Bike option can ease parking frustrations
By Daily Bruin Staff
Feb. 3, 1998 9:00 p.m.
Wednesday, February 4, 1998
Bike option can ease parking frustrations
BIKES: More paths, access would give students incentive to
switch to alternative method
On a typical morning at UCLA hundreds of commuters struggle onto
campus searching for a space to park. Aggressive drivers honk their
horns and fight to find the priceless property that we call parking
spaces. If they are lucky, they may actually find a spot. But this
nightmare can be avoided if more students choose to ride their
bikes to campus.
Although a small population, bicyclists are seen all over
campus. Biking is a viable alternative to driving in the following
ways: Bikers need not worry about traffic jams or finding parking
spaces; they get great exercise and can feel good about not
contributing to the thick smog that lingers above. One might even
argue that if UCLA provided adequate trails and paths, biking would
cut down on time spent getting to and from class. With all of these
factors in place, biking has a strong appeal.
The dilemma, however, is that bikers or potential bikers are not
given the opportunity to ride, since Westwood and the UCLA campus
are not too bike-friendly. Although cities promote alternative
means of transportation, they do very little to accommodate these
options. Surrounding streets of UCLA lack bike lanes that provide
safety and convenience to bikers. When biking on city streets,
bicyclists are bombarded by exhaust and are crowded and cut off by
drivers. UCLA bikers arrive on campus only to find that they must
walk their bikes through campus because there’s no path that
intersects the entire campus, and because campus policy forbids
anyone from riding their bikes across campus. The only way to ride
around UCLA is to bike around the perimeter’s surrounding streets.
You can secure your bike to a bike rack located on the edges of
campus; however, it defeats the purpose of getting across campus in
a timely fashion.
Because there are few bike lanes around Westwood, few choose to
ride their bikes. And given the low number of bicyclists,
Transportation Services claims there is no need to create any bike
paths on campus.
If Transportation Services sets an example by making biking more
accessible with the construction of bike paths, others are bound to
follow. Given the option of biking, many people could take
advantage of the opportunity. If there were enough bikers, the
demand for safer and better public access would be heard. UCLA’s
Transportation Services has the opportunity to set a precedent that
could change not only the physical environment of the campus, but
the natural environment as well. With the increased number of
bikers, parking problems may deflate.
If Transportation Services can construct a plan that is
relatively inexpensive and quick, long-term problems such as the
construction of more parking structures and the increased
congestion of traffic can be avoided. If the option is available,
people will seize it. The process of transforming a community’s
mind-set comes from a simple choice that, once taken, proves to be
far more rewarding than the previous option. One must start
somewhere; UCLA can start now, and people will follow.
