SA, FE&P install more bike racks on campus

By Jocelyn Wright     3/20/08 7:00pm

The bike racks across campus may be a little less crowded after Facilities, Engineering and Planning installed a total of 215 new slots over spring break. FE&P worked with Brown College senator Patrick McAnaney and Lovett College senator Fiona Adams to determine locations for the new bicycle racks, which will go by the academic buildings and around Rice Stadium. FE&P Communications Manager Susann Glenn said her department had been given $50,000 for additional bike racks in academic, administrative and athletic areas. Glenn said this budget will provide enough racks to hold 335 additional bikes.

McAnaney, a sophomore, said many students left their bikes in unsecured locations because there were not enough racks to secure all the bikes. He said this added to increased bike thefts on campus.

McAnaney said one of the major problems he and Adams, a sophomore, encountered when determining where new bike racks were needed was that most bicycles were not registered. Police Chief Bill Taylor said he estimated only 25 percent of campus bikes are registered. This makes it difficult for FE&P to gauge the need for new bike racks because they do not have an accurate estimate of the number of student bikes. Glenn said determining how many bike racks were needed was difficult because RUPD did not keep track of how many of the registered bicycles were still being used on a regular basis on campus.

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"For the most part, the bike racks currently installed are filled to capacity during peak hours," Glenn said. "This being said, there are underutilized racks."

Glenn said the underutilized bike racks were often near areas where students could lock their bikes to a place that was covered or where signs or rails are closer to the cyclist's destination. Glenn said that although many requests for covered bike racks have been made, there is no plan in place to add this type of bike rack.

McAnaney said the Student Association would be working with Rice University Police Department to increase bicycle registration with the Operation ID program at the colleges.

Glen said the previous campus bike racks held 1,173 bicycles. She said new construction projects on campus will install racks to accommodate 200 more bikes.

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