Spartan Daily

Bike Ridership Increasing at SJSU

Junior communications major Michael Lolling major has ridden his bike to campus everyday since he his first week at SJSU.

“I took a trip here before and I noticed it would take me forever to get to class to class,” he said. “Driving here is just atrocious.” Lolling said he gets to places much quicker riding his mountain bike with disk breaks and biking is a much better alternative to the two parking tickets he’s gotten when he has had to drive.

By choosing to bike on campus, Lolling is one of the increasing number of students who have adopted the two-wheeled method of transportation.

Brittany Patterson, Spartan Daily

According to the SJSU Transportation Solutions Fall 2010 Student Commute Survey Report, bike ridership to campus had risen for six consecutive years. In fall of 2010, the survey measured 3.3 percent of the student population, or 1,086 students, biked to SJSU.

Junior studio art major Chris Unger said he has been riding his three-speed bike since he transferred to SJSU this fall.

Types of Bikes

“(I ride) to save on the cost on gas and I don’t have to buy a parking permit to park my car,” he said.

Unger said he locks his bikes near his classes and he hasn’t used the bike cages on campus, but he has considered getting a key.

Campus Programs

According to Otto Melara, commuter coordinator for Transportation Solutions, SJSU believes it’s very important to have a bike friendly campus.

“It’s important to understand that biking is a legitimate mode of transportation,” said. “It also has zero carbon emissions and requires less infrastructure than driving. By having a bike friendly campus you are encouraging people to ride their bikes to school thus reducing congestion, carbon emissions, and parking problems.”

There are six bike cages on campus that are maintained by Transportation Solutions, a part of Associated Students.

Use of the enclosures is free, but students must pay the $10 deposit fee at the general services desk in order to be issued a key.  The deposit is returned when the key is returned. Melara said usage of the cages has been increasing.

“At first we had five cages, but then we had to add anther one,” he said.

Junior animation and illustration major Ross Carlisle said he lives on campus, but rides to one of his classes which is far away. He said he plans to start using the bike enclosures on campus.

“I had my first bike stolen on campus,” he said. “ Someone cut the cord.”

Carlisle said he has since switched to a U-lock, which is harder to cut through.

Transportation Solutions also offers a program called U-lock Exchange.

According to Melara, once a month at certain events that are bicycle oriented, students with a valid identification card can receive a voucher to replace their old lock with a new U-lock.

“We really encourage not only safe locking, but also locking with a U-lock which we feel is a lot safer than locking with a cable lock,” he said.

Although not directly involved or funding the program, SJSU is also participating in the new bike share program between the city of San Jose and VTA according to Melara.

Kathy Clifford works part-time with her husband Chuck Clifford, the owner of Bicycle Express, a bike shop located close to campus on William St. that has been serving the community and SJSU students for over 20 years according to their website.

She said she loves the U-lock exchange program offered by Transportation Solutions.

“Any cable lock can be cut so easily with a tool that you can carry in your pocket,” she said.

Brittany Patterson, Spartan Daily

Work to be Done

Melara said it is important that bike riders are actually able to park their bikes easily on campus.

He said this requires that bicycle racks be placed in convenient locations and that the racks themselves be designed in a manner that enables bikers to lock their bikes properly.

One major concern is that there is no bicycle master plan for SJSU.

“A bicycle master plan addresses how a site wishes to incorporate bike riding and the measures needed to accomplish that goal,” Melara said. “By creating this document or plan, a site can control the flow of bicycles, the network available to bicycles, the parking available to bicycles, and most importantly the rules that bike riders must abide by.”

Lolling said he wishes SJSU would put more install more bike enclosures on campus.

“People are going to steal bikes no matter what,” he said. “Add more places where there are bike set-ups, because most of the set-ups are jammed packed already.”

Theft on Campus

Detective Sgt. Manuel Aguayo, Investigations & Crime Prevention, said as of Oct. 10, there had been 90 bike thefts reported on campus, representing an 11 bike increase over this time last year.

Lacey Benson, a senior environmental studies major, was sitting in the UPD office filing a report for her stolen bike.

"Don't use a cable lock," she said. " I left my bike at school for three weeks because it had a flat tire. It was nice bike. I just bought it."

Sgt. Aguayo said the police department highly suggests that students use a u-lock when locking up their bikes noting that at the end of the semester when UPD has to remove bikes that have been left in the cages they have to use a hydraulic bolt cutter to cut through the u-lock.

According to Sgt. Aquayo, UPD is projecting 120 bike thefts will be reported by the end of the year.

He said surveillance by students on campus is the most effective form of theft prevention.

"Bikes thieves usually work in teams," he said. "We really rely on the fact that we have great people on campus."

Brittany Patterson, Spartan Daily