Bicycle etiquette reviewed

By Johanna Ohm     9/14/11 7:00pm

Cyclists all around campus were reminded to "Bell or Yell" and obey other general traffic rules while riding around the inner loop this week.

Large black and yellow signs advertising Bicycle Awareness Week have been posted on corners and along walkways since Monday, displaying simple slogans to remind bikers to ride safely and be respectful of pedestrians.

The awareness week, which ends on Sunday, began Monday, Sept.12 as an initiative by Rice's Bicycle Safety Committee. The committee sought to promote better biking etiquette on campus and hopes that the week will lead to an improvement in biking related accidents or injuries by making people more conscious of the rules of the road.

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The committee began organizing the event this past summer after concluding that a growing student body and an increase in pedestrian and bicycle traffic on campus have potential for greater traffic related dangers and generate concern over commuter safety on campus.

"When the committee reconvened this summer, we thought the best way to use our time and raise awareness was to have a whole week dedicated to bicycle safety," Director of Energy and Sustainability Richard Johnson said. "We wanted to saturate campus with signs that communicate safety tips and strategically place them around campus."

In addition to the signs that have dotted campus this week, the committee has also filmed a short three minute video on the dos-and-don'ts of biking on campus. The video, posted on the "Bikes at Rice" website, provides a quick guide to basic biking courtesy via skits with Sammy the Owl. The video also reminds students to register bikes with Rice University Police Department in the event that it may be easier to find a registered bike if stolen.

It is Johnson's hope that the week's events and the increased enforcement of biking rules will foster a better biking community on campus.

"What would be wonderful would be when a freshman comes to campus and they see pedestrians and bikers on campus and hearing ‘Bike on your left!' or ‘Watch to the right!' and thinking that they are in a community with respectful bicycle traffic. It creates a better community and freshmen then will seek to emulate the upperclassmen, continuing a trend toward a safer campus."

Johnson said he has received nothing but positive feedback throughout the week. RUPD officer and fellow Committee member Alejandra Adames was one grateful voice who thanked Johnson in an email for his efforts and said she has already noticed a positive change in bicycle behavior.

For more information on Bicycle Awareness Week visit the "Bikes at Rice" website located at http://www.rice.edu/bikesatrice/.

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