Campus Bike Use Doubles, Reduces Lot Permits

I don't normally read the State News, but today I picked one up and caught this article and found it interesting because it reflects some of the reasons I began commuting. They don't mention in the article that the logical straight-shot road to the commuter lot is under construction and as such its not really feasible to walk from there to class any more so they're recommending students purchase bus passes as well ($45 per semester last time I bought one, so its likely more now) which makes the cost of parking in the lot VERY expensive.

But I'm skeptical of the numbers. Sure, registration is up, but last I checked, so is the number of people living on campus - those who wouldn't be driving to class anyways. I do know that I have to search for bike parking though, and it comes in swarms right before and leaves similarly right after class so I know many of the students are using their bikes.

Now, if they all could get the idea of LOCKING YOUR BIKE UP. I saw two of the Denali road bikes (leave your opinions aside, regardless of quality they're fairly expensive compared to what else is on the racks) unlocked, just chilling near a rack that was full. 50' around the corner is a rack with half a dozen bikes on it. But people are lazy and its going to cost 'em.

Good for them.

Wouldn't a 100% increase be double? 273% is almost quadruple, right? Then again, stats were never my strong point.

You are correct. Suppose 100 people last year rode their bikes. 273% of 100 is 273. If there is a 273% increase, then it is 273 people on top of the original 100, making the total now 373. 373/100 = 3.73 x the original amount.

I'm with you, doubling is a 100% increase. But most continue to say 200% increase. From the article the figures went from 858 bikes registered five years ago to 2,346 bikes registered this year. That's an increase to 273% of the old figure, but only an increase of 173% by my figuring.

... I was told there would be no math.

I kind of feel foolish for not catching that - normally I'm on top of those kinds of things. I apologize for artificially inflating the claims in the article The point still stands, however, that bike riding is more common than it was a few years ago by a statistically significant amount

By the way - I'm one of those who opted for the bike instead of purchasing a permit. I still drive some days but I park in such a way so as to avoid being charged or ticketed (all within the realm of legal tactics!) but I bike more often than not from my house off campus - 12 mile round trip if I take the short way.

My daughter lives on campus at MSU. She has a car but has to park it about 3 miles away. It's a good campus for bikes.

I am so glad, as a former MSU commuter to have beaten the Farm Lane construction! If I remember they are making it an underpass to the train tracks for safety. Will be cool when it is finished.

On a side note, there are further plans at MSU to relegate parking to the fringe of campus. There is a pay lot between the Engineering and "International Center" building that is going to be removed and made into a square. Hopefully with additional bike parking.

Surface lots are to be reduced in numbers as a few new structures are added on the edges. Overall I think it will make the place even more bike friendly. It should allow for the enforcement of bikes on the streets, not on the walks laws that are not enforced because the streets are still a little sketchy for most newbs.

BTW, State News is a f'ing rag. Dilbert is it's only saving grace.

I see pros and cons to this. Sometimes having the ability to park near classes is nice, especially if I'm running late, not feeling well, etc. And, I really can't see how financially it makes sense for the university. Granted, I "cheat" the system when I park there and just stay until the lot opens, but I worked in the Engineering building (DECS Support and Web Dev) for two years and got to see people leaving knowing full well they were paying the max $9.80 fee. I even did it a few times in an emergency. But whatever, somewhere along the line it makes sense and if it doesn't work out they'll just jack up tuition again...

The streets aren't sketchy for the newbies, they're sketchy because of the newbies, because most of them rarely ride otherwise. I'm not being snobbish, or rather I'm not trying to be, its just that I've noticed over the few days since students have returned that a lot of clueless people walk, bike, and drive on this campus.

Indeed! That's the reason I rarely read the paper - ever since I found the Dilbert RSS feed to read every morning

as it already was there were nearly 2 bikes for every person that lived in the dorms at MSU.
i'm sure a ton more now, but regardless of the times that campus was never convenient for commuting on anything else but a bike. No real available parking during the day, so huge that walking could take you a very long time if you have to go from one side to the other.

