(Photo courtesy of: Zachary Latta-Guiliana) “The bike rack in front of Riverview Suites on south campus.”
Zachary Latta-Guiliana
Connector Contributor
Despite UML’s aims, there are still some areas on campus that sorely need some biking upgrades. UML[NT1] has been trying to increase its biking population for over a decade, with Freewheelers debuting in 2011, and in 2022 launching a new initiative, creatively titled the “University of Massachusetts Lowell Bicycle Plan,” to increase biking among students. That plan details a bunch of great ideas that will hopefully be realized before I graduate. It outlines adding more dedicated bus lanes along bike routes between campuses, adding more bike racks around campus and promoting cycling around campus through stuff like Freewheelers.
Strangely, the 2022 plan lists Freewheelers as being started in 2014, despite a different transportation plan from 2011 (this one was cleverly named the “Campus Transportation Plan”) mentioning that it started earlier that year. My guess based on the wording is that the program changed shape in 2014, and that the 2022 plan is just referring to that newer form of the program, but I really have no idea, it’s just something I noticed. [NT2] But enough with the side tangent on minor contradictions between different university transportation plans.
Chief among the problems of campus biking for me personally is the bike rack situation at Riverview Suites. As a resident [NT3] there, I’ve already gotten used to the three elevator trips, walking across a big parking lot and up a hill whenever I want to grab breakfast. The journey is made easier by owning a bike, but I wish I had somewhere better to store it.
The two options available are the bike racks inside the staff parking garage within Riverview Suites,[NT4] and the bike racks placed outside the parking lot entrance to the bridge over the tracks. There’s also that one person who locks their e-bike to a metal beam inside of the bridge entrance, but I wouldn’t consider that a good solution.
Firstly, the bike racks inside the building. These racks are great, they’re covered and sit way inside the garage. Getting to them requires passing through multiple security cameras, and it’s firmly within campus grounds so theft isn’t a major concern. But they’re on the wrong side of the train tracks. Biking from here means taking the long way around, heading out to the front entrance of Riverview, then up Middlesex, taking a turn into Wilder Street and crossing a bridge. It’s doable, but inconvenient, especially if you’re just trying to get up the hill to the rest of South Campus.
The more popular choice is the bridge racks, which leave much to be desired. Firstly, they’re less secluded than the garage bike racks, they’re just sitting in an open parking lot. I wouldn’t personally say it’s an issue, but more paranoid cyclists may disagree.
More importantly though, they aren’t covered with anything. With the heavy rain we got this year, my bike lock is already feeling the hurt from all the rain, which has ruined [NT5] its internal locking mechanism[NT6] . A friend of mine up in Umass Amherst was unfortunate enough to come down after a storm to find his uncovered bike lock completely rusted shut. The issue is especially annoying since it’s a dorm bike rack. An uncovered rack by your classes is less of an issue since you’ll only have your bike there temporarily, but for most of your bike’s life it’s going to be locked to whatever racks your dorm has.
There are rack canopies [NT7] spread across all three campuses, why can’t we get one here? In addition to keeping locks dry, it would also save me the trivial annoyance of my seat getting wet after a rainstorm. It’s kind of a pain when it rains and your bike seat is wet, but you don’t have a towel to dry it off with. So, you use the sleeve of your shirt, but that doesn’t really work and now both your arm and butt are wet[NT8] . It’s just a pain worrying about your bike lock potentially rusting and adding a simple rack canopy would provide some peace of mind. I’ve already got to worry about making sure I get up on time, I don’t want to add “getting my bike unstuck” to my morning routine.
Anyway, give us a canopy.
Pretty Please.
