve never even attempted to ride down Highland because there simply isn’t room. Of course, a bike has as much right to the road as any car or truck does, but few “vehicularists” respect this aspect of Louisiana traffic law. The University needs to work with the city of Baton Rouge to create more cyclist friendly streets close to campus.
Cyclists should remember that traffic laws apply to them as well. On the road, bicycles are required to travel in the same lanes and the same direction as normal traffic when there is not a separate bike lane. While their status as a non-motor vehicle gives them a great deal of leeway, the street is still their primary domain, not the sidewalks. Pedestrians have the right of way on the sidewalks, and their saftey was one of the University’s chief concerns when SG decided to enforce the rules which prohibit bikes from the Quad.
State law provides equal right to the roadway between cars and bikes, and it will likely take a movement of the campus cycling community to secure this right. This was the basis for the first chapter of Critical Mass 15 years ago. Critical Mass has been described as a “celebration of bicycling” by its members, and is essentially the campus bicycle club but it has no elected officers. I began attending Critical Mass meetings this semester. We meet the last Friday of every month at 5:30 p.m. in front of Memorial Tower, and ride together around Baton Rouge to promote awareness of the city’s cycling community.
Two weeks from now the University will hold Bicycling Awareness Week as part of the recent SG legislation. The event will kick off the Safe Streets initiative by promoting awareness for the campus traffic regulations regarding pedestrians, cyclists and “vehicularists.” As SG is raising awareness, the parking office will begin enforcement of these regulations, but the mechanism of this enforcement has not yet been finalized. Giving tickets to bikes will just be a waste of time, so new ideas like registering bicycles and the use of positive incentives have been put on the table. I am eagerly looking forward to what SG and the Office of Parking, Traffic and Transportation has in mind for reforming the current traffic regulations, and I stress the need for more cyclist friendly incentives both on and off campus.
—-Contact Michael Schouest at [email protected]