William Wise
Wwise2@uwyo.edu
Due to the efforts of the students in the Spring 2015 Campus Sustainability class, The League of American Bicyclists has recognized the University of Wyoming with a bronze level Bicycle Friendly University Award (BFU).
UW will be joining 127 other colleges and universities around the nation who share this achievement.
Having to interview and talk to a number of different people around campus, the Campus Sustainability class went through an almost three-month process in order to apply for the award. Shannon Marie Conk, former member of the class, said they had to find information that was both publicly available and figures that had to be investigated.
Dan McCoy, director of the Bicycle Pedestrian Safety Committee, said he hopes the award will facilitate improvements to bicycle related infrastructure to make UW a safer and easier place to bike.
The committee consists of a number of leaders around campus including, Student Affairs, UW Administration, Campus Recreation and UWPD to name a few. The groups coordinate to make sure that the campus is a safe place for both bikers and pedestrians, McCoy said.
They are responsible for a number of biking related infrastructural improvements around campus, the bike lanes, dismount zones and repair stations. Hopes are high that they will be able to keep making improvements in the future, McCoy said.
Conner Bellingham, UW Sophomore, said she rides her bike almost everywhere she goes, with almost a 15 minute ride from her house to campus.
“It’s not the fastest, but it’s a great way to save money on gas and parking,” she said.
The winter does make biking considerably more dangerous, McCoy said, adding that the use of studded tires or fat tire bikes can make biking year round a real possibility.
“The peak seasons for biking being in early fall and late spring,” he said.
The Bicycle Pedestrian Safety Committee has also been working with the City of Laramie to help create a plan to better develop existing and future avenues to and from the school with bicycle traffic in mind. Not only to make it easier to get around campus but creating safer ways to get back.
