By Evan Sorce, Transportation Projects Coordinator at the Student Sustainability Initiative
With winter in the rear view mirror, spring is upon us. This means more members of the OSU community will take advantage of the nice weather and bike lanes, leave their cars at home and commute on bike. Â Commuting by bicycle is beneficial for many reasons; not only does it reduce traffic, save the rider gas and parking money, but it is great exercise. A male that weighs 180 pounds riding under 10 miles per hour can expect to burn 327 calories per hour.
The city of Corvallis has had an active alternative transportation culture. According to the city, 97 percent of Corvallis’ main roads have bicycle lanes on them. The city of Corvallis also has the highest rate of commuting by bike in the country. This culture has spread to the OSU campus. In fact in a recent survey the university reported that 40 percent Oregon State University employees ride the bus, walk or bike to work. Similarly students follow the same pattern with 30 percent biking and more than half using alternative forms of transportation.
Over the past year the Student Sustainability Initiative in partnership with the OSU Sustainability Office have been working on making the campus even more bicycle friendly. We have installed over 600 more bike parking spots with another around campus and are installing signs reminding motor vehicles to share the roads with bicyclists. The Student Sustainability Initiative and the Department of Recreational Sports are working together to provide a long term bicycle rental option to the OSU Community. The project is in its final stages of development and will likely be available September of 2012.
As the OSU Administration, the SSI, and Dixon Recreation center continue to work to make bicycle commuting easier and more convenient for members of the OSU community, we hope to see more people take advantage of it. So what are you waiting for? Grab some friends and dust the cobwebs off your bike. Commuting by bicycle is a fun way to enjoy the sun, get some exercise, and do your part to protect the environment all at the same time.
Be Well. Be Orange.
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I am a bike commuter and encourage everyone I know to bike commute because the benefits, outlined nicely in this article, are tremendous. While I applaud the efforts by OSU and the city of Corvallis to increase the bicycle friendliness of the city and campus, I feel the issue of bike security is unaddressed. While I have never had my bike stolen, I have heard many stories of people’s locked bikes being stolen in the middle of the day. Having one’s bike stolen creates of feeling of dissatisfaction with the community as well as creates fewer bike commuters, as one may feel apathy towards biking if they feel their new bike will just get stolen again or if a new bike cannot be obtained for financial reasons. I would like to see some efforts by the community and campus to increase security and also inform the public and how to spot and resolve possible bike thefts.
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