Staff editorial: Peddling a silly proposal
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By Diamondback Editorial Board
In addition to tackling the rising costs of tuition and graduate students’ unionization rights this legislative session, state Sen. Jim Rosapepe (D-Anne Arundel and Prince George’s) introduced a bill last month that will require in-state universities to develop biker- and pedestrian-friendly facility master plans by 2014. At first glance, this editorial board thought the legislation seemed like a good idea — for other universities, at least.
We might harp on a lot of administrative issues, but if this university has done one thing right, it’s prioritizing exactly what Rosapepe’s legislation suggests — making the campus a safe and enjoyable place to ride your bike and walk around. So we were surprised to see that when asked about his thoughts on this campus in particular, Rosapepe responded: “College Park is behind a lot of other campuses around the world in bicycle access. The big picture here is the university ought to be setting goals for the percentage of students, faculty and staff who can commute to campus by bicycle.”
Apparently, Rosapepe hasn’t heard of a $600,000 project called the Facilities Master Plan — a recently Board of Regents-approved 162-page document that outlines the university’s future developments and landscaping. In the plan, the word “bicyclist” appears 17 times. The word “bicycle” shows up 60, and “pedestrian” is written a whopping 105 times.
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