Kotowicz’s parking problem could soon be solved, as the Residence Halls Association, or RHA, is working to prevent bike overcrowding from occurring and educate students on bike safety after conducting a campus bike census earlier this year.

RHA Snyder and Phillips halls representative Daniel Mitchell said RHA started a committee last semester to focus on campus bike issues, including overcrowded bike parking and proper storage during the winter.

“Part of our committee’s work is making people more comfortable riding their bikes on campus,” he said.

The group also conducted a survey at the rock on Farm Lane in November 2011 asking students if their bikes were registered and what parking concerns they have on campus. Of the 120 students who took the survey, Mitchell said about 60 to 70 percent said their bikes were registered.

Mitchell said he hopes to have legislation presented to RHA before the end of the year asking the assembly to look into bike safety and develop a solution to crowded bike racks and bike thefts on campus.

Kotowicz said her bike was stolen earlier this year after she left it behind on a rainy day after class. When she returned for it two months later, it was gone.

“It was my own fault,” she said.

Mitchell also said he has been meeting with MSU Bikes Service Center manager Tim Potter to discuss how to educate people about bike safety and security, particularly with traffic laws in bike lanes and on sidewalks.

Potter said he is working on a recommendation for solutions to bicycle congestion, which he will discuss with the All University Traffic and Transportation Committee. One of the suggestions is to add more bike parking at busier areas on campus, including near Brody Complex Neighborhood or the Main Library, or implement a better bicycle traffic flow as many students aren’t aware of current rules about biking on sidewalks or roadways.

Potter also said the combination of an increased bike population and campus construction projects cause problems for people trying to lock up their bikes. In some busy areas, students often lock their bikes where they shouldn’t, which sometimes causes more thefts, he said.

Potter said there likely is about 20,000 bikes on campus this year, according to past State News articles.

Natural resource recreation and tourism senior Rebekah Wierda said when she studied abroad in the Netherlands, there were bike racks available everywhere, and it was safer to ride in bike lanes in the road. She said bicycling there was part of a cultural attitude more than it is in the U.S.

But Potter said the increase in bicycling has been a natural progression, especially on college campuses, where it is a relatively inexpensive and convenient way to get around, especially with high gas prices.

“A lot of communities are doing more to encourage bicycling,” he said. “It’s starting to catch people’s attention.”

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