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Bicycle Commuting at MSU

The following is a bicycle commuting video produced by students working with Brad Mitchell in the MSU Web & New Media office downtown.

The STAR Team of Ozark Greenways wants to talk to students interested in active transportation issues. If you’re a college student in Springfield reading this weblog, leave a comment or contact me directly if you’d like to get involved.

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Comments 12

  1. Nate Bassett wrote:

    A silly thing about this video is that Larry Combs seems to have a draconian idea of how the bikepaths/walkways are supposed to be used. There are dozens of 5 foot “breaks” in the path that riders should technically have to dismount for, according to campus Safety and Transportation, but that’s a completely unenforceable rule. Really, campus should promote consciousness behavior on the part of pedestrians and cyclists, especially when utility vehicles often use the bikepath as a service road.

    Posted 20 Oct 2009 at 11:06 am
  2. Andy Cline wrote:

    Nate… Agreed.

    Here’s a link to the rules:

    http://www.missouristate.edu/safetran/11981.htm

    And here’s the part in question:

    “The bikeways are identified by red-colored concrete and brick outlines, and are marked with a bicycle symbol. Riders must dismount and walk their bikes on gray pedestrian walkways and give pedestrians the right of way at designated crossings.”

    I do not read this as characterized by Combs. This says, IMO: Walk your bike on sidewalks, and yield to pedestrians at crossings.

    (Note that the passage designates two different structures: the “walkways” and the “designated crossings.”)

    I believe in following the rules, but I’m sure not going to get off my bicycle to cross 5 feet of concrete. That’s just nutty. And, IMO, is not what the rule actually says or means.

    Hmmmm… I feel another blog post coming :-)

    Posted 20 Oct 2009 at 11:42 am
  3. Keri wrote:

    Do those bikeways accommodate two way bike traffic? They look really tight.

    Posted 20 Oct 2009 at 3:32 pm
  4. robert wrote:

    Hi Keri,

    They do….they are paths that go from building to building…they really are not designed to be 15 mph highways etc.

    When I graduated in 2004 the problem was that pedestrians walked on the bikeways and paid little to no attention to the fact that it is clearly marked for bikes and the sidewalk is literally right next to it.

    I’m not sure if that has changed or not.

    Posted 20 Oct 2009 at 5:53 pm
  5. Andy Cline wrote:

    Robert… re: “not sure if that has changed or not”

    haha You’re funny! :-)

    Posted 20 Oct 2009 at 6:35 pm
  6. Steve A wrote:

    Seems to me it’d be a lot easier to ignore the bikeways and just use the roads. I saw a lot of cars and trucks in the background in the video. I don’t imagine there’s a lot of high-speed motor traffic on campus.

    That was my experience when I took my bike to Texas Tech for “Freshman Orientation.” The roads were nice, with low speed limits and polite drivers. The bikeways were beneath contempt.

    Posted 20 Oct 2009 at 10:02 pm
  7. Andy Cline wrote:

    Steve… Yes, the roads around campus are very nice for riding and are, in some cases, a better choice. Much of the Bikeway, however, traverses the interior of campus.

    Posted 21 Oct 2009 at 7:37 am
  8. A.J. wrote:

    Nearly all of the roads, not the major thoroughfares of course, around campus are great for riding.

    Andy, what might these “active transportation issues” from the STAR Team entitle? It sounds like something I might be interested in approaching my last semester of grad school.

    Posted 21 Oct 2009 at 9:17 am
  9. A.J. wrote:

    “Entail” not “entitle”. Spell-checker doesn’t catch stupid.

    Me fail English? That’s unpossible!

    Posted 21 Oct 2009 at 9:20 am
  10. brad wrote:

    Have to say I agree with everything above.

    I for one try to ride on the roads on campus as much as possible, but of course sometimes you have to use the bike paths to cut through the interior of campus. It’s not ideal, but it’s better than nothing.

    People still walk all over the bike racks, but my new Japanese brass bell is so piercing to the ears it helps them get out of the way quickly :)

    Posted 21 Oct 2009 at 10:10 am
  11. Keri wrote:

    And if the bell fails, one of these would do the trick ;-)

    http://www.deltacycle.com/Airzound-Bike-Horn

    Posted 21 Oct 2009 at 11:03 am
  12. Andy Cline wrote:

    A.J…. We’d love to include you. There’s a meeting this afternoon at 5:30. Gimme a holler for details (e-mail or phone). You, too, Brad.

    Keri… :-) Yep, that would work.

    Posted 21 Oct 2009 at 12:19 pm