I still find MSU's campus a lot easier to get around by bike than U of M's.

I think that the Bike Project is a wonderful thing. It makes it easy for the students and faculty to ride bikes around campus. I think, though, that it's the students milling about by foot that really cause the congestion. Makes it tough to get around when the kids are preoccupied and walking into traffic without looking.

I've kind of avoided East Lansing for the last week or so, when I realized the kids were returning to campus. I'll let them get used to campus life again, sort of get back into the groove, before I take my chances there.

Now that things are in their "full swing" and students are adjusted to being on campus and such, I figure it's worth an update.

People suck. Drivers, walkers, and bikers alike could benefit from one another following the laws/rules/conventions of the road/sidewalk. This afternoon, I was riding down a central road on campus, and had the green, yet there were probably 50 people using the crosswalk, despite having the orange hand telling them not to. And the best part is that I was getting the angry looks for wanting to get through when I was legally allowed to do so. And this happens all over campus. And motorists on campus are just as nuts, likely driven to insanity by the pedestrians and cyclists who fail to obey traffic signals. Turning on red when not permitted (which delays pedestrians and other motorists, making everyone edgy), pushing yellows to the point that they're orange, and cutting through parking lots to avoid lights and hassle.

Its not super terrible if you decide to get from A to B during off time (ie. not within 15 minutes of classes starting or after they've ended). I actually like riding, and I'm excited to see the bike lanes, and even more excited to see them being used. But it'd be great if people understood that the arrows on the lanes indicate the direction you should be traveling in. And to that end, also everyone would benefit if cyclists weren't randomly zipping on and off the sidewalk and road, or zipping across lanes without signaling. I know I'm guilty of zipping onto the sidewalk, but in my defense its been to avoid being right-hooked by a car or slamming into a wrong-way cyclist.

PREDICTABILITY! I guess everyone is predictible, I simply predict that everyone is a moron and will behave in the most hazardous manner to my well being as possible. A sad way to get through the commute

Otherwise its not too bad. There are definitely a lot more cyclists, and much to my surprise, a great number choose to use the road. It might be due to the fact that if you use the sidewalk, its just as fast as walking and more nervewracking trying to avoid hitting someone. Or it might be due to the fact that they know the lanes are there for cyclists, and that for the most part, people do follow the rules of the road. The few spoil it for the many. But, all of the discrepancies aside, I still get around much faster on bike than I would on foot. The commute to and from campus is what keeps me sane - that river trail is pretty nice, and the roads aren't TOO bad whenever I skip the trail.

I understand the sentiment of greater convenience by bike than by foot or by car. I have a parking pass, but it still requires four or five minutes of walking to get to class, and that's if (a big if) one finds a spot in the lot closest to class. If not, the next-closest lot is at least a block farther away. And by that time, one really has to ask, what's the point? On any given day, I'd much rather ride the straight route from my apartment to my building and not have to fuss about anything besides sweat. The annoying days are the rainy ones, when it's a choice between hoping for parking or packing clothes to change into upon arrival.

I just moved here and I commute from Okemos. I am one of those people who ride on the road. I think it would be too dangerous to try to ride on the sidewalk with cars turning into you, pedestrians walking abreast, and other people on bikes riding erratically and almost hitting someone every 30 feet or so. I've almost been hit by people on bikes on the sidewalk an absurd amount of times and the only walking I do is to the bike rack.

Oh well, I'd rather them be on the sidewalk than in the street with me.

reflects the reason why I got into commuting originally too... didn't want to pay $300 a year for parking, especially when my house was a mere two miles away from campus!

Do they teach stats at MSU?

Not a UM student myself (EMU) but i live here, for the large part the way to get around the campus is surface streets, not really too bad, except for student pedestrians....at times i wish i was in my car and could just plow them all down, but yes they are all lemmings that just walk out in front of you, or ride through the middle of a crowd using a cross while looking over their shoulders and so on and so forth.
I avoid that area of the city at all costs, and i'm glad i live on the opposite side, it's def nice during the summer when they're all gone.

Uh, which MSU are we talking about?