Staff editorial: Peddling a silly proposal


[B' Spokes: I found the following comments rather interesting. On one hand, yes, College Park is ahead of a lot of campuses in Maryland and it has the Bronze level award from LAB for their The Bicycle Friendly University program (<a href="http://www.bikeleague.org/programs/bicyclefriendlyamerica/bicyclefriendlyuniversity/pdfs/bfu_master_award_list_march2012.pdf">http://www.bikeleague.org/programs/bicyclefriendlyamerica/bicyclefriendlyuniversity/pdfs/bfu_master_award_list_march2012.pdf</a>; ) But the real question is what about the other college campuses in the state? To quote (from memory) what one official from a different university said when discussing bicycle access to the university &quot;Not unnecessary because no one bikes here.&quot; :/ - That needs to change. ]
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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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<a href="http://www.diamondbackonline.com/opinion/staff-editorial-peddling-a-silly-proposal-1.2818899">http://www.diamondbackonline.com/opinion/staff-editorial-peddling-a-silly-proposal-1.2818899</a>;

by B' Spokes

Like most people I live a hectic life and who has the time for much exercise? Thanks to xtracycle now I do. By using my bike for daily activities I can get things done and get an hour plus work out in 15 minutes extra of my time, not a bad deal and beats taking the extra time going to the gym. In case you are still having trouble being motivated; the National Center of Disease Control says that inactivity is the #2 killer in the United States just behind smoking. ( http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/bb_nutrition/ ) Get out there and start living life! I can carry home a full shopping cart of groceries, car pool two kids or just get lost in the great outdoors camping for a week. Well I got go, another outing this weekend.
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