OxfordPress.com

Motorists on High Street aren't very bike saavy, a group of Miami University students determined after recently biking across campus.

First-year students in the Environmental Awareness Program, a Living Learning Community at Miami, faced the topic of "obstacles to bicycling in Oxford" as a part of their Introduction to Environmental Science class.

According to Jim Rubenstein, Miami professor of geography and instructor of the course, the students in the class biked Uptown from their dorm on Western campus and then met with Mayor Prue Dana to discuss city policies to promote biking on campus and throughout Oxford.

Assistant professor of geography David Prytherch, who also was Uptown with the class, said that after having to ride on the sidewalks illegally or riding with motorist traffic in the streets that afternoon, the students agreed that if more bike lanes were provided, more people would ride their bikes.

"A lot of students found riding bikes was an enjoyable way and a convenient way to get Uptown," Prytherch said. "But a lot of students also had their concerns because there is no bike infrastructure in Oxford."

According to Dana, 10 years ago the City of Oxford conducted three studies that assessed the feasibility of marking bike lanes along the streets and the co-mingling of bicyclists and motorists. Dana said that because of these studies, the city knows how and where to strike bike lanes, but students could help advocate the importance of doing so. Dana said she urged the students to not only ride their bikes more often, but to also write a letter to Miami President David Hodge asking him to mark paths throughout campus.

"If a lot of students decide to ride their bikes they could change the culture of campus overnight," Dana said.

An Oct. 20 New York Times article cited eight universities across the country that have unveiled bike sharing programs as an incentive for students to ride their bikes to class, save money and burn calories.

Although the article states each program is different and some have even failed after a few trial years, Dana said she hopes Miami can mimic programs like these and provide more incentives for students to ride their bikes.

"Anything that can push to get students on their bikes is terrific," Dana said. "(Schools like) the University of New England, Ripon College and Mercer University are giving bikes away to their students and saying, 'Use this instead.' "

Rubenstein said his class came up with a plethora of ideas to promote biking on campus. Students suggested the bike shop open a branch on campus, more bike lanes and bike racks should be provided and Uptown merchants should give away free pizza to bikers.

But according to Dana, some of the obstacles surrounding a surplus of bikers are finding funds to support more bike racks, tire filling stations across campus and places for students and faculty to change their clothes or take showers.

"We have such an ideal campus for riding bikes," Dana said. "We just have to get over the barriers."

Prytherch said that while the bike culture at Miami is not very noticeable, there are ways to encourage those who do bike to commit to their bicycling habit.

BikeWise Oxford, 9 N. Beech St., offers a handwritten pledge for Oxford bikers to validate their commitments to biking and a healthy environment. Also, 1world2wheels.org, allows bikers to commit to the pledge online while calculating the miles they bike, number of calories they burn and pounds of carbon dioxide they save.

Prytherch said giving biking on campus a try gave students an appreciation for the challenges bikers face, and that if they want to promote this practice, they have to do something about it.

"Students can provide an increased visibility that, yes, there are cyclists and, yes, it's a great way to get around," he said.