Duke Bikes still rolling

Students looking to avoid a cramped bus now have more opportunities to get around via bicycle, thanks to the Office of Student Activities and Facilities’expansion of the Duke Bikes program. In adding 50 new bikes to its stock of bicycles available for rent to the Duke community, OSAF has met students’ demand for another way to get around.

Originally conceived as a way to provide bicycles free of charge to students for up to a month, the success of the Duke Bikes program is the result of the enthusiastic participation of the student body. The decision to add new bikes was in response to student demand, which had outstripped the supply of bikes to the point that students had been turned away daily.

There are multiple benefits to the increased bike usage OSAF’s program is intended to stimulate. Students riding bikes to and from campus are not using cars, helping to decrease congestion on and around the University’s main arteries. Substituting motor vehicles helps eliminate pollution and emissions, an important step towards achieving campus sustainability initiatives.

Convenience is another important factor. Especially for students who need to navigate across the University’s different campuses, the rhythms of a bus schedule may not be conducive to timely arrivals. Even for students who have cars, the campus’ byzantine parking rules make the prospect of getting to class on time much more difficult. The ease of transportation by bicycle combined with the presence of bike racks across campus provides for a useful alternative for students on a tight schedule.

Encouraging and facilitating bicycle use can help connect parts of campus that have traditionally felt isolated, such as Central Campus. The University acted wisely in expanding bus service to Central. Making bicycle transportation safer and more convenient should help promote more unity among Duke’s three campuses.

Recently, the City of Durham was commended for its “bike-friendliness” by the League of American Bicyclists. This honor highlights both the safety of Durham’s streets for cyclists and its easily accessible trails, such as the American Tobacco Trail. Students who may not be inspired to venture into Durham by foot or bus now have added incentive to experience the city by traversing its streets and paths on two wheels.

Within the confines of campus, the miles of natural trails found in the Duke Forest provide a beautiful setting for students to take their newly rented OSAF bikes for a ride. Duke students are fortunate to enjoy a beautiful climate and a lush North Carolina geography almost year-round, and bicycles provide another way to take advantage of the natural wonders of the state.

Among the multitude of budget challenges currently facing the University, stimulating bicycle use is probably not among the most pressing. But simple steps can be taken to improve the University’s accessibility and safety for cyclists. Relatively easy, cost-efficient steps include adding more bike racks, maintaining existing bicycle paths and ensuring that paths in between campuses are well-lit and secure. And as more new projects are undertaken, the University should keep the interests of bicyclists in mind.