The sounds of bikes pedaling, brakes squeaking and tires spinning may be more prevalent in Auburn soon.
Chris Osterlund, SGA executive vice president, said Auburn is gathering information on a program that would provide school-owned bikes on campus.
These bikes could be used by students for their use on campus.
"We do not have the bikes yet, we are still in testing," Osterlund said. "This summer we drafted a survey to get feedback from students, and we got positive feedback that, yes, we should pursue this program."
Eric Smith, director of health promotion and wellness services, said the interest in some sort of bike program started a few years ago.
"There was suppose to be a bike shop in the Student Center, but it kind of lost momentum," Smith said.
Osterlund said the SGA started thinking about this idea last year with Brad Cink, the SGA executive vice president, but it also did not start gaining momentum until this year.
"After talking this summer and developing some ideas, we decided to pursue a hybrid of a Mississippi State model," Osterlund said. "Mississippi State has a fleet of bikes--about 200. They are on campus and students are allowed to use them any time they want."
Osterlund said Auburn consulted other universities regarding the type of bicycles they supply for student use, wanting to ensure that the bikes chosen are capable of handling Auburn's terrain and can be utilized by the maximum number of students.
Smith, who is coordinating the program, said the two bikes being tested are the 21-speed Commuter and 7-speed Cruiser. Both bikes are manufactured by the Collegiate Bike Company, which has collaborated on similar projects with other universities.
Smith said the bikes vary in price with how many upgrades are included, but start at around $200.
"We have applied for a concession fund grant to pay for the initial funding for the bikes themselves," Smith said. "Hopefully we can receive that grant. Otherwise we are back to the drawing board on where to get the funding."
There are a few obstacles the program leaders will have to overcome. Some people have voiced their concern that more bikes on campus may decrease pedestrian safety.
Holley Patterson, junior in biomedical sciences, said she likes the idea, but is skeptical.
"I don't know if they can make sure no one will steal the bikes or stop people from getting hit by the bikers," Patterson said. "I have seen people get hit, and adding more bikes to campus would only raise chances of people getting hit. If they can find some way to enforce people from stealing the bikes and make sure people walking won't get hit, then I am OK with the program."
Smith said there are ways to keep people from stealing the bikes. The first is to use the Mississippi State option of making the bikes one-of-a-kind, painting the bike school colors with logos and stickers to make them recognizable. This would allow people to notice if the bikes were not in a correct location. Other options are GPS and lock-in rack systems.
"The Mississippi State program works well for access and convenience," Smith said. "It will only work here if as a campus we make it work; otherwise, we would have to go to a lock-in system where you have to swipe your card to unlock the rack to get a bike."
Smith said there would be an educational program to teach people proper bike safety so they do not hurt themselves or others on campus. Lights will be added onto the bikes for additional safety also, he said.
Both Osterlund and Smith hope the program can be implemented sometime this spring.
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