CYCLING: Campus gets a push to share the road
continued from PAGE 1
A major problem for the cycling
com m unity is the cars around
them . Sharing the road is a skill
that’s taught to everyone when they
start driving, and it still applies to
the college campus too.
Suzy Isham, CCC’s director of
cam pus safety, warns that people
need to be aware o f those around
them or it could cause some seri
ous damage. “People need to slow
down, they do need to be more con
scious o f the environm ent around
them in order to keep everybody
safe,” Isham says. “Anybody who
is coming onto cam pus I would
highly urge just to slow dow n and
to be aware of your environm ent,
and knowledgeable to the fact
that we have a large population o f
students who will be o n foot or on
bike or on skateboard.”
Recently, th e cam pus will
Undergo an extensive survey ,t o
further understand the transpor
tation needs o f all GCC students,
n o t ju st those, w ith 4 wheels.
According' to Phillip King, the
D ean of Academic Foundations
and Connections, this survey will
explore all transportation options
for the cainpus. Everything from
our relationship with Trirnet to
how the cycling com m unity can
be further assisted.
Until then, CCC is outfitted
with bike racks for people to store
thefr bikes between Classes, and
it also has very low bike theft
incidences, according to Isham.
“Honestly we’re very fortunate, and
we don’t have a lot o f bike theft
around here,” she says. In fact for
2013, only three bike thefts were
reported to campus safety. Still,
Isham warns that it’s better to be
prepared for those sort o f things:
“People just need to b e smart.”
M Y ERS: Saving the
Earth and money
one pedal at a time
co n tin u e d fro m PAGE 1
M yers: Yeah, in O regon C ity
m ore So th a n o th er places.^ It’s
usually young people like