Bikes
A&M searches for way to end cycle problems
by JERRY MAZE
Battalion Reporter
The climbing price of gasoline has
turned more Texas A&M University
students than ever to bicycles for
transportation.
The resulting increase of bikes on
campus has placed the burden of
solving bicycle traffic problems on
the shoulders ofTexas A&M officials.
Texas A&M’s enrollment hovers
around 30,000. To these belong over
10,000 bicycles that are on campus
every day and are not governed by
any specific rules and regulations.
Dr. Charles Powell, assistant to
the vice president for student ser
vices, said bike riders are required to
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obey regular traffic laws, such as stop
signs, but the laws have not been
enforced on this campus.
In January, Powell traveled to
three western universities of compa
rable size to Texas A&M and, after
studying their bike systems, arrived
at a proposal for the bike traffic prob
lem on this campus.
Powell’s plan calls for closing the
interior of the campus to bicycle traf
fic, putting bike parking lots on the
periphery of the closed area and re
quiring bikers to either park their
bikes in the lots or walk them
through the mall area of campus.
Rules and regulations will be writ
ten, Powell said, and enforcement of
the rules must be provided.
The streets serving as boundaries
for the closed area will be changed to
one-way traffic, making a more orga
nized flow of traffic move counter
clockwise around the campus.
“We hope to put bike riders back
on the streets,” Powell said, “or in
bike lanes, and get them off the side
walks with pedestrians. That simply
will not function."
Powell arrived at his proposal by
viewing the strengths and weaknes
ses of systems at the universities he
visited.
Powell said Arizona State Univer
sity installed bike lanes and moved
parking of cars off campus. This re
lieved the congestion of traffic, but
they were left with a worse problem
than Texas A&M’s because they did
not provide enforcement of their
bike laws — a problem anticipated
for Texas A&M’s proposed system.
The University of California-Santa
Barbara, Powell said, overdid its
plan. He said Texas A&M must be
careful not to gradually develop a
campus cluttered with traffic signs,
barriers and traffic bumps, as was the
case at Santa Barbara.
A plan similar to the one Powell
proposes and one that has been
working effectively since 1967 is at
the University of California-Davis.
He said Davis’s plan reflects much
in depth planning and cooperation
between the university and the city
of Davis.
Lon Ponsford, university bicycle
officer at Davis, said their plan in
volved closing the interior of the
campus to motor vehicles and allow
ing bikes to use streets on the inner
campus.
Elsewhere, Ponsford said, bike
paths were marked on all major
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Texas A&M’s enrollment hovers
around 30,000. To these belong
over 10,000 bicycles that are on
campus every day and are not
governed by any specific rules
and regulations.
streets and designated only for bikes.
Ponsford said enforcement of bike
laws is the most extensive problem
with the plan at Davis — but they
have found an answer.
Ponsford said their police depart
ment is able to enforce the bicycle
laws by having two officers hired
strictly as bicycle officers.
He said the officers were trained
specially for their jobs and are pro
vided with lightweight racing bicy
cles and two-way radios.
Davis is a campus with 18,000
bikes, but Ponsford said officers use
their radio, if offenders run, to call
for assistance and block off the part of
campus the rider is in.
Because of good bikes and equip
ment, Ponsford said the rider is
usually caught, taken to jail and
charged with a misdemeanor for run
ning from the police.
Ponsford said the effects on these
riders are increased because police
records are printed in the newspap
er, which adds to the embarrassment
of the offenders.
Powell said Texas A&M is follow
ing the pattern of Davis by working
with the City of College Station to
intersect University bike lanes with
those of the city.
John Black, College Station traffic
engineer, said, “We need to catch
students where they come off the
campus, get them across busy streets
and onto back streets.”
Ponsford said Davis is a city of ab
out 30,000 where a large number of
residents ride bikes. He said Davis
has well been able to appreciate the
completeness of its city-college bike
lanes.
He said the city has around 100
miles of bike lanes of its own.
Col. Thomas R. Parsons, director
of security and traffic, is skeptical of
the plan and said the only way the
plan will work is for bike riders to
take interest in the problem and go
along with the guidelines proposed
by Powell.
Parsons, speaking across a desk
cluttered with complaints from traf
fic and parking violators, said the
University Police Department does
not have the money or the manpow
er to enforce bike laws.
Much like Davis, Parsons said
Texas A&M’s police department will
need at least one more commis
sioned police officer to serve as
sergeant in charge of bicycles and at
least four or five student helpers.
He said they will also need a truck
to use for impounding bikes and
proper facilities for storing bikes af
ter they are picked up so they are not
stolen.
Ponsford said the operation at
Davis is mostly self-supporting. The
initial money, he said, to set the
sytem up was provided by the Uni
versity. The city also financed its
system.
The Davis police department is
able to maintain its bike program
with funds received from bike reg
istration, fines for parking and traffic
violations and impounding fees,
Ponsford said the registration (tt|
is $4.50 for three years andpai
tickets range from $5 to $10.
He said any bikes that are not rt; j
istered are impounded, even if
have to be cut free of chains. Hi
fine to get a bike out of the poundi|
$4 plus registration.
The Davis department, he sakfi
well able to maintain its program
the revenue from these chargi
The university built Davis’s st»)
age area for impounded bikes,
is a concrete slab with bike racks, H
enclosed by a cyclone fence
barbed wire around the top and
a building for items needingshel
The Texas A&M police dq
ment, Parsons said, presentlyhas
source of funds for enforcing bi
laws.
There is no mandatory registiaft
at this time at Texas A&M
hikes that are impounded mustl place winn
held for 7 months and releasedlt
auction if they are not claimed !
University Police Department
ceives no proceeds from impods
hikes.
If enacted, Powell’s proposal*;
David Smi
ladies take
4-H Food S
Rosson, Hi
zan; and 1
the t
Col. Thomas R. Parsons, dim
tor of security and traffic, sii
the University Police Depot OKLAIK
ment does not have the moiK has signed .
or the manpower to enforcebit ment * or ^
laws. P™ moter ' ,
George (
alleging the
1978 appeal
have advantages for bikers and5 Lewis, kn
police department. recently his
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Mandatory registration of bih out la.m.
will be required. Having bikesdistrict judj.
istered will make it easier to dels | Cunning!
mine the owners of bikes recoveii Whiskey Ri
by officers and the department*, failed to she
have funds for enforcement and* and 21, 197
provement of the bike program. | Cunning!
Powell said studies conducted because Le\
the other universities also sbos club,
some definite advantages totheti;
of parking called for in the prop
He said the rate of bike I
found to decrease significantlyw pf-yt 1/
bikes were parked in a central; 1 ! I lllj
cated area. i ■
The decrease was attributedloi 9 C fl j
hikes being easier to guard tk -
they are parked randomly i
campus.
He also said bike riders w®
found more likely to obey rej
tions and park their bikes in theloS iEIRUT,
the lots are not so close to buildut iti n g broke
The only reason given for thisfl banese arm
suit was that since the lots are# itiamen in
close to buildings and riders» 1 city of Si(
have to walk anyway, they choostl The fighting
leave their bikes in the bike lols irmy trucks <
On the other hand, in lots clostl legade Leb;
buildings it was found that stale: t, local pn
were more likely to park bikes« shes flared
doors and on handicapped rarapsf lanon’s thir
stead of in the lots. th of Beiru
Powell said one goal of the prop! Che shootin
al is to do away with parking a: irs after a
exists in this form around suchbi voy came u
ings as the Commons and the MSI ig th e soutl
Travelers fn
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ebai
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