Stanford News

2/14/97

CONTACT: Elaine Ray, News Service (415) 723-7162;
e-mail elaine@news-service.stanford.edu


Stanford approves $1.2 million for bike improvements

Stanford University has launched a $1.2 million program designed to make life easier for cyclists to get to and around campus. The 1997 Bicycle Facilities Plan will include the addition of 200 secure commuter bike storage spaces, 400 secure resident student bike spaces, new bike lanes on two streets, and new outdoor racks that will accommodate 2,000 bikes.

"In previous years we focused on the basics: racks and travel ways," said John Ciccarelli, the university's bicycle program manager. "Now we've learned that the single biggest obstacle to bike commuting is theft, so this year we're building our first secure bike enclosures."

The enclosures will range from stairwell closets to a large cage in an automobile parking garage. Access to these enclosures will be limited to assigned cyclists, and all but the smallest will have bike racks inside. Sites for the enclosures to be added this year include Terman Engineering, the main hospital, Beckman, the Jordan Quad modulars, Encina Commons, Ginzton Lab, Polya Hall, Meyer Cancer Biology Research Lab and the Gravity Probe B modular.

Approximately 2,000 rack spaces will be added or replaced in the academic core of the campus and at the Medical Center. According to Ciccarelli, the new racks will hold bikes upright to make it easier to lock the frame and wheel to the rack. The Schwab and Governor's Corner graduate housing projects, due to open later this year, also will feature secure bike parking for all residents.

In addition, Campus Drive will be restriped for bike lanes between Serra Street and Palm Drive. An uphill-only bike lane will be added to Lomita Drive across from Kingscote Gardens.

"Stanford's bicycle program, like our Marguerite transit system, is a cornerstone of the university's efforts to manage its transportation responsibly. We know it is smarter to provide alternatives to driving than to build an ever-increasing supply of parking," said Jeffrey Tumlin, program manager for the university's transportation programs.

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Elaine Ray