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Rideables

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Events and service projects

The Campus Rideables Committee

In the summer of 2023, the BYU Campus Bicycle Committee (est. in 2016) evolved into the BYU Campus Rideables Committee in response to the growing needs of the campus population. They now seek to create a campus that is friendly to all sorts of rideable vehicles, such as bikes, mopeds, hoverboards, scooters, skateboards, etc. The committee, which is composed of students, staff, and faculty, meets frequently during fall and winter semesters. Please email bikecommittee@byu.edu to suggest projects, provide agenda items, or request maintenance of bike racks or repair stations.

Mission Statement:

The Rideables Committee works to promote a safe and supportive rideables experience for members of the campus community and encourages the use of rideables as a viable mode of transportation for health, convenience, and enjoyment.

We aim to accomplish this mission by:

  1. Promoting a safe rideable campus experience.
  2. Encouraging rideables, as well as walking and transit, as viable transportation modes
  3. Encouraging people to use active rideables for health, convenience, enjoyment, and as just a part of everyday life to move about.
  4. Monitoring and assessing rideables on campus and providing a status report to the campus community regarding their state on campus.
  5. Identifying and promoting rideable facilities, resources and services available to individuals and the university.

BYU and Provo: A Bike-Friendly Campus and Community

BYU and Provo are great places to bike and are recognized by the League of American Bicyclists as, respectively a Bicycle-Friendly Campus and Bicycle-Friendly Community.

In 2015, the League designated BYU a bronze-level Bicycle-Friendly Campus. BYU’s “campus unification project,” which made the campus safer for pedestrians and bicyclists; and its promotion of bicycling through events such as Y Bike, helped BYU earn the recognition. The League provided feedback to BYU recommending improvements such as improved bicycle parking, conducting bicycle counts, and more education and encouragement programming. In 2017, the BYU Campus Bicycle Committee applied to move up in rank with the goal of improving safety on campus for all. Due to the diligent efforts of the committee, and the support of campus leadership, BYU was awarded a silver-level Bicycle-Friendly Campus designation in 2018.

The BYU Bicycle committee continues to make BYU even more bicycle friendly. They plan to re-apply, and hopefully move up to a gold-level Bicycle-Friendly Campus designation in 2023. Here are some current projects/topics they are working on:

  • Bicycle parking: Current areas of interest include the Engineering Building, the Harmon Building, and the Marriot Center.
  • Bicycle Education: Beginning in Spring 2022, BYU will offer a for-credit class called Bicycling Basics. This class, taught by instructors from the Provo Bicycle Collective, will teach students basic bicycle mechanic skills, safe riding in urban settings, and more.
  • Bicycle Programming: Events such as the annual Cougar Cruise event in the Spring (beginning March 2022) and the BYU Safety Fair in the fall provide opportunities for bikers across campus to get involved.
  • Evolving Transportation Needs: Personal electric scooters and other such forms of transportation have become increasingly more common on campus. The committee is attempting to address and resolve potential problems preventing us from accommodating students who choose these alternative forms of transportation.

In 2016, the League of American Bicyclists designated Provo a silver-level Bicycle Friendly Community. The League praised the city for the infrastructural improvements it has made that have resulted in approximately 35 miles of bike trails and pathways, 55 miles of bike lanes, and 11 miles of widened and paved street shoulders. Here is the report card Provo received and the BFC criteria.

Over the next few years, Provo made significant investments in bicycling infrastructure that have greatly improved the safety of the community to campus connections. For example, in 2018, Bulldog Boulevard (1230 North), which leads to the main entrance of campus, was redesigned and protected bicycle lanes were installed. Also in 2018, as part of the Provo-Orem bus rapid transit project, the bike lanes on North University Avenue were extended to downtown Provo, and 200 East was transformed into a Bicycle Boulevard/Neighborhood Greenway, that will provide the best bikeway from campus (at 800 North) to the Frontrunner Station (at 600 South). These are just a few of the projects that have made bicycling much more convenient, safe, and pleasant in Provo.

For more information about bicycling in Provo, see www.bikeprovo.org.

Y-Bike

Held usually in early September, Y-Bike is an event designed to encourage students to ride bicycles to school. Typically, local bike shops attend and offer free safety checks for students. If you’re looking to get involved with on-campus bike clubs, look out for bicycle advocacy and bike racing clubs which will likely be represented.

The Cougar Cruise

Join Cosmo in the Fall for our annual ride around campus! Previously limited to bikers only, we now invite all rideable users to join us on this cruise. It is a great opportunity for students to expand their network of riding buddies and become more familiar with rideable areas and parking across campus.

Cougar Cruise 2022

Video Credit: Megan Davies

Bike Month

In tandem (see what we did there?) with National Bike Month, Provo City celebrates all things bike during the whole month of May. Often, city government agencies and local organizations will put together a dozen or more events held throughout the month. Typically you’ll see a citywide Bike to Work Day, casual Monday night bike rides, rides for women only, bike-in movies, and sometimes even bike picnics, especially beneficial for the romantic cougar bike-lover. You can usually find a list of events on BikeProvo.org.

BYU Bicycle Club

If you are looking for people to ride with, this club is for you. They often hold rides for people who want to hit a single-track mountain bike trail or want to ride a couple of dozen miles on a road bike. Find them on Facebook for info on events.

BYU Mountain Biking Club

Do you want to learn more about Mountain biking? This club will help you refine your skills, build your network of riding buddies, and you'll get to participate in/organize a few trail maintenance projects. Click here to join this group.

BYU Triathlon Club

Hoping to train for a race or just get in really good shape? This is the group to be in. These athletes all about speed. If you find yourself craving energy gel and protein shakes, or shaving off every last leg hair to be as aerodynamic as possible, this is the club for you. Check out the BYU Clubs website for more information.