Since Texas Tech has one of the biggest continuous campuses in the United States, some students choose to ride bicycles to get to class faster than walking.
But, as James Mandujano warns, with all the pedestrians and vehicles on campus, bikers and walkers alike need to stay alert to avoid mishaps.
The senior management information systems major said he normally bikes to and around campus from his house, about two miles away.
“Since bikers are going so fast, it’s easier for them to get hit by a car or run into another student,” Mandujano said.
He said he saw a biker get hit by a car by the chemistry building, when he tried to dart across the cross walk from the sidewalk.
Sarah Self-Walbrick/The Hub@TTU
Mandujano said bikers should not look at phones while riding, which he learned from experience after he almost hit a pedestrian while doing it. He also warns not to ride your bike through the free speech area and next to the library.
Brittany Bird, a corporate communications major, said she rides the bus to campus and walks to her classes.
“I think when at all possible bikers should try and stay on the roadways,” Bird said. “I also know that this campus is freaking massive and sometimes staying off the sidewalk can be hard.”
Bird said walking around such a big campus can be tiring, and she would use a bike to get to class if she had one.
According to the Texas Tech University Transportation & Parking Services website, bikers are supposed to yield to any pedestrian.
Bird said she saw a male biker run into a female pedestrian going pretty fast. She got up after, Bird said, but the collision looked like it hurt.
Bikes should be walked through the free speech area. Maddy McCarty/The Hub@TTU
“Bikers need to stay cautious especially when riding on the sidewalk,” Bird said. “Students are so buried into their phones when their walking, they will just walk right in front of a biker or car.”
According to the website, bikers are not allowed to ride on sidewalks that run parallel to a bike lane, breezeways or sidewalks that cross breezeways, sidewalks that run down the face of a building, and the area between the Student Union Building and library.
Amy Ivey, the public relations officer and crime corporal for Texas Tech Police Department, said the free speech area between the SUB and library is a common place to see bikers riding where they are not allowed.
Ivey said bikers have to follow normal traffic laws when riding in the street and bike lane. Bikers can be written a citation for breaking these laws with a fine up to $200, she said.
“On a daily basis we can find someone biking on campus who is violating a rule,” Ivey said. “Last week I was driving and had a biker blow by a stop sign right in front of me.”
Ivey said people riding bikes through high traffic areas, like the free speech area, can be dangerous. She said that is why there are rules that bikers have to follow.
To learn all of the rules and regulations that bikers have to follow, click here.
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