Heather Caygle

For students searching for an alternative to crowded parking decks, meters and traffic, campus bike rentals may be the answer. Outdoor Pursuits in the campus recreation center has a variety of bikes students can rent.

“We have several high end road bikes and mountain bikes available for rent,” said Bill Pierce, assistant director of campus recreation for outdoor pursuits.

Pierce said the road bikes offer a smoother ride. “It is designed to be a very lightweight performance bike,” he said.

The mountain bikes, on the other hand, have front suspension, disc brakes, and 21 speeds.

“Both bikes are aimed towards people who want to ride a real serious mountain bike trail or a serious road bike trail,” said Pierce.

Students can rent a road or mountain bike for $20 a day, $35 for 3 days or $60 weekly. Outdoor Pursuits also rents recreational campus bikes for $10 per day, $20 for 3 days, or $39 per week.

“The campus bike is not a road bike. It is more like a mountain bike, but it only has 18 speeds,” said Pierce.

Outdoor Pursuits also provides helmets with the rentals and bike locks if requested. Pierce recommends students renting bikes wear closed toed shoes and weather-appropriate clothing.

Another biking option for students living in residence halls is the checkout program offered by dorms. Each dorm has three bikes for checkout, except Denman Hall, which has two bikes.

The bikes may be checked out from 7:30 a.m.-10:30 p.m. Helmets and bike locks are also offered with the checkout service.

Kris Schraeder, general manager for Blazer and Blount Halls, said the program, which was launched in the summer, has been successful so far.

“The bikes are usually checked out each day,” said Schraeder. “The students like the program, and I think it is very convenient for them to get around on campus if they don’t have a bike.”

Schraeder said the goals of the program are to promote green living and provide a service to the students.

“The program strives to promote a healthy lifestyle and also provide another convenience and service to the students that live on campus,” she said.

According to Schraeder, the idea for the program came from seeing a similar program at another college.

“We had seen the Regions bikes at Birmingham-Southern College, and we inquired about the possibility of having them here,” she said.

The program works differently at Birmingham-Southern, though, because it is a gated campus. “We are an urban

school, and that is why we chose to do it within the residence halls and do a check in and out process,” Schraeder said.

The 14 bikes in the checkout program were donated by Regions Bank. They are single speed cruiser bikes.

Mel Campbell, spokesperson for Regions Bank, said the bank donated bicycles to several schools for students to use.

“When we formed the new Regions, we wanted to help people save in all the ways that you can consider saving. Providing the availability of reliable transportation is a good way of reaching out into the community because ultimately, we are people and a bank that is part of the community,” Campbell said.

For more information on how to rent a bike from Outdoor Pursuits, please call 205-934-8224.

By Heather Caygle

The USGA Student Forum, sponsored by the Undergraduate Student Government Association and the Residence Hall Association, took place in Blazer Hall on Friday, Sept. 25.

Students and administrators including UAB President Dr. Carol Garrison, Provost Capilouto, Dr. Rigney and Kimberly Fort, director of parking and transportation, attended the forum.

Bridgette Stewart, USGA student advocate, organized the forum this year. “Our main goal was to help the students and administrators understand each other better,” said Stewart.

The forum covered many different topics including academics, parking, the library, athletics, housing and student life.  The group discussed each topic for about 10 minutes before moving on to the next subject.

“I came to hear what the administrators had to say and to be able to voice our opinions,” said Katelyn Englert.

During the first topic, academics, the administration said UAB is beginning to experiment with electronic textbooks as an alternative to the rising cost of textbook prices. Garrison said the University will make a decision about academic realignment before the end of October.

Another topic students were anxious to discuss was parking. Fort discussed current construction and future construction of the commuter deck on 12th Avenue. Fort also said that an amnesty program concerning parking tickets had been discussed.

“We have discussed the issue with Hernandez Stroud about doing a food drive - cans of food for parking tickets - so we have discussed those different kinds of options, ” Fort said. “But we haven’t put anything into place at this time.”

Students also expressed concerns about bike racks and bike lanes. Fort said more bike racks are being added around campus, but there are no plans for additional bike lanes at this time.

During the discussion on athletics, the administration addressed the reduction of tailgating space at Legion Field and the end of shuttle buses to home games. Garrison said she was unsure why space allotted for tailgating had been reduced but she would have an answer before the next home game. “I would love to see you all out there tailgating,” she added.

