Parking services plans to increase bike racks on campus
One student who had nowhere to lock up his bicycle outside the University of Idaho Hartung Theatre may not have to park illegally much longer, as new bike racks will be placed there in the near future.
According to ASUI Sen. Amanda Richards, all the student had to do to bring attention to the lack of parking space was post a picture of his conundrum on Facebook.
Nate Mattson | Argonaut
The University of Idaho’s Hartung Theater. The Hartung may soon get bike racks.
“He put this picture up saying that there were no bike racks, and students had to park their bikes to railings behind the Hartung and then, of course, they’d get illegal bike parking tickets,” said Richards said. “As an ASUI senator, I was like ‘Wow, I strongly believe that students should have accessibility and convenience like all bike commuters,’ so then I took a step and I contacted Stuart Robb from the Parking (and) Transportation Services (PTS).”
She said Robb responded to her and said a movable four-loop bike rack, which would cost $250, could be put in sometime this spring. Richards said she wasn’t certain when the bike racks would actually be installed, but hopes it would be sometime before the end of the semester.
Richards said she also wrote a resolution regarding ASUI’s support for more bike racks on campus, particularly at the Hartung, which passed unanimously last week. She said the purpose behind the resolution was to support PTS in its implementation of additional bike racks.
“I’m sure it would have happened, but I feel like the resolution sped up the process,” Richards said.”(PTS) has been working on implementing other bike racks by the Shoup Hall, and by, I believe, the Wallace building. That’s one of their bigger bike rack projects. However, I believe this smaller project is just one of the steps to reach the main goal.”
Shawna Bertlin, PTS spokeswoman, said the bike racks transportation services will place near the Hartung are similar in appearance to most of the bike racks on campus, but differ in their portability.
“Basically, how the portable racks work is they are made in sets of four loops so they can be transported and moved easily for our staff,” Bertlin said. “But then, if there’s bikes attached … some person’s not going to be able to pick them up or anything. So they’re made in such a way that we can put two next to each other and accommodate more bikes.”
Bertlin said the actual number of bike racks to be set up near the Hartung depends on the available space, but she thinks the prospect of putting a bike rack in at all is a positive step. She said the decision on placement near the Hartung came based on the information from Richards.
“We just got an email from Amanda, and she had said that Hartung has a demand that’s not being met,” Bertlin said. “And so we were able to talk with her, and because we actually already had a work order in for racks and they are this portable style, we were able to accommodate that.”
There is more freedom in placing the portable racks than in a permanent project, according to Bertlin. She said the primary role of PTS in situations like the Hartung’s lack of bicycle parking is to help meet parking needs.
“We are always looking to accommodate needs where they are on campus,” Bertlin said. “We do surveying of the core of campus and make sure that the racks there are meeting demand, but there are some places like Hartung that have a demand that isn’t being met in there. Therefore we’re able to meet that with these portable racks.”
Daphne Jackson can be reached at [email protected]