Illegally parked bikes cause accessibility problem
With rack shortage, students are chaining their bikes to ADA rampways, could face heavy fines
Joce DeWitt
Issue date: 1/12/11 Section: News
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Due to higher enrollment, designated bike parking areas are frequently filled to capacity and students have resorted to locking their bikes to any vacant rail or post. As a result, ramps and entrances that make buildings accessible to wheelchairs are no longer available for easy use.
"There are actually many places that students are trying to secure their bikes that are not legal," said Sid Cooper, assistant director of the Memorial Union Building Services.
According to members of the Accessible University Initiative Task Force, parking rules, regulations and fines are increasing as more people park their bikes illegally.
Senior Nate McCormick, a frequent bike rider, claims the university could be doing more to accommodate students.
"The obvious answer would be to provide more bike parking options. It's a little ridiculous for a university to hit students with fines for parking your bike in a wrong area, especially when that's a primary mode of transportation," McCormick said.
The Student Sustainability Initiative has teamed with the Alternative Transportation Advisory Committee to create more areas for parking your bike around campus, along with improving the existing racks in order to provide for the rising number of student bicyclists.
Rainier Farmer, chair of the ATAC, explained the actions the university is taking to accommodate more cyclists.
"There are currently 6,842 spaces for bikes on campus. We do a utilization study every two years," Farmer said. "We did that in fall term and the numbers were just compiled. We're using that to develop additional racks and we don't know exactly how many will be added, depending on where it's being installed. It will be several hundred or more spaces."
Though bikes take up less room, they are more difficult to accommodate than cars.
"It's also a little bit more challenging since bike parking is a lot more dynamic than car parking; classes change from term to term," Farmer said.
Before Oregon State University's Transit and Parking Services hands out hefty fines, the AUITF thought it essential to educate the student body about the most current regulations and expectations regarding bicycle parking.
The regulations state that bikes cannot be operated on sidewalks or other walkways unless a sign indicates otherwise and may only be parked in areas designated by racks, storage or signs. All bikes that are parked on campus must be "maintained and in working order."
Users can be ticketed if their bike is parked in a way that "creates a hazard including blocking the bicycle or traffic lane, blocking access to any stairway, ramp or doorway, and blocking access to any handrail or other device used to aid entry to a building structure," the regulations state.
Riders can also be fined if their bike is parked in a way that hinders bicycle parking, parked in a building or if parking does not meet state law and city ordinances.
Any bikes left on campus for more than five days will be considered abandoned and can be impounded.
Bicycles can also be impounded by OSU's Department of Public Safety "if they are left in a place that creates a safety hazard or if they appear to be non-functional or abandoned," the regulations state.
A notice of any impoundment will be sent to the registered owner of the bike within 24 hours, and cyclists can claim their impounded property from the DPS by paying the ticket to OSU TAPS and identifying the bike.
Anyone who is ticketed has the right to appeal the citation with a written statement.
For a complete list of bicycle regulations, please visit http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/rules/OARS_500/OAR_576/576_030.html
Joce DeWitt, staff writer
737-2231, news@dailybarometer.com
Before Oregon State University's Transit and Parking Services hands out hefty fines, the AUITF thought it essential to educate the student body about the most current regulations and expectations regarding bicycle parking.
The regulations state that bikes cannot be operated on sidewalks or other walkways unless a sign indicates otherwise and may only be parked in areas designated by racks, storage or signs. All bikes that are parked on campus must be "maintained and in working order."
Users can be ticketed if their bike is parked in a way that "creates a hazard including blocking the bicycle or traffic lane, blocking access to any stairway, ramp or doorway, and blocking access to any handrail or other device used to aid entry to a building structure," the regulations state.
Riders can also be fined if their bike is parked in a way that hinders bicycle parking, parked in a building or if parking does not meet state law and city ordinances.
Any bikes left on campus for more than five days will be considered abandoned and can be impounded.
Bicycles can also be impounded by OSU's Department of Public Safety "if they are left in a place that creates a safety hazard or if they appear to be non-functional or abandoned," the regulations state.
A notice of any impoundment will be sent to the registered owner of the bike within 24 hours, and cyclists can claim their impounded property from the DPS by paying the ticket to OSU TAPS and identifying the bike.
Anyone who is ticketed has the right to appeal the citation with a written statement.
For a complete list of bicycle regulations, please visit http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/rules/OARS_500/OAR_576/576_030.html
Joce DeWitt, staff writer
737-2231, news@dailybarometer.com
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