Shuttle buses to and from home games were stopped because of budget cuts, but Garrison said if students express a big enough interest, they may return.

When asked about renovations at the Mervyn Sterne Library, the administration said students can expect extended library hours after the renovation. One possibility is keeping the first floor open for longer hours, something that wasn’t possible before the renovation.

According to the administration, phase one of the renovations in Sterne Library should be completed by December. Phase two will begin in January and end in March. The third and final phase will begin shortly after, and the library should be completely renovated by fall 2010.

The only topic students did not have any questions about was safety, but the administration did say cameras have been added to some outdoor parking areas as another way to keep students safe.

During the discussion about student housing Garrison said campus housing was completely full this year for the first time. “Student affairs and residential affairs are looking into and thinking about next year - what can we do to make sure we meet all the housing needs… this is at the top of our list,” said Garrison.

The forum was a combination of student questions and congratulations for things such as the new UAB softball field and the improved attitude of UAB dining workers.

UAB dining workers’ attitudes was a topic that had been addressed at the previous forum and, according to students, was corrected. “The overall attitude of the dining services faculty has immensely improved,” said junior Ashley Davis. “It is such a much more wonderful environment, and I have enjoyed it more.”

At the end of the forum Garrison thanked students for attending and encouraged students to email administrators with any future concerns.

“What we want here is for you all to have the best experience you possibly can inside and outside of the classroom,” she said. “This institution is growing. We had our 40th birthday yesterday, and we look back at the last 40 years and look forward to the next 40 years.  You are a part of the next 40 years, so help us to build the best institution that we can possibly have.”

The parking landscape at UAB is changing for the better with the start of construction in lots 15F and 15R this past week.
According to Kimberley Fort, Director of Parking and Transportation, the University is realigning the parking in lot 15F and adding two parking to lot 15R to maximize the area.
The goal is to minimize the loss of parking space due to the construction of the UAB softball complex.
“The softball construction kind of cut the parking lot in half and took the street parking and so what we’re doing is going in and realigning all of the parking bays, which will increase the parking numbers over there so that we don’t lose as many spaces with the softball field project,” said Fort.

The parking lot of the Business and Engineering Complex is currently under construction. Fort asks students ‘to be patient’ until January.

Construction is also continuing on the 9th Avenue deck behind the School of Public Health. Fort said that construction for both the 9th Avenue deck and lots 15F and 15R, close to the BEC, are on time and expects both projects to be finished by January.
When asked what her advice is to students upset about parking, Fort replied, “Be patient and hang in there, a lot of this is going to be done by January.”
Students will see even more changes when construction begins on the 12th Avenue deck in six to eight weeks. Sheila Chaffin, Executive Director of Campus Planning, predicts that the 12th Avenue project will last about a year and will add two levels with 370 new spaces.
Both Fort and Chaffin say that the overall goal is to have parking around the perimeter of campus so that students can park relatively easy and enjoy their time on campus.
“What we strive for is to make parking a nonissue so that you can get to campus and get your business done and focus on your classes or your job,” said Fort.
According to Chaffin, another long-term goal is to increase and improve transit around UAB and Birmingham so people do not have to rely so heavily on their automobiles.
Chaffin believes increased and improved transit will greatly benefit UAB because, “When you get to that point, you don’t have to fool around building parking all the time.”
“Transit becomes real important when you’re in an urban setting like we are—how to get the people in, how to get them out conveniently– so we spend a lot of time on where the transit routes should go. Transit is the answer for a region like this,” Chaffin added.
Hernandez Stroud, USGA President, believes parking is the most important issues students at UAB face right now. “More than tuition, dining, and textbook prices, parking challenges, specifically this year, has affected more students than I have ever witnessed,” said Stroud.
Stroud said that he knows the parking situation cannot be “fixed” altogether this year but hopes that submit some suggestions will help “alleviate some of the tensions of finding a space when you need it.”
Stroud said the administration is willing to listen and encourages students who would like to voice an opinion to attend the USGA Student Forum on September 25. The forum will discuss many different issues affecting UAB students, not just parking.
“President Garrison, Provosts, Vice-Presidents, Directors, Managers, and representatives from all walks of UAB will be in attendance to answer your questions, hear your thoughts, and take suggestions on issues that matter most to students,” said Stroud.
For additional information on parking construction, as well as up-to-date information on lot closings and temporary lots visit the UAB Parking and Transportation Office online.

Heather Caygle
Staff Writer
hcaygle@uab.edu