e3 renews its 'Bike Crusade'

Alternative transportation is on everyone's mind these days, especially students at San Diego State. But while they may want to leave their cars at home, the campus remains off-limits to bikes and skateboards. Last semester, students rallied together for the Enviro-Business Society's "Bike Crusade," walking their bikes and carrying skateboards across campus to show their support for a transportation lane on campus. Today, the Enviro-Business Society (e3) has planned their second "Bike Crusade" to call attention to their efforts before their resolution goes to the University Senate next month. "Alternate methods of transportation are environmentally friendly, reduce carbon emissions, and are a great way to get around," said Amanda Costa, co-president of e3. Students will meet at 11 a.m. today in front of Chipotle and first ride their bikes or skateboards along the perimeter of campus, the only place these alternate forms of transportation are currently permitted. The group will then walk bikes and carry skateboards down Campanile and Centennial walkways. "We want to put this in people's faces and hopefully create a domino effect in the SDSU community to get people to leave their cars at home," Costa said. E3 members have been working closely with Associated Students to bring a resolution in support of a transportation lane before the University Senate. Positive responses following the first bike crusade prompted a discussion in the senate, and a subcommittee was formed to look at the logistics of such changes to the campus environment. A rough map accompanied the original proposal by e3, but this semester SDSU's physical plant has been working with city planners to determine the actual feasibility and cost of the construction. "We aren't looking for the whole campus (to be filled with bikes and skateboards), but we do need one connector from one end of campus to the other," said public relations senior Erica Johnson, co-president of e3. SDSU is a high-traffic campus and many students commute, despite a majority of them living within a mile radius of campus. Johnson said students would be more likely to take a bike to school if they didn't run the risk of getting a hefty ticket for doing so. "The average ticket is $240 and a parking permit is $130," she said. "For most students, that's a lot of money." A.S. Vice President of Finance Justin Motika is one of those students living within a mile of campus, and while he does not own a bike, he chooses to walk to school every morning. "I'm not interested in riding a bike and then parking it on the outside of campus," he said. "I would get a bike if I could ride it on campus because it would save me a lot of time." Motika said A.S. has fine-tuned the original resolution put forth by e3 and will continue to do so because of the positive reaction the last bike crusade stirred up. "I have never met a person that has not wanted bikes on campus," he said, "but I think that the university is being realistic in its approach, because this would cost money and we don't know where the funds would come from." Construction of the bike lane and signage throughout campus would be some of the initial costs, as well as patrolling the area to ensure safety. Motika plans to attend the rally today, and said that although there might not be a very large group of students in the rally, as long as a significant number of students show up, the event will be successful. "It's the spirit of campus that people are busy going places all the time, and not everyone can be there to give their support to the cause, but having a group like e3 that consistently supports it is great," Motika said. The bike resolution will go before the University Senate next month and if approved, will be sent to University President Stephen Weber before any construction begins. "From what I can see, the university isn't against it, they are just realistic (and) trying to figure out how to make it work," Motika said.

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