Advocacy & Safety - our (absurd) new proposed college campus bicycle policy

My question is, do any other school campuses have comparable policies?

This is at the university of arkansas, fayetteville btw

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Bicycles parked on campus must be registered with the Transit and Parking Department and must display a valid UA bicycle permit. The decal must be permanently affixed by the manufacturer’s adhesive to the front of the vertical seat tube, below the horizontal bar. Bicycle permits cost $15 and are valid for as long as the permit holder owns the bicycle. One third of the permit fee will be used to fund the bicycle permit program, one third to install and maintain bicycle racks on campus, and one third to help fund the Razorbikes program.
Unregistered bicycles will be tagged, and the owner will have two weeks to register the bicycle. Bicycles remaining unregistered two weeks after being tagged will be impounded or immobilized. Bicycles remaining immobilized for one week will be impounded.

Bicycles are subject to all state and local motor vehicle laws pertaining to street travel. Bicycles must be parked only at bicycle racks and must be secured with a commercially available lock to prevent theft. Unsecured bicycles will be immobilized or impounded.
Bicycles secured to handrails, trees, or any location other than designated bicycle racks are subject to being impounded or mobilized. Bicycle security devices may be removed by whatever means necessary to impound the bicycle. The university will not be held liable to the owner of this device for the cost of repair or replacement of such device. Bicycles may not be parked, stored, or left standing in the lobby, hallway, or room of any building except in designated bicycle rooms in residence halls. Bicycles parked improperly will be cited for Parking in an area not designated as a parking area, currently a $20 fine.

Impounded bicycles will be held for 60 calendar days before they are added to the Razorbikes fleet or turned over Surplus Property for sale. Transit and Parking will contact the owner of a registered impounded bicycle at the address, phone and e-mail on the bicycle registration record within two working days of impoundment.
Bicycles will be identified as abandoned if the bicycle is not registered and is missing a major component such as pedals, handlebars, or chain and/or has flat tires. Once identified as abandoned, the owner will have two weeks to register the bike and make it operable or the bike is subject to being impounded.

Claiming an impounded bicycle requires registering the bicycle, providing proof of ownership (a sales receipt will suffice) or providing make, model, color, and location at the time of impoundment; providing the owner's name and ID and sign a statement of receipt as well as payment of all citations and fees on the bicycle. There will be a $10 charge for the return of an impounded bicycle or the removal of an immobilization device.

A list of impounded bicycles shall be posted on the Transit and Parking webpage at: http://parking.uark.edu for a minimum of 60 days.

Transit and Parking will have u-locks available for sale at cost to owners of registered bicycles. One lock will be sold per registered bicycle.

Looks like micromanagement. What's the car policy like?

I don't see the problem.

Meh. My campus is centered around the park. There is inner ring road, kind of narrow, which circles the park, then there are building, outer ring road, and more buildings. Bikes are prohibited on the outer ring road, but not golf carts, unicycles, and segways (you heard me). You can only ride them on inner ring road that has these narrow "bike" lanes and usually clogged with students, while much wider outer ring road is usually less traveled.

Looks like micromanagement. What's the car policy like?

Also discrimination towards cyclists. The cost to maintain the parking lots on the campus, far exceed, any cost incurred as a result of a bike.

Their policy is hostile towards cyclists.

Also discrimination towards cyclists. The cost to maintain the parking lots on the campus, far exceed, any cost incurred as a result of a bike.

Their policy is hostile towards cyclists.

Yeah, but typically fees for a car are $40+ a semester, this is $15 for as long as you have your bike.


Stop complaining, chip into the fact that bike infrastructure costs money.

Overall, it looks pretty reasonable to me.

My only qualm would be with the mandatory bicycle permit sticker. The decals are usually impossible to remove at a later date once affixed to the frame, and they're usually rather ugly. That's just me though, I hate stickers on my bike frames.

