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| Pinecrest Bike Day 2014. |
The modern bicycle is the most efficient human-powered vehicle available, yet it’s treated like a second-class mode of transportation on at least one college campus.
Cycling to Miami Dade College’s Wolfson Campus, located in the heart of Downtown Miami, is a ride that Earth Ethics Institute director Colleen Ahern-Hettich says one must be “very prepared” for. Following traffic signals, riding on the rightmost side of the street and wearing a helmet are musts. Riding on sidewalks, she says, which many people do as an incorrect perception of heightened safety, is actually “a recipe for
The second-class feeling, though, sets in when the parking facilities at the campus are evaluated. Currently, the only site for bicycle lockup that is on MDC Wolfson property and not the public sidewalk is an area sectioned off by metal gates and a door that anyone can open, located adjacent to Faculty Parking Lot 1.
Cycling to Miami Dade College’s Wolfson Campus, located in the heart of Downtown Miami, is a ride that Earth Ethics Institute director Colleen Ahern-Hettich says one must be “very prepared” for. Following traffic signals, riding on the rightmost side of the street and wearing a helmet are musts. Riding on sidewalks, she says, which many people do as an incorrect perception of heightened safety, is actually “a recipe for
The second-class feeling, though, sets in when the parking facilities at the campus are evaluated. Currently, the only site for bicycle lockup that is on MDC Wolfson property and not the public sidewalk is an area sectioned off by metal gates and a door that anyone can open, located adjacent to Faculty Parking Lot 1.
disaster”.
Earth Ethics Institute Program Assistant, Heidi Lellelid, has cited the lack of security of this area, namely due to the unmonitored access and egress the area provides.
The limited bicycle parking amenities at the Wolfson Campus appear unjust in the face of its largest vehicular parking amenity, a multi-story lot complete with elevator access and 24-hour security personnel.
Activist group Transportation Alternatives (founded in 1973) has published a “Major in Bicycling” booklet aimed at providing suggestions as to how to make a college campus bicycle friendly. One of their suggestions is forming student unions that will join together and create a louder voice in support of better cycling in their college campuses and beyond.
Both Lellelid and Transportation Alternatives are in agreement that increasing awareness of people cycling to and from their jobs and classes is a key part of obtaining better cycling amentities. Christian Casas, an MDC student, tried to start a bicycle awareness club along with Lellelid called Miami Mobilized, which met for at least one meeting during the Fall 2013 semester. The Earth Ethics Institute itself has approached the head of the security department at the campus regarding bicycle safety concerns; amongst the Institute’s ideas for increasing bicycle safety is having heavy-duty chains permanently affixed to the bicycle racks that can be locked by use of a cheap padlock, as well as re-designing the Lot 1 area in such a way that an MDCard is required to enter.
Transportation Alternatives, based in NYC, and Green Mobility Network, based here in Miami, also both recommend “complete streets”, a form of road design that includes street lamps, dedicated bus lanes and separated bike lanes in addition regular car lanes. These “complete streets” are designed for all commuters, not just those driving cars.
Dr. Edwin Gines-Candelaria, Associate Professor of Biology at the Wolfson Campus, adds that the key to safe bicycle parking at the Wolfson campus is the installation of bicycle racks in places where there is a large “transit” of people, so as to prevent a situation where a thief can take his time to work on removing a bicycle lock. Gines-Candelaria has had bicycle tampered with at least two times with “a couple of years” in between. One incident forced him to ride back to South Beach without a saddle.
There’s a chance, though, that the awareness might grow on its own. Both Lellelid and Ahern-Hettich note that the amount of bicycles parked in places like the Faculty Parking Lot 1 area has increased substantially since the lot’s renovation two years ago.
As Miami’s population and subsequent vehicular congestion continue to grow, the idea of commuting by bicycle will represent a viable transportation option in the minds of Miamian commuters. One can only hope that the infrastructure to support this will follow pace accordingly.
The limited bicycle parking amenities at the Wolfson Campus appear unjust in the face of its largest vehicular parking amenity, a multi-story lot complete with elevator access and 24-hour security personnel.
Activist group Transportation Alternatives (founded in 1973) has published a “Major in Bicycling” booklet aimed at providing suggestions as to how to make a college campus bicycle friendly. One of their suggestions is forming student unions that will join together and create a louder voice in support of better cycling in their college campuses and beyond.
Both Lellelid and Transportation Alternatives are in agreement that increasing awareness of people cycling to and from their jobs and classes is a key part of obtaining better cycling amentities. Christian Casas, an MDC student, tried to start a bicycle awareness club along with Lellelid called Miami Mobilized, which met for at least one meeting during the Fall 2013 semester. The Earth Ethics Institute itself has approached the head of the security department at the campus regarding bicycle safety concerns; amongst the Institute’s ideas for increasing bicycle safety is having heavy-duty chains permanently affixed to the bicycle racks that can be locked by use of a cheap padlock, as well as re-designing the Lot 1 area in such a way that an MDCard is required to enter.
Transportation Alternatives, based in NYC, and Green Mobility Network, based here in Miami, also both recommend “complete streets”, a form of road design that includes street lamps, dedicated bus lanes and separated bike lanes in addition regular car lanes. These “complete streets” are designed for all commuters, not just those driving cars.
Dr. Edwin Gines-Candelaria, Associate Professor of Biology at the Wolfson Campus, adds that the key to safe bicycle parking at the Wolfson campus is the installation of bicycle racks in places where there is a large “transit” of people, so as to prevent a situation where a thief can take his time to work on removing a bicycle lock. Gines-Candelaria has had bicycle tampered with at least two times with “a couple of years” in between. One incident forced him to ride back to South Beach without a saddle.
There’s a chance, though, that the awareness might grow on its own. Both Lellelid and Ahern-Hettich note that the amount of bicycles parked in places like the Faculty Parking Lot 1 area has increased substantially since the lot’s renovation two years ago.
As Miami’s population and subsequent vehicular congestion continue to grow, the idea of commuting by bicycle will represent a viable transportation option in the minds of Miamian commuters. One can only hope that the infrastructure to support this will follow pace accordingly.
