Published 2011-11-15T18:26:00Z”/>

Brenna Dillman

Chico bicycle commuters gathered on campus Nov. 8 to discuss bike related issues in a forum run by the Institute for Sustainable Development, A.S. Sustainability and University Police.

The forum was a 1 1/2-hour discussion on how Chico State and the city could help bike commuters.

Attendees split into groups based on topic so the transportation committee could prioritize what people’s concerns were, said Robyn DiFalco, the A.S. Sustainability coordinator.

“The campus has never facilitated something for students, staff and faculty to discuss issues together,” DiFalco said.

The categories of the student-led discussions included bike racks, through routes, city issues, bike safety and others.

The largest group was at the through routes discussion, where the people involved were in heated conversation about routes through Chico and the campus and how to make it easier and safer for people to ride their bikes to different parts of campus.

This issue has been discussed outside of the forum as well by students who have similar issues and suggestions, said Angelina Gallardo, a senior political science major.

“They should do a bike path around campus since you can’t ride through the campus,” Gallardo said.

Students agree with this, and even say they are happy with the bike rack situation but would like to see more paths, said Evan Davis, a senior anthropology major.

“It would be nice to be able to ride on some of the major paths to get across campus,” Davis said.

The availability of bike racks has been discussed in the past and was brought up again by the forum, as well as placement and maintenance of the racks.

“I think they do well on offering a lot spots that are available around campus for bikes,” Gallardo said.

A number of complaints were made about bicycle safety on many city streets without bike lanes, as well as bike paths with poor lighting.

A major issue discussed was the bike path on Nord and West Sacramento avenues.

Although many were concerned with areas around University Village and the west side of town, Lauren Delaney, a senior accounting major who lives on the south side of town, thinks that not enough attention is given to the south-campus area.

“I think they cater to the people around Nord Ave.,” Delaney said. “But not the other side of town where there are no bike paths.”

Forums like the one held Nov. 8 are there to give students, staff and faculty a chance to voice their concerns, said James Pushnik, the executive director of the Institute for Sustainable Development.

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<strong>Brenna Dillman can be reached at</strong>

<em>[email protected]</em>