That does seem a little strict, but not completely unreasonable. Certainly, requiring bikes to be parked in appropriate places only is to be expected-- there are liability issues, for example, if a bike is locked to a railing on a wheelchair ramp.

The requirement that bikes be registered is a little draconian-- at my university, it's an opt-in thing. Registration puts your bike in a database that can be referred to later in the case of theft. Also, if they do remove your improperly locked bike, they have your contact info and can tell you about it. $15 for lifetime registration doesn't seem too horrible.

just keep it in your room. then you dont have to pay and it is not subject to theft/weather. and you can piss your roommate off by leaving dirt tracks from the door to under your bed

Back when I graduated, San Diego State had an even worse policy. No bikes on campus.

They have since realized the error of their ways, but for a while there... it was a bike free campus... with overcrowded parking structures.

Meh. My campus is centered around the park. There is inner ring road, kind of narrow, which circles the park, then there are building, outer ring road, and more buildings. Bikes are prohibited on the outer ring road, but not golf carts, unicycles, and segways (you heard me). You can only ride them on inner ring road that has these narrow "bike" lanes and usually clogged with students, while much wider outer ring road is usually less traveled.

My son never bothered to bring his bike to campus in southern California because bikes there are only allowed to be ridden on the perimeter road around the 385 acre campus. You are forced to walk your bike anywhere else or face a stiff fine.

Ah ****, I go there to.

Well chances of this being enforced are slim to none, I still see scooters parked at racks all the time. My only issue is the sticker, why do I want to ruin nice paint job with a damn sticker and why can't I just place it on my u-lock?

Looks pretty good to me, except for the part about ruining the paint.

The policies look like they're aimed at reducing reckless riding, which I think is a great idea. I tell you, it's bad enough that drivers and pedestrians don't look out for cyclists, but when other cyclists don't, it's infuriating and mind-boggling. I think such policies are great. In the end, the more bikes are registered and protected and the more cyclists are educated, the better.

It costs this school $12,000 to build parking spaces and students pay transit fees even though the buses are free to anyone to use. Now I gotta ruin my paint job.

And why is it funding razorbikes? Have not all of those been trashed or stolen by now? I saw a few last semester but this semester they are all gone.

"Located near or on the handlebars in a clearly-visible manner."

^
This would make far more sense. Essentially allows one to hang the decal off a tag fitted from the handlebar stem binder.

For that matter, need I mention that it is conceivable that an extremely active commuter might run out of headtube before he/she runs out of permit decals that are supposedly "required" to be placed on it? Consider the following hypothetical situation:

Campus permit,
Bus permit for transit agency in one county,
Light rail permit (trams, elevated commuter rail, or underground),
Rail permit (full-scale passenger rail),
Bus permit for a second country transit agency,
Permit for parking in business building where student works.

Six permits, all of which are required to be affixed to your headtube. How about if you own more then one bicycle? Screwed.

Come to think of it - has the university also provided non-decal bike parking for cycle commuters visiting the campus? I doubt it.

Incidentally, I've made it a point to use a piece of styrene affixed to a Cat-Eye quick-release taillight mount for the local rail transit agency - not only is it transferable between machines, it doesn't damage anything in the least bit. Granted, it isn't secure enough for long-term parking, but it works for when you're with the bike at most times:

http://www.jaysmarine.com/TRCX_bikepermit.jpg

That said though, I've never seen the point in bicycle permits for transit agencies (I don't need a permit to bring my sorry @$$ onboard, only a ticket showing that I've paid my fare. Why should a bicycle be subjected to it?), except for the usual fact that it gives them yet another method to harass you with.

-Kurt

P.S.: I have the same beef with window/bumper stickers for vehicles on such campuses. I'd like to meet the person who came up with what is, essentially, mandating bumper stickers on your vehicle. It is as if rear-view mirror hang tags never existed.

stickers are easier to be spotted than mirror hangers for officers.

decals can be easily removed with goo-gone, a hairdryer, and a credit card. if you're careful, there will not be any scratches.

