Dear Department of Transportation:
Few students remember the days of driving through campus freely. This is because the University of Alabama has become a walking campus. Since the new Crimson Ride bus system came to campus four years ago, students have started walking and biking more and more. Biking is a quick and efficient way to get around campus, but there are certain issues that many bikers run into. These include the lack of bike racks and bike paths, which cause students to bike in the streets, which upsets drivers. The lack of bike racks and paths is troublesome for students who ride their bikes, but the drivers in the streets can be a problem to them as well, seeing that there are so few bike lanes on the roads.
As students hurry from class to class, a big problem can be the lack of bike paths on campus. Though there are a few bike paths on campus, there are still many areas that lack enough space for bikers, like the Quad, which leads to over-crowded sidewalks and close encounters between bikers and pedestrians. One student, who wishes to remain nameless, says that on several occasions she has nearly been run over by a biker trying to navigate through pedestrians on the sidewalk. Bike riders often have to veer off into the grass and slam on their breaks in order to avoid a collision with a pedestrian who isn’t paying attention to where he or she is walking. These near collisions could easily be avoided if there were more bike paths in these crowded areas, like the Quad. These paths should be separate from the walking paths; this would ease traffic on the sidewalks. Another place bike paths would be beneficial is on the side of the road. In many areas on campus, there are no bike lanes on the side of the road, which forces students to bike in the road or on the sidewalk. This can be dangerous because the students biking must try to avoid pedestrians as well as cars.
Not all roads have this problem however. Many roads on campus have a lane for bikes; the only problem is that there is nothing separating the bike area from the road. This can cause problems for bikers at night. It’s no secret that many students like to go out at night and have a good time, but the problem many bikers deal with is when drivers try to be funny by swerving and honking at the bikers late at night. This can cause the bikers to panic and possibly crash. By putting a barrier between bike lanes and roads, bikers will be better protected from these reckless drivers.
When a biker finally navigates his or her way through traffic, they are faced with a new problem: parking the bike. Upon arrival to class, many students have problems finding available bike racks. With such a large percentage of the student population biking to class, finding a spot to park your bike can get rough. Though more bike racks have been added, popular places such as the Ferg are still in need of more bike racks during busy times of the day, like lunch. Many students have had to resort to more creative places to lock up bikes, such as railings, trashcans, and trees. More bike racks at these high-traffic areas could easily ease the problem. Another thing students have to do is park their bike several buildings away from their actual class. This is due to the problem that bike racks are scarce and not located at every building. Putting bike racks in more locations could also ease the crowding, because students will use bike racks closer to their classes, freeing up the ones they would otherwise be using.
These problems may seem complicated, but they have fairly simple solutions. More bike paths and barriers between the paths and the roads will help the bike riders get to their destinations quickly, and more importantly, safely. More bike racks at more locations will ease the congestion and provide more places to park bikes. These complaints are not unfounded, and the solutions are not unreasonable. Thank you for taking the time to hear us out, and we hope you consider the solutions we have offered.
Sincerely,
UA bike riders
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