By: Sean O’Brien
Assistant Opinion Editor
I don’t drive on campus, for reasons almost as numerous as the miles I don’t drive.
It’s too expensive, and the trips aren’t long enough to justify the gas “my” (parents’) Jeep Liberty would guzzle. So, to cut down on travel time from my townhouse to class, I brought my bike. I’m almost shocked more people don’t resort to this means of transportation.
For one thing, it’s just as quick as a car, and unlike the car, the parking sticker for a bike is absolutely free. I don’t have to loop around the parking lots, looking for the ever-elusive, available spot. I can ride onto campus, burning away the pesky freshman 15 that simply will just not die already, casting my eye around for a convenient bike rack…
…and none are convenient.
This is why I’m only almost shocked. The only negatives I have found in my Bona-biking experience pertain to the bike racks, namely one: The seemingly small number of bike racks, and two: the truly odd placement of said bike racks.
By my count, there is a total of 27 bike racks, of varying size, on campus. According to the university’s website, there are 1,967 undergraduate students currently enrolled, in addition to 505 graduate students.
So, faculty and staff aside, there are 2,500 people who could possibly utilize a bicycle. These 2,500 have to share about 27 (again, by my count) bicycle racks, some of which only have space for six bikes maximum. Six spaces for about 93 potential bike users, not even considering faculty and staff, who also have the ability to ride bikes!
The more you know.
Since so many students still use cars to travel half a mile, bike rack real estate isn’t in the highest demand. Then again, the bike racks are in odd locations, in odd numbers.
For instance, the Magnano Centre boasts two bike racks, both on the Devereux side, one outside Cafe La Verna and one at the main entrance. Falconio Hall has two racks to boast of, located against the wall that faces Hopkins Hall. Hopkins apparently also has two bike racks, in back, occupied by what’s left of the bikes the Health and Wellness Center possesses. Meanwhile, the Richter Center, the place you’d logically expect an athletic vehicle to be, has one bike rack.
One. Singular. Hidden around a corner, between the building and the cars parked outside.
It’s remarkable how well some of these bike racks are hidden, actually. I only discovered the Health and Wellness bikes behind Hopkins Hall because I happened to glance up at the right time as I went by. Parking a bike should not resemble the world’s most sadistic Easter egg hunt.
According to the Maintence Office’s records, there are 32 bike racks located around campus, the locations dictated by certain key factors, able to hold a total of 240 bikes. During the grass-mowing season, the racks must be positioned on concrete slabs, and they are moved about throughout the year to suit the seasonal bike traffic levels. Now that I have a list of where to find these bike racks, I’m certainly going to double-check my count.
Maybe more people would ride bikes in the fair weather seasons if the racks were in more comprehensive areas. Perhaps the bike racks not outside of residence halls could be consolidated into a central area in the main campus. Slap down a slab of concrete and boom, you have a nice little bike rack patio. Sure, it may be an eyesore, but there’s potential to spin it into a positive during admissions tours. I can imagine how the tour would go.
“…And here we have our bike lot, where students and faculty who use bikes to get around have a place to keep them safe. We’re a very active campus here, in fact, why don’t I show you our Richter Center…”
It could work. We do have a bike path, so it’d be good to look prepared to use it.
And maybe if bikes were easier to stash during class, more people would use them. It’s a healthier, more environmentally-friendly and cheaper alternative to – as I said before – driving a half mile at a time while praying for an available spot.
Considering that St. Bonaventure is a very vocally Franciscan campus, it boggles my mind that students are even given the opportunity to waste gas, and money, so frivolously. Last I checked, casual pollution and exorbitant spending weren’t exactly Franciscan values. Quite the opposite, actually.
Regardless, I certainly wouldn’t mind more bikes on campus. Maybe someone else would even be wearing a ridiculous helmet, like me.
obriensp11@bonaventure.edu