I would be ok with this policy since it [supposedly] will fund more bike racks. The university that I attended had a similar policy - it was not a hassle.

stickers are easier to be spotted than mirror hangers for officers.

decals can be easily removed with goo-gone, a hairdryer, and a credit card. if you're careful, there will not be any scratches.

I would be ok with this policy since it [supposedly] will fund more bike racks. The university that I attended had a similar policy - it was not a hassle.

It is not equitable. The parking fees sure as hell do not pay for the parking decks they have built, at 12,000 per spot. So why are we to give them money for a piece of bent steel and a bike sharing program no one with a bike will use? I mean they charge $50 a month for parking and each parking spot is $12,000 that means it will take 20 years for a spot to pay off! Why don't us cyclists get to pay 1/20th of the cost?

stickers are easier to be spotted than mirror hangers for officers.

Let them put some effort into their work, and require back-in parking.

That way, you'll eliminate lazy bums from the payroll, and simultaneously force drivers to learn how to park correctly.


So why are we to give them money for a piece of bent steel

Which will no doubt be sloppily bolted to the ground or the wall, as opposed to being bolted and cemented over.

Murphy is always hard at work.

-Kurt

The University of Texas at Austin had a very similar policy 12-22 years ago while I was there. The only significant difference is that registration was free. (Though personally, $15 doesn't seem so bad, especially since all the money is supposed to go to supporting cycling on campus.)

In any event, seems reasonable enough to me. Hopefully the enforcement is lax enough that if a bicycle is a bit different (like being a 'bent) they won't freak out that the sticker isn't in the designated place (because it doesn't exist.) At least at UT, the main purpose of the registration was to help return stolen bikes. (The conspiracy theorists said it was to be able to ID you if you refused to provide ID when being stopped, but I doubt that. UTPD was generally pretty good, though they were nazis about (car) parking.)

(Also, UT stamped your drivers license number into your bottom bracket. I don't recall if they let you opt out of this or not.)

As for the locks they sell, I'd suggest skipping them, or using it as a supplementary lock. Or buy it, and trade it with a friend a few thousand miles away. They're not going to get the best locks available to keep the cost down, and if half the bikes on campus have identical locks then the thieves will get plenty of experience breaking those exact locks and will be carrying exactly the right tools.

Also, UT stamped your drivers license number into your bottom bracket. I don't recall if they let you opt out of this or not.

Hell, fine with me - IF they would do the same on the hood of the Bentley belonging to the president of the University.

-Kurt

Let them put some effort into their work, and require back-in parking.

That way, you'll eliminate lazy bums from the payroll, and simultaneously force drivers to learn how to park correctly.

-Kurt

mirror hangers can also be transfered to friends. stickers cannot.

"hey im going to drive to over to campus. can I borrow your parking thing?"

"sure bro. it's hanging in my car."

P.S.: I have the same beef with window/bumper stickers for vehicles on such campuses. I'd like to meet the person who came up with what is, essentially, mandating bumper stickers on your vehicle. It is as if rear-view mirror hang tags never existed.

Agreed.

My apartment complex mandates a sticker in the rear window. Problem? My car has tinted rear windows... sorry, but I'm not damaging my tint to park where I live.

Solution? I mounted the sticker on a hang tag and always back into my spot. No problems yet.

"Sorry I'm late to class, but there wasn't a bike to be found at the bikeshare rack."

Guess they need money

Sticker and the "lock or lose" policy might cut down on bike thefts, which are common on most college campuses.

This doesn't sound like an onerous policy. I would, however, find some way to keep that sticker off my bicycle. Some of those are super-sticky and hard to remove.

Make you a mount of some kind, and stick it to that.

