Imagine a morning at East two years ago. As students walk into the school, there are almost no bikes at the two bike racks near the front doors of the school. Most people would have either driven to school or taken the bus. Fast forward to a morning this year. The bike racks are both full, with some slots having two bikes parked in them.
This year, there is a new wave of freshmen among whom biking to school is more popular than previous classes of students. Many say it is more fun and more convenient than other ways of getting to school.
“It gives me the freedom to choose whenever I want to come to school,” freshman Peter Ring said. “I don’t have to rely on the bus driver or a schedule and or whatever my parents’ schedule is.”
Another reason for the surge in bike commuters is that many of them bike in large groups. Most mornings, you can see groups of bikes coming up to the school, which were not there last year or the year before.
“There are groups of people who bike to school,” freshman Jack Sigeling said. “I am in one of those groups, and it makes biking more fun.”
However, students are also saying that the school does not accommodate the growing number of cyclists. Some days, every single space on the school’s bike racks have a bike parked in it.
“A lot of times you have to put your bicycle into very tight spaces,” Ring said. “It’s difficult to get out, and damaging to the bicycle.”
Students say there are many solutions to these issues, and that the school has the resources to provide those solutions.
“The school could add more bike racks in convenient areas,” Ring said. “They have all the funding they need to do that. They spend money on things that they shouldn’t be. Bicycling is the best way to get to school for a lot of people, and the school needs to accommodate the people who want to do that and not ignore them.”
The school may or may not recognize students who bike to school, but one thing is for sure–the bike racks will be full tomorrow morning.
