So far this year, University administrators have been making a concerted effort to encourage bicycle use on Grounds and in the surrounding community. Earlier this month, the University Department of Parking and Transportation partnered with the Charlottesville City government to install pavement markers known as "sharrows" on Alderman, Water and West Main streets, signaling to drivers that they do not have a monopoly on the use of those roads. Then last week, Parking and Transportation held a bike sale at the Student Activities Building, as well as safety and maintenance classes that were taught by employees of several local bike shops.
These initiatives followed several important developments that took place last year, such as the decisions to raise permit rates, clamp down on parking violators and open a bicycle tune-up station outside Clark Hall. They also provide further evidence that Parking and Transportation is becoming an advocate for the use of alternative modes of transit by members of the University community. The department deserves praise for taking on this role as part of a long-term strategy to deal with future enrollment increases as well as the negative environmental impacts of automobile use. It should use the success of this year's on-Grounds events and its good working relationship with local government to undertake expanded education initiatives and new partnerships that will benefit bicyclists, bus riders and all University travelers.
There are a number of good reasons why Parking and Transportation is right to have adopted a policy that supports multi-modal transit. Most immediately, the University cannot absorb a significant increase in automobile traffic brought about by future enrollment growth. Doing so would require massive alterations to the on-Grounds landscape that would subtract from its aesthetic appeal and fragment the self-contained nature of its layout.
Also important is the need to mitigate the environmental costs of automobile use. Parking and Transportation wisely is addressing this issue by not only discouraging car use through increased permit rates and stricter enforcement of parking rules, but also by investing money into providing feasible alternatives.
Expanding bike use among the University population is a core element of this latter approach. Parking and Transportation has recognized that this necessitates more than simply giving students access to the needed equipment, however. It also entails educating them about the proper ways to operate and maintain their bikes, especially given the generally deficient state of U.S. education with regard to any mode of transportation other than the automobile. Whereas nations such as the Netherlands actively incorporate bike safety into drivers' education courses and require students to pass bicycle safety exams, the U.S. education system still focuses almost exclusively on teaching teenagers about the automobile. This means that drivers are unprepared to share the road, and bicyclists often are unsure of how to ride safely.
Thus, it is important for Parking and Transportation to do more along the lines of last week's bike safety courses. One way it could attract student interest and assure in-depth learning experiences in the future would be to partner with the Academic Division to offer bicycle-oriented courses for credit. These courses would help make up for students' inadequate prior instruction about alternative modes of transit. In addition, they would fit naturally into the existing "Lifetime Physical Activity" academic program that features one-credit offerings such as a lifeguard training class, a water safety instructor class and courses for novice and advanced scuba divers.
Parking and Transportation also should explore additional collaborations with local governments. For example, it could seek to better coordinate the University Transit Service with Charlottesville Area Transit so that the two services' schedules are better synchronized and transfers are possible in more locations. The department also could offer assistance with a City plan that is under discussion to offer a late-night Free Trolley on the weekends. If such initiatives are successful, the department may find that students no longer need to be persuaded to leave their cars at home.
Read More
PARTING SHOT: On the art of walking and chewing gum
By Nathan Onibudo | 6 hours agoStudent journalism, and maybe even life more generally, is about holding space for multiple conflicting truths.
PARTING SHOT: Confessions of a nepo baby
By Grace Thrush | YesterdayWhile I can’t point to one specific “aha” moment where I finally started to dispel my self-consciousness and claim my pride for the paper, I got there gradually over the course of my term as managing editor.
PARTING SHOT: Asked and answered
By Honor Wood | YesterdayLooking back, the answer has been abundantly clear all along. I did it for the people.