Penn State requires you to register every year, which is a PITA, and a waste of time. At least you can do it online now. Changing the decal is the worst part, those things are tenacious. The other policies are similar, but you can attach your bike to anything as long as you aren't impeding a handicapped ramp. They seem to recognize there is a shortage of bike parking, they have committed to building covered parking spaces. Parking spaces here are said to cost $20k. Doesn't surprise me, there is no land left on campus, they have to build garages. Parking permits are on the order of $40 a month, and anyone that isn't retirement age or bringing in millions in grants is walking 15 minutes from their car.

I'm not really sure why cars are still allowed on central campus. The problem is that the campus messes up the traffic flow around town so badly that drivers think they save time driving through campus. They have closed down a couple of roads, which I thought was a bad idea at the time, now I think it was a half measure.

Actually, I wish they would collect bikes more often. There is a bike that has been parked out front of my work for months now. I don't see the point. They will round it up in june, I'm sure. They have a roundup after school is out, and then they sell the bikes every spring. Most of the bikes are fairly dinged up, but there are some expensive bikes sold. I'd be really mad if that was my kid.

My university has no such regulations, but many of the bike racks are attached to NOTHING. They just sit there like road barriers. The local Walmart's racks are also loose. Someone with a pickup truck and a couple of helping hands could just take their work home with them.

The campus also has a "secure" bike locking facility, access for which costs $15 a year, I think. Not only is it open to observation from any passers-by (being out of doors), but it's also set back from the lighted path through that area, so that only people who actually feel like it walk past (not very many). It's also unsurveiled, the magnetically locked door was frequently ajar, from tampering or malfunction, and YOU CAN BUY AN ACCESS CARD FOR FIFTEEN BUCKS!

Penn State requires you to register every year, which is a PITA, and a waste of time. At least you can do it online now. Changing the decal is the worst part, those things are tenacious. The other policies are similar, but you can attach your bike to anything as long as you aren't impeding a handicapped ramp. They seem to recognize there is a shortage of bike parking, they have committed to building covered parking spaces. Parking spaces here are said to cost $20k. Doesn't surprise me, there is no land left on campus, they have to build garages. Parking permits are on the order of $40 a month, and anyone that isn't retirement age or bringing in millions in grants is walking 15 minutes from their car.

I'm not really sure why cars are still allowed on central campus. The problem is that the campus messes up the traffic flow around town so badly that drivers think they save time driving through campus. They have closed down a couple of roads, which I thought was a bad idea at the time, now I think it was a half measure.

Actually, I wish they would collect bikes more often. There is a bike that has been parked out front of my work for months now. I don't see the point. They will round it up in june, I'm sure. They have a roundup after school is out, and then they sell the bikes every spring. Most of the bikes are fairly dinged up, but there are some expensive bikes sold. I'd be really mad if that was my kid.

PSU is fairly lax about mandating the bike registration, thankfully. I've got 3 bikes up here, and only one is registered (expired registration, too). The only time they'll really nab you for no registration, is if you're pulled over for riding at night with no lights. ;)

As far as campus traffic goes, though, it is horrible. I can walk from the bus stop on College ave., and beat the Blue Loop to the stop at the SoVA/Borland buildings.

Hell, fine with me - IF they would do the same on the hood of the Bentley belonging to the president of the University.Well, now that I think about it, it must have been optional, but as for stamping it on the hood, on the bottom of the Bentley's frame, under the car, would be more analogous.

In any event, VIN numbers are tracked far better than bicycle serial numbers, though the campus police could just keep a database of bicycle serial numbers as easily as stamping DL numbers on frames ...

UT also wasn't terribly pushy about registering your bike. If they found an unregistered one, they'd put a note on it. Eventually I guess they'd add another lock to the bike or cut yours off and impound it, but I don't think they ever did that just for not being registered. But they were pretty serious about bikes not locked in bike racks ...

