Auraria becoming more bicycle friendly

Students who bike to class and work may have noticed that the Auraria Higher Education Center added a shortcut through campus this summer.

AHEC added a bike lane that begins on the edge of campus near Speer and Curtis and runs beneath the overpass between the Arts Building and West Classroom.

“I ride my bike everyday. It takes me about a 20 minutes to get here and there’s ample bike parking if you look in the right place,” said CU Denver fine arts major Cindy Marks.

According to AHEC, currently the Auraria campus houses 164 bike parking racks and approximately 1,400 individual parking spaces.

“Actually the bike path is a part of the master plan update for the Auraria Campus,” said AHEC Director of Communications Freddy Arck. “There was a demand for bike access from downtown to the campus, as well as through the campus.”

Students riding their bikes outside of designated areas may be subject to bicycle impoundment and/or ticketing. The addition of more bike safe zones could potentially lower ticket rates for students.

“The police try to be lenient and educate the public on bike traffic rules before ticketing,” Arck said.

Students echoed Arck’s sentiment. “I, luckily, haven’t been ticketed for riding in a non-bike area yet. But I imagine the lane will cut down the number of tickets,” Marks said.

Metro marketing major Brett McKellan said the addition of the bike lane hasn’t had any effect on his day-to-day routine. “People ride their bikes on campus anyway so I’m used to doing some dodging,” he said.

Some students said that this bike lane is a good first step, but more can be done. “Sometimes I ride my long board between buildings and just kind of weave through the crowd,” said UCD business major Collin Ward. “It probably makes some people upset, but if the campus adapts to have more bike lanes, we might do away with that.”

According to Arck, the placement of the new bike lane was well researched by the campus planner. “They really did choose the best possible space to not interrupt pedestrian traffic,” he said.

On a larger scale, the institution of the bike lane through campus is a part of Auraria’s move toward alternative methods of transportation for students that simultaneously reduce environmental impact. Other examples of this green transit initiative are eGo’s CarShare program breaking ground at Auraria.

“There are more things like additional bike lanes in the works,” Arck said. “We’re excited to explore these options for the future.”

More information about bicycle traffic rules and regulations can be found at www.ahec.edu.