On any given bike rack around campus, skeletons of bicycles past remain chained up––metal frames, wheels and seats long gone, rusting away. These abandoned bikes take up much-needed space on the bike racks around campus, and should be dealt with by the Department of Public Service. Failing to act and get rid of these visual reminders of neglect and theft sends a message that the University doesn’t care about its space or its students’ attempts to get around campus.
When trying to park a bike, students frequently find that the racks are completely filled and must instead lock their bike to nearby trees or fences. If bikes have been chained to a rack for so long that cobwebs form across its tires, or a front wheel is missing, it is probably time to cut the lock and make room for bikes that are actually used.
Of course, it may be difficult to tell which bikes are truly abandoned and which are just infrequently used. To manage the situation, DPS should make greater use of its bicycle registration program, which began in March of 2009. If bikes on campus were registered, it would be easier to identify the abandoned bikes that take up space for months on end.
Another solution would be to offer specific areas of campus for long-term bike parking, and leave the racks in high-traffic areas like Red Square, Leavey, and Lauinger for temporary use. Students who plan to use their bikes infrequently could be told to leave their bikes in a part of campus that is visited less often, such as the Southwest Quad, and maintain the racks near classroom buildings and the student center for short-term use, keeping more space available for those who depend on their bikes to travel around campus.
Especially for those who live further off campus and use bikes daily, the sight of a bike rack full of decrepit, unused bicycles is disheartening and frustrating. Georgetown needs to clean up these signs of neglect.