PSU is fairly lax about mandating the bike registration, thankfully. I've got 3 bikes up here, and only one is registered (expired registration, too). The only time they'll really nab you for no registration, is if you're pulled over for riding at night with no lights. ;)
The first week of school, they used to stop people riding on Pollack and register them on the spot. I've got 2 registered bikes and 5? not. I've only heard of one bike nabbed by the cops for a parking violation here: the bike was locked to a handicapped ramp back when that was a hanging offense. Now they only will do that if the bike is an obstruction.

The post above mine just reminded me of the Penn State bike roundup procedure. They put a hang tag on the bike warning it is going to be impounded in 2 weeks. You see a lot of the usual suspects with this tag for the entire two weeks, and then the bike is gone. Don't think the owners really care at that point.

Ah ****, I go there to.

Well chances of this being enforced are slim to none, I still see scooters parked at racks all the time. My only issue is the sticker, why do I want to ruin nice paint job with a damn sticker and why can't I just place it on my u-lock?

ah but they do ticket scooters for improper parking, that is why you rarely see them parked randomly anymore, at least in my experience.

i think they are really sore about all the stupid parking decks the keep building and not filling up.

i just hope they don't restrict on-campus riding, the emphasis on motor vehicle status seems to allow for that. at upenn in phila security would insist that you get off your bike sometimes and walk it

theres a few razorbikes around (communal bikes), bike city recyclery is keepin em up


the funny thing about this is, i swear that there arent more than 50-70 daily riders on the whole damn campus. there are alot of freshman who might ride sometimes before leaving them to die on the racks by the dorms.

Well, now that I think about it, it must have been optional, but as for stamping it on the hood, on the bottom of the Bentley's frame, under the car, would be more analogous.

Except that the frame of a bicycle is it's attractive body shell, unlike a motor vehicle.

"Break out the number die stamps, boys - we've got a Bentley to brand."
http://static.zoovy.com/img/usfreight/W400-H400-Bffffff/3/36letterdieset.jpg

-Kurt

Maybe you should go and propose better tagging as opposed to just rant about it?

Oh but that would be work.

Maybe you should go and propose better tagging as opposed to just rant about it?

Oh but that would be work.

A&S exists for people - who have no intentions of actively advocating cycling - to rant about cycling advocacy.

Excuse me while I talk up some more hot air in another thread.

-Kurt

Could help reduce theft. How terrible is the ID? If it's just a decal it would be fine with me. When someone steals my bike they'll either have to ride it with my ID; making it clear that it's mine. Or they'll have to put their own on; making it clear that they've committed a crime if I can prove it's my bike.

A&S exists for people - who have no intentions of actively advocating cycling - to rant about cycling advocacy.

Excuse me while I talk up some more hot air in another thread.

-Kurt

So quit coming here.

the funny thing about this is, i swear that there arent more than 50-70 daily riders on the whole damn campus. there are alot of freshman who might ride sometimes before leaving them to die on the racks by the dorms.

Well the concept of self propelled motion does not exist in Arkansas, especially when the campus is on a hill. Now the inalienable right to a pick up truck and a cheap parking spot, that is Arkansas.

I just wrote UARK transit denouncing the purposed program, the percentage going to razorbikes and parking as well as the sticker, comparing the former two to the cost of automobiles and how their fees are not used for anything but paying for more parking. But I did support the at cost u lock program and cost of operation fees.

So quit coming here.

I haven't found a single participant of this forum who does not fit the description I provided above.

I'm here only to add to the irony. http://www.gsn.com/buzz/images/smilies/devil.gif

-Kurt

Overall, it looks pretty reasonable to me.

My only qualm would be with the mandatory bicycle permit sticker. The decals are usually impossible to remove at a later date once affixed to the frame, and they're usually rather ugly. That's just me though, I hate stickers on my bike frames.

On many college campuses theft is a major problem. The locking device rule seems to indicate this is a problem there. Manditory registration is also a way to fight theft.

