Office of Campus Activities to host bike forum
A bicycle safety forum will be held today at noon with Charlie Lane, associate senior vice president for Career and Protective Services, and other administrators to discuss the various ways the administration can improve bike safety on campus.
Ride on · The USC administration is taking steps to deal with the bike traffic issue on campus and will discuss solutions at today’s forum. - Mindy Curtis | Daily Trojan
Bike safety has been an ongoing discussion in recent years, and the Undergraduate Student Government hopes the forum will provide a way for students to interact with administrators about their needs and concerns.
“We’re hoping that there will be a good turnout and that it serves a dual purpose,” said Monish Tyagi, director of USG Campus Affairs. “We hope that it helps administrators understand student concerns and also students voice their concerns and insight.”
Department of Public Safety Chief Carey Drayton said that because of the variety of transportation modes, conflict is inevitable.
“Our campus is filled with obstacles like other people, vehicles, golf carts and skateboarders, so there are a lot of traffic conflicts that can occur,” Drayton said. “A person should really focus on the task at hand.”
In the last year and a half, more than 100 cases of traffic conflicts occurred, ranging from minor scratches to overnight stays in the hospital, Drayton said. One student has already been hit by a vehicle this year.
“Students are being injured severely because they aren’t following the rules of the road,” Drayton said. “I’m not saying that they’re not aware [of the motor vehicle code] … I just don’t believe that they care because there’s not an enforcement present to make that happen on a regular basis.”
Drayton said DPS is considering stationing a law enforcement officer at major intersections to document any traffic violations.
The event will be held at the Ronald Tutor Campus Center in The Forum.
Correction: 9/15/10 — A previous version of this story was headlined “USG to host bike forum.” However, the Campus Conversation Series is sponsored by the Office of Campus Activities. This version of the story has been corrected to reflect this change.