Editor,
It's about time that UNM's Physical Plant started enforcing federal laws regarding bicycles illegally locked to and preventing the use of handrails by those who are visually and physically challenged. Having said that let me also state that UNM's Physical Plant isn't doing its job.
In a school where millions of dollars are spent on parking and shuttle facilities, zip is being spent to facilitate us cyclists who are saving UNM all those car parking expenses.
Point of fact, the last time new racks were purchased was more than a decade ago. At the same time, other racks were removed because of the then-new draconian set of rules, which made most of campus off-limits to bicycles.
Now that spring is almost here and so many people will be riding their bikes to school there simply aren't enough bike racks on campus. In addition, the ones that do exist are often either in a bad location, damaged, simply useless or taken up by derelict, cannibalized bikes left by owners who either lost their key or decided that what was left of their bikes wasn't worth unlocking.
There used to be a rack on the north side of the SUB and another one on the north end of Mesa Vista Hall. The site for the ugly-as-sin Center of the Universe was the location for about a dozen racks and seemed to be a social gathering place for bike commuters.
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Which brings me to the point of location: Racks need to be easily accessible - near building entrances - and for security purposes, in heavily traveled areas. The racks to the west of Mitchell are both out-of-sight as well as out-of-the-way. You can't even ride over the gravel to the racks north of Zimmerman!
No wonder some cyclists prefer handrails.
Another problem is that there is no maintenance of the bike racks that do exist. Most of the older, wire racks are missing spaces, have loose bolts, are bent or simply aren't secured. Then some of the facilities that do exist are completely useless. Look at the racks in front of student services. They are useless if you want to U-lock your front wheel to the rack.
Another problem is countless bikes that have been locked to, and since cannibalized on, racks all over campus. Every year they are accumulating more. These bikes take up badly needed spaces for cyclists who will otherwise lock their bikes up to polls, trees and yes, handicapped railings.
And it's not like some of these are questionably derelict. There is a bike that has been locked south of the bookstore for about 18 months and another one east of the bookstore that has been there for about a year. The one in front of Health Services has been there for about six months and takes up four spaces.
It's great that Physical Plant is now enforcing the Americans with Disabilities Act. It's something that needs to be done. But if it were doing the rest of its job, cyclists wouldn't be forced to lock up their bikes to handrails.
Come on guys, if you can "remove and impound" bikes attached to Americans with Disabilities Act railings, why can't you remove and trash the twisted, mangled piece of junk in front of Health Services. Isn't it your job?
Danny Hernandez
UNM bike commuter
