Spring Break
Ride to raise campus bike awareness
Regina Forker
Issue date: 4/13/05 Section: News
The UConn Bike Plan Support Ride is being held on Thursday starting at 11 a.m. to promote UConn's need for a better bicycle network.
The ride, sponsored by the UConn Institute of Transportation and Engineers (ITE) and the Office of Environmental Policy (OEP), will begin in the Polo Arena Parking Lot on Horsebarn Hill. Maps of the route will be available at the starting point.
The ride is free of charge and open to anyone who wants to participate. In attendance will be the UConn mascot Jonathan though he won't be riding his bike.
He'll be riding in the truck following the bicyclists for safety precautions, "and to make noise," said Jessica Kukielka, an intern at the OEP and a 6th-semester agriculture and economic resources major.
This past fall, approximately 2,100 surveys were collected by ITE to gauge campus attitude toward biking. According to the survey results, 73 percent of respondents supported developing a bike network that would include roads, paths and lanes for bikers and 68 percent supported adding bike racks closer to buildings.
The bike ride is being held in an effort to raise awareness about the plight of bicyclists on campus, Kukielka said.
"This is going to be a very visual event," Kukielka said. "It's going to be in the middle of the day, during peak hours of traffic. If we get a huge group of bicyclists to go around, we can show just where the problems are."
The ride, which Kukielka said will last approximately 30 minutes, is not a strenuous ride and will go through the most congested parts of campus.
According to the Campus Bike Plan web site, the project goals are to, "Raise awareness on campus for the importance of considering alternative transportation ideas, especially in campus and urban settings; demonstrate the demand and need for a bicycling plan for future campus planning; work to influence campus planners to consider developing a bike lane on roads, especially on new North Eagleville Road Extension; and raise awareness of competition problems between bicycles, cars, and pedestrians."
The ride, sponsored by the UConn Institute of Transportation and Engineers (ITE) and the Office of Environmental Policy (OEP), will begin in the Polo Arena Parking Lot on Horsebarn Hill. Maps of the route will be available at the starting point.
The ride is free of charge and open to anyone who wants to participate. In attendance will be the UConn mascot Jonathan though he won't be riding his bike.
He'll be riding in the truck following the bicyclists for safety precautions, "and to make noise," said Jessica Kukielka, an intern at the OEP and a 6th-semester agriculture and economic resources major.
This past fall, approximately 2,100 surveys were collected by ITE to gauge campus attitude toward biking. According to the survey results, 73 percent of respondents supported developing a bike network that would include roads, paths and lanes for bikers and 68 percent supported adding bike racks closer to buildings.
The bike ride is being held in an effort to raise awareness about the plight of bicyclists on campus, Kukielka said.
"This is going to be a very visual event," Kukielka said. "It's going to be in the middle of the day, during peak hours of traffic. If we get a huge group of bicyclists to go around, we can show just where the problems are."
The ride, which Kukielka said will last approximately 30 minutes, is not a strenuous ride and will go through the most congested parts of campus.
According to the Campus Bike Plan web site, the project goals are to, "Raise awareness on campus for the importance of considering alternative transportation ideas, especially in campus and urban settings; demonstrate the demand and need for a bicycling plan for future campus planning; work to influence campus planners to consider developing a bike lane on roads, especially on new North Eagleville Road Extension; and raise awareness of competition problems between bicycles, cars, and pedestrians."