Bicyclists no strangers to campus

With motorists and bicyclists sharing the road daily, the road can be a crowded place. Pedestrians and bicyclists are also sharing the sidewalk real estate, which is inevitably bound to cause conflict. But Associate Professor of Geography Doug Oetter feels if the rules of the road are followed, bicycling can actually help solve campus traffic congestion.

“It’s a very clean, efficient way of moving around that doesn’t need vast amounts of imported oil,” Oetter said about bicycling.

Oetter commutes to campus daily from where he lives, seven blocks away. Oetter believes if more students rode their bicycles to class it would solve an issue GCSU has been trying to deal with.

“I don’t think we have a parking problem. If more people rode (bicycles) our so-called parking problem would go away,” Oetter said.

To help the relationship between pedestrians and bicyclists, Oetter suggests GCSU create a “walk zone” from Montgomery Street, near the Arts & Sciences bus stop, to the walkway in front of Atkinson Hall. The walk zone would mean bicyclists would get off their bicycles and walk them within the walk zone. Oetter believes this would help ensure the safety of pedestrians.

“Obviously wearing a helmet is good,” Oetter said for improving safety. “Think about what you’re investing in here, your brain. If you get hit, there goes your college education.”

According to a 2007 study by bicycling.com, over 62,000 bicyclists are injured every year by motor vehicles; the number one injuries are head injuries. The conclusion of the study was that “effective road environmental interventions along with efforts to promote safe personal behavior are needed to help reduce injuries among cyclists while sharing the road.”

“Ride with traffic and behave as if you are an automobile,” Oetter said. He suggest bicyclists ride on the road, not the sidewalk, to make themselves more visible to drivers.

Senior marketing major Robert Butker feels that GCSU is “pretty bike friendly,” but he has different feelings about bicycling around Milledgeville.

“(Milledgeville) is one of the most hostile environments I’ve ever ridden in,” Butker said. “I’ve had people roll down their windows and cuss at me.”

During a recent trip to Pickle Barrel Cafe & Sports Pub, three different motorists yelled at Butker. He has ridden extensively in Decatur and Atlanta and said he has never encountered as big a problem as he faces in Milledgeville.

“I’d love to ride my bike, but I just don’t feel safe,” said senior mass communication major Emily Bryson. “Bikes are just another form of transportation but Milledgeville drivers don’t see it that way. They see bikes as weird contraptions that have no business on the roads.”

Oetter suggests Milledgeville put in demarcated bicycle lanes not only so bicyclists know where to ride but also so motorists know where to put the ride side of their cars.

“I see (the bicyclists) swerve in front of cars sometimes,” said Milledgeville resident and GCSU shuttle driver Cynthia Wilson.

Wilson does not mind the bicyclists but thinks they should be careful and follow all the rules of the road.

“I think the bikes are a really good way to get around. There is no parking for your car, so other than a bike what other way is there to get around?” Wilson said. “I know there are a lot of problems with it, but people just need to get used to it.”