2008 Woodie Awards
Officials consider building campus-wide bike paths
Issue date: 4/11/08 Section: News
Hailey Kercheval
Staff writer
Some students who walk to class may know the clicking sound of a bike chain all too well.
Some report incidents with reckless bicycle riders who speed around campus, swerving and dodging pedestrians left and right. Because of this need for a definite bike path around Murray State's campus is being examined by the Student Government Association.
"All around the residential colleges I see full bike racks, and know that there is a significant population of students that have bikes," SGA?President Eric King said. "To accommodate the needs of (students who ride bikes) we need an organization or structure to get riders through crowds going to and from classes."
The principle goal of a campus bike path would be to keep pedestrians out of danger and help the flow of both pedestrian and biker traffic, King said.
"Even if it is a sidewalk that bikers could use and that is accessible to them, the danger to pedestrians would be reduced," he said.
James Combs, a junior civil engineering major from Newburgh, Ind., and president of the Murray State cycling team, echoed King's sentiments.
"I see a need for bike paths on campus because pedestrians don't like people on bikes, while riders think pedestrians get in the way, and both have to share the same space," Combs said.
If pedestrian and bike traffic were divided, it would allow riders to get to their destinations faster without having to worry about pedestrians getting in the way and potentially getting hurt, Combs said.
Beyond merely on-campus bike paths, some students said they want to see bicycle lanes around town.
"If you have an infrastructure specifically for this purpose, more people are likely to be bike riding," Taylor March, a freshman environmental engineering major from St. Louis, Mo., and member of the cycling team said. "For example, they would see the structure is there on roads and at stop lights."
Combs said people who choose to ride bikes both in town and on campus save a significant amount of gas, money and time.
The fact that bike riders may not feel safe on the roads is a hindrance, Combs said.
"I think more people would be encouraged to ride bikes if there were designated paths," Combs said. "Especially going to campus from apartments in town, biking is quicker and more environmentally friendly than driving. I would say that bike paths to campus and off of campus are more important."
King said a task force may be formed in the near future, eventually becoming a permanent operation toward having a more bicycle-friendly campus.
"Student input is very important in this matter," King said. "I would like to get the cycling team involved in some aspects of the process, as well as the common student who uses their bike to get to class. We want to take care of the needs where they are actually happening, and that is what we are doing here."
Hailey Kercheval can be reached at hailey.kercheval@murraystate.
edu.
Staff writer
Some students who walk to class may know the clicking sound of a bike chain all too well.
Some report incidents with reckless bicycle riders who speed around campus, swerving and dodging pedestrians left and right. Because of this need for a definite bike path around Murray State's campus is being examined by the Student Government Association.
"All around the residential colleges I see full bike racks, and know that there is a significant population of students that have bikes," SGA?President Eric King said. "To accommodate the needs of (students who ride bikes) we need an organization or structure to get riders through crowds going to and from classes."
The principle goal of a campus bike path would be to keep pedestrians out of danger and help the flow of both pedestrian and biker traffic, King said.
"Even if it is a sidewalk that bikers could use and that is accessible to them, the danger to pedestrians would be reduced," he said.
James Combs, a junior civil engineering major from Newburgh, Ind., and president of the Murray State cycling team, echoed King's sentiments.
"I see a need for bike paths on campus because pedestrians don't like people on bikes, while riders think pedestrians get in the way, and both have to share the same space," Combs said.
If pedestrian and bike traffic were divided, it would allow riders to get to their destinations faster without having to worry about pedestrians getting in the way and potentially getting hurt, Combs said.
Beyond merely on-campus bike paths, some students said they want to see bicycle lanes around town.
"If you have an infrastructure specifically for this purpose, more people are likely to be bike riding," Taylor March, a freshman environmental engineering major from St. Louis, Mo., and member of the cycling team said. "For example, they would see the structure is there on roads and at stop lights."
Combs said people who choose to ride bikes both in town and on campus save a significant amount of gas, money and time.
The fact that bike riders may not feel safe on the roads is a hindrance, Combs said.
"I think more people would be encouraged to ride bikes if there were designated paths," Combs said. "Especially going to campus from apartments in town, biking is quicker and more environmentally friendly than driving. I would say that bike paths to campus and off of campus are more important."
King said a task force may be formed in the near future, eventually becoming a permanent operation toward having a more bicycle-friendly campus.
"Student input is very important in this matter," King said. "I would like to get the cycling team involved in some aspects of the process, as well as the common student who uses their bike to get to class. We want to take care of the needs where they are actually happening, and that is what we are doing here."
Hailey Kercheval can be reached at hailey.kercheval@murraystate.
edu.
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