DOTS bike and scooter lockers unnecessary, students say

In line with their initiative to make the campus more bike-friendly, the Department of Transportation Services is pushing students to utilize bicycle and scooter lockers to keep their bikes safe. But students still aren't sold on the idea.

The lockers, located in Mowatt Lane Garage, provide shelter and safety in covered, caged parking spaces for a price — $25 per semester and $45 per year for bicyclists, and $40 per semester and $75 per year for scooter-riders. Renters are required to secure the bike or scooter to the interior rack with a standard bike lock before the vehicles are locked in the barbed wire cage from the outside and left to be watched over by security cameras.

Last semester, when the program was introduced, it received little attention from students.
"There were about 20 bikes and five to six scooters," DOTS Director David Allen said, noting each locker can fit 30 of each. "We will be advertising much more heavily this semester."

Despite the protection offered by the lockers, cyclists still aren't lining up to register for a spot.

"The purpose of having a bike is convenience; if I wanted to park in a garage, I would have bought a parking permit," said sophomore bioengineering and government and politics major Laith Abu-taleb, who rides an orange bike to get around the campus.

Ryan Murphy, a sophomore, purchased a $160 four-inch lock to secure his scooter when he's not using it. He said even though the lockers cost less, he still prefers using a lock.
But officials said the lockers are much more theft-proof than any given lock.

"This is the most secure bike/scooter parking area we've ever provided," Allen said.

Beyond safety, the lockers are also a key step in making the campus more bicycle-friendly, Allen said.

In April 2009, DOTS released the Campus Bicycle Study — a document that explores ways the campus can support and promote bicycling as an efficient and environmentally friendly mode of transportation.

Joanna Calabrese — a senior environmental science and policy major who is now serving as the Student Government Association's director of environmental affairs — has worked closely with DOTS to improve the options for cyclists on the committee and said she hopes that the locker program will encourage more students to use bicycles. But, she added, more can always be done.

"There is still a lot of work to do to make the campus more bike-accessible," Calabrese said.

redding@umdbk.com