Instead of getting a smooth ride through the South Quad, bicyclists riding on the path near the newly built Wymer Hall suddenly found it blocked by a dumpster wall when they returned for the fall semester.

The bike path was torn up during construction, yet rather than restoring the bike lane afterward, Facilities & Services removed the lane in its 2024 Campus Bicycle Plan — a decision that defies national infrastructure guidelines.

Before construction began on Wymer Hall, bicyclists could ride from the courtyard near Ikenberry Commons to West Urbana, completely separated from pedestrians for nearly a mile. Two paths existed, one for cycling and one for walking/rolling. 

However, once construction began, cyclists were rerouted onto the adjacent sidewalk between South Fourth and South Sixth streets, combining bicyclists and pedestrians onto one path.

Because F&S made this decision, the developers were no longer obligated to rebuild the separate path for bicycles, and instead built their wall to hide trash containers. 

Inconsistent with the rest of the dedicated cycle path, this section near Wymer Hall is the only one that forces bikers to mix with pedestrians — everywhere else, separate facilities exist.  

This merge with pedestrians is detrimental to the effectiveness, feasibility and safety of every person on the path.

Extensive literature suggests that serious collisions can occur on shared pathways. By creating this shared path, F&S disregards the safety of people who are blind, have low vision or have headphones in, putting them at a higher risk of colliding with cyclists. 

Because cyclists can be quiet and move quickly, nearly double the number of near accidents occur on shared pathways than on separated paths. 

Now that bikers must swerve in between crowds of people, cyclists are already avoiding the sidewalk in favor of going around the wall. Based on observation, the path is too narrow to accommodate bikers, and the risk of crashing into someone is not worth the trip. 

Not only is this change unsafe and inconvenient, but it also directly contradicts national best practice and the University’s bicycle plan. 

According to the United States Department of Transportation, previous design guidelines called for the full separation of bicycles and pedestrians, which the University once adhered to.

Now, by combining the paths, the University ignores its own bicycle plan on page 41, which states that crowded/narrow paths are not suitable for both bicycles and pedestrians. 

This path cannot accommodate bikers and should be separated. Not doing so would contradict the University’s own guidelines and additional best practice design guidelines from bicycle planners nationwide.

The wall and detour rightfully received intense online criticism via Facebook and Reddit. Despite this push back, the University strives to “improve the university’s standing as a national leader in bicycle friendliness” through projects guided by the Campus Bicycle Plan. 

The University was designated as a silver-level Bicycle Friendly University from the League of American Bicyclists in 2019. The League recognizes institutions and cities for establishing well-connected, secure and convenient bicycle paths.

With this reversal of commitment toward cycling on campus, why flaunt an award that contradicts F&S’s recent actions? 

Adding insult to injury, developers built a concrete path around the wall, connecting to the old bike infrastructure. Bikers could, and often do, ride around the wall to avoid the busy sidewalk that F&S intends them to ride on.

However, last time I checked, bicyclists do not carry a copy of the Campus Bicycle Plan in their pocket. The path of least resistance will be taken, and if it’s a choice between a shoulder to shoulder, impassible sidewalk or simply going around the wall, people will ride around the wall. 

F&S did not do its due diligence when planning this shared path. If the team did, it would be evident that the sidewalk is far too hectic for bicycles to reasonably use, and it would be evident that the dumpster wall could be built elsewhere.

Today, students who cycle along this route are being taken for granted — treated no better than the dumpster wall that was plopped in the bike lane. 

This is shortsighted planning. This is what it looks like when the University takes a step backward and becomes “unfriendly” to bicyclists. 

Joe is a junior in FAA.

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