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First Wave Of BYU Bike Friendliness: Closing Roads and Sharing Bikes

 

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BYU has not always been known for being the most bike friendly campus around. There have been movements and proposed movements over the years that would actually suggest that the campus was unsupportive of bicyclists and bicycles in general but, that is all about to change. BYU has announced two incredible projects that will increase the ease in which students can use bicycles not only on and around campus but also in and around our wonderful little city (Thank you Phil for the tip off). The first announcement has been in the works for a while and was fist officially announced yesterday. BYU will be closing Campus Drive to cars and opening it up entirely to pedestrian traffic! The plan is for the campus to piggy back on the construction that has been on 900 E starting this spring. The whole process is planned to be completed in 2015 and will yield a more ‘beautiful’ and ‘unified’ campus not to mention more options and reasons to walk/ride to campus. There are also potential plans of expanding student housing and making it car free! Do not worry if you use the bus as BYU is working closely with UTA to keep everything flowing smoothly.

To add to this incredible new environment that BYU is producing they have also begun a Bike Sharing program on campus! Students at BYU are now able to contact Outdoors Unlimited and rent bicycles for a term or a full semester. The rentals are very affordable at $15 or $30 a semester, and include a lock as well as maintenance when ever it is needed. The only thing I can add to an already awesome deal is that the students renting the bikes also get some sort of how to ride in Provo information so they obey the rules to the road. This rental program will be a great benefit for students who do not bring cars to campus and want to test out the waters or riding around before they commit. It will also help students get on a little bit nicer bike than they may be able to afford letting them enjoy and appreciate riding around instead of dreading it or having to worry about riding around on something that is broken and squeaky. If you can not tell from all the exclamation points I think that both of these programs will enhance student life by increasing transportation options and promoting healthy alternatives as well as our city in general, by setting great models in road design, and by getting more people on bikes. Way to go BYU!

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3 comments

  1. Right now the _only_ place on campus you can conveniently ride a bike is on the roads (the sidewalks are overrun with pedestrians and illegal for biking during passing periods). If they turn Campus Drive into a pedestrian zone, then campus will be even less friendly to cycling than it is now.

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