The Department of Parking and Transportation hosted a series of events this week to promote bicycling around Grounds, collaborating with local bike shops, the Charlottesville bike community at large and student organizations.
Parking and Transportation Director Rebecca White said the effort aimed to "expand support and encouragement of using a bike as a mode of transportation."
The week's schedule featured a different event every night, beginning with a bike sale Monday at the Student Activities Building. Local bike shops also taught classes on bike commuting, traffic skills and bike maintenance.
Scott Paisley, the co-owner of local bike shop Blue Wheel Bicycles, taught the course on bicycle maintenance. He explained the basics, including how to change a tire and care for brake cables. "The more you get your hands involved in the bike, the more you discover, whether you can fix it yourself or bring it into the shop," he said.
Other classes focused on safety, including the best way to get places around Grounds and describing the safest streets to bike on in Charlottesville.
White said the department's efforts are aimed at students, faculty and staff, but classes were also open to local residents. "We're trying to support bicycling for those who can," she said. "Our main goal [was] to give students access to helmets, equipment and education that they need."
She explained the bike initiative was a continuation of past sustainability movements focused on transportation, mainly concerned with developing alternatives to driving.
"Over the past few years [we have] made a commitment to helping people find alternatives to driving alone," Transportation Demand Management Professional Jon Monceaux said.
The department has also been working closely with the City of Charlottesville and Traffic Engineer Jeanie Alexander to implement the use of "sharrows," painted arrows which indicate a lane is shared between cars and bikes, White said. "The City is also working to put bike lanes north of Alderman Road," she said.
White added that she hopes the classes on the rules of the road and bike maintenance will increase the safety of bikers at large.
"[It's] safety in numbers," she said. "The more bicyclists there are the safer they are"
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