On many college campuses theft is a major problem. The locking device rule seems to indicate this is a problem there. Manditory registration is also a way to fight theft.

Your point being, Herr Armchair Theorist?

-Kurt

Also discrimination towards cyclists. The cost to maintain the parking lots on the campus, far exceed, any cost incurred as a result of a bike.

Their policy is hostile towards cyclists.

How so? Why are parking regulations and a very nominal fee to support the system discrimination? If you were to tell me that there were no regulations or fees associated with cars, I might agree, but I just can't see it.

Not that it would be a problem in that area, but in other places campuses are visited daily by persons on bicycles not attending yet have legitimate business on the campus. The threat of having your bicycle tampered with, being marked, or immobilized by security should be more readily addressed than the tagging solution described in the policy. Addressed in such a way that visitors are not penalized, charged an excessive amount ($15 is an excessive amount for a visitor, it is unlikely a motor vehicle visitor pays as much while using far more resource) or forced to walk an excessive distance on campus because of the policy.

it's okay but for that, and that it is an idiots manner of addressing a non-issue. Proceeds from the sale of abandoned bicycles would generate as much revenue given that the administrative burden would be dramatically reduced. Ignorant make work by someone with underwear 3 sizes too small.

Not that it would be a problem in that area, but in other places campuses are visited daily by persons on bicycles not attending yet have legitimate business on the campus. The threat of having your bicycle tampered with, being marked, or immobilized by security should be more readily addressed than the tagging solution described in the policy. Addressed in such a way that visitors are not penalized, charged an excessive amount ($15 is an excessive amount for a visitor, it is unlikely a motor vehicle visitor pays as much while using far more resource) or forced to walk an excessive distance on campus because of the policy.

it's okay but for that, and that it is an idiots manner of addressing a non-issue. Proceeds from the sale of abandoned bicycles would generate as much revenue given that the administrative burden would be dramatically reduced. Ignorant make work by someone with underwear 3 sizes too small.

If I read it right if you get caught without tags all you get is a notice to get them within 2 weeks. Even if you get the notice the very first time you park on campus that means a maximum of $15 for 2 times on campus. That makes it cheaper than visitor parking most places I have been. Far cheaper if you are in fact on campus even once a week.

I don't see the problem.


Me either. Did I miss something?

Me either. Did I miss something?

Well if the car drivers to the University are only expected to pay 1/20th the cost of their spaces, even though with a free bus system and limited space available they should be charged a sin tax.

With this proposal, cyclists are expected:
-To pay a much greater portion of the cost for some not so good racks.
-Subsidize a form a transit they will never use.
-Fund the enforcement.

If you would look at the fees we pay, the enforcement for parking is a student fee, not funded by the parking fees. In fact the parking garages where funded by student fees. So why should cyclists be singled out for paying a disproportionate amount of fees, especially when a good portion of the fees will go to a service they will never use.

Holy Mackeral, I can't believe the amount of whine asses in this thread. If you people are this upset over a simple user fee and policy, wait till you have to pay things like income tax.

holy mackeral, i can't believe the amount of whine asses in this thread. If you people are this upset over a simple user fee and policy, wait till you have to pay things like income tax.

ftw!

Holy Mackeral, I can't believe the amount of whine asses in this thread. If you people are this upset over a simple user fee and policy, wait till you have to pay things like income tax.

My marginal tax rate at one point in my life was %55, so I am not exactly a poor college student who would have to buy a months worth of ramen to survive this increase. It is just the principle of an institution which tries to front itself as green unfairly taxing one segment of its populous, I would have no problem if the cost of use (expressed as %) was universal across all modes of transit the University provides.

Holy Mackeral, I can't believe the amount of whine asses in this thread. If you people are this upset over a simple user fee and policy, wait till you have to pay things like income tax.

holy mackeral, i fight the system in ways you are unaware of...

My marginal tax rate at one point in my life was %55
In WHAT country?