The University of Illinois is recognized by The League of American Bicyclists as a bronze-level Bicycle Friendly University and the University recently completed and approved a new master 2014 Campus Bike Plan to “improve mobility and accessibility for cyclists on campus,” and, “fund the ongoing and future improvement of campus bicycle facilities, services and programming.”

But even with these accolades, there is a campus feud between bikers and pedestrians fueled by collisions, slow, texting walkers and bikers riding off the bike lane. Two Daily Illini columnists, one biker and one pedestrian, took it upon themselves today to address this tension, that basically runs deeper than the hate between the Capulets and Montagues and fight out this age old debate.

Leah Pearlman: Pro-pedestrian

The other day I nearly grazed death as a biker was riding on the sidewalk and almost crashed into me. So, this is a public service announcement to bikers who are seemingly try to end my life and the lives of other students: Stop acting like you own the roads.

Theatrical Leah aside, it’s true I have been nearly hit on more than a few occasions.

Therefore, it is imperative that when riding bicycles on campus, students obey the same traffic laws, signs and signals that apply to drivers of cars. It says on the University’s Bicycle Enforcement page, “that bicyclists ‘shall be granted all of the rights and shall be subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle.’”

The same way you don’t see cars and buses driving on the sidewalk, you shouldn’t see bikers either.

The infrastructure at the University admittedly isn’t entirely set up for biking. One-way roads plague Urbana-Champagnes streets. There aren’t as many bike racks as many of us would like. Even the Quad isn’t well-designed enough for fitting both bikers and pedestrians on their way to and from classes.

We are working as an institution to better this setting for bicyclists. Yet despite all these changes being made to make sure bikers are given enough amenities to stay safe and ride in their lanes, I often still find myself fearing for my life while walking down Wright or Armory.

There are definite changes being made to the campus for a more biker-friendly environment. While I’m more than thrilled that these improvements will put a smile on your bike-riding faces, until then, I am begging you to stay out of the way of the common commuter. For the safety of others and your spandex-wearing-selves, the best place to ride, and the legal place to ride, is on the street or in a bike lane.

It isn’t uncommon to hear students sharing almost-accident stories when it comes to bikers on campus. Jack Griffon, sophomore in ACES, recounted his own experience with bikers, stating, “I was thrown down by my friend jumping out of the way of an aggressive biker who wasn’t stopping for pedestrians.”

These aren’t sporadic occurrences, and even though the University is making a lot of changes for bikers’ safety, they are still choosing not to obey the rules.

As we are starting to employ more bicycle-friendly methods, the responsibility lies with bikers to ensure that both their safety and the safety of pedestrians crossing the street are both met.

While I don’t doubt that bikers are just as sick of jaywalkers and students walking across the streets at green lights, for both their safety and ours, bikers should stick to the normal paths that the University provides.

This means it’s on both pedestrians to not walk in the bike lanes that are designed for bikers and for bikers to equally respect our sidewalks; on such a crowded campus, it is simply best to be mindful of those around you.

Leah is a freshman in Media.

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Jason Schwartz: Pro-biker

As a proud biker on this campus, it is my duty to speak out when I feel we as a community are being slighted.

While the weather is still nice out it’s commonplace to bike to class. However, as a result, there has been a growing divide amongst the student population, Bikers vs. Pedestrians.

Now, pedestrians will attempt to chastise bikers at every turn for blatantly ignoring the rules of the road or even attempting to hit pedestrians on their way to class — as if we were playing Grand Theft Auto. I am here to disprove these myths and share the point of view of a biker on campus.

It is important to understand why we bikers do what we do. It is the most efficient way to get from point A to point B at this university. Biking is at least three times faster than walking, assuming you’re not a speed walking olympiast (which is a real thing). https://theeverydaycyclist.wordpress.com/2010/09/14/how-to-commute-by-bike-the-faster-than-walking-mantra/

If your class is a 15-minute walk from your dorm or apartment, it’ll take you five minutes flat on a bike. Every student would probably kill for ten more minutes in the morning to sleep, shower or actually eat breakfast for a change.

It’s no secret that there are a number of run-ins between pedestrians and bikers on campus. People like to blame the bikers, but I would largely put the blame on the pedestrians and the University’s lack of bike lanes.

I can not tell you how many near collisions I have been in with students who are seemingly new on campus (looking at you, freshmen), unaware of what a bike lane is.

The dotted yellow lines on concrete are for bikes. Those marks aren’t the University reminding pedestrians to walk in a straight line on the right side of the sidewalk or street, it is to make everyone aware of a bike lane and on-coming bikers.

Similar to the way we approach cars, the responsibility is on the pedestrians to be safe while crossing a bike lane, not the biker barreling down at you at 20 mph. It is much easier for you to stop than it is for a biker.

It is a common gripe that bikers ride on the sidewalk, but this is at the fault of the University. There are currently countless one-way streets that don’t contain bike paths, and as a result bikers are forced to ride on the sidewalk (we can get a ticket for riding the wrong way on a one-way, just like any car would).

Consequently, the next time you encounter a biker weaving through the notoriously slow walkers here, know that we don’t want to be slowed down by navigating through people, but we have no choice in the matter.

So the next time you see a near pedestrian/biker collision, think twice before blaming the biker and remember that we are not trying to run you all over.

Jason is a senior in LAS.

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