Building Bikeways: Behind the Scenes

There have been some exciting developments on the Clemson University campus this August. A year in the planning, just in time for the fall semester to start, there will be a number of bicycle improvements that can be seen and experienced on the campus. When you get a chance to stop by - whether for class, over a football weekend or during homecoming - consider bringing your bike to check out the latest:

Bike Repair Station.  Requested by the students, for the students and of the students, a Dero Fix-It bike repair station has landed near a couple of the residence halls on Fort Hill Street. It's about 5 ft tall, brown and a savvy facility in which students can use to do some basic repairs and pump their bike tires with air. There's a nifty QR code that can be scanned for "how-to" video viewing on a smart phone. The pump is also designed to be used with the different kind of (tube) valves.

Bike repair station at Clemson University.

Shared Roadways.  A number of campus roads are marked to designated preferred bike routes on campus. These routes are marked by a "sharrow," (see photo below), also known as a shared road marking. They are meant to alert folks driving that they should expect (and respect!) that bikes may be on this route. They also are meant to indicate to those on bikes that 1) this is a preferred bike route, and 2) ride here - not on the sidewalk. As bikes are on the roads, they are expected to stop at stop signs, gives peds the right of way, stop at stop lights, etc. Look for these fun symbols around the campus!

East Beach Road, shared roadway.

Bike Lanes.  Another road will be marked with a bike lane. A portion of Cherry Road, one of the major roads through the campus, now has a bike lane on it. In addition to the bike lane that was added last summer, the number of bikeways on campus has more than doubled! Bikes should ride in the bike lane, and (again) follow the basic rules of the road.

Adding bike lanes to Cherry Road. A work in progress.

There have been some improvements on campus. With the support of students, faculty and staff in the coming years, the bike-friendly culture is sure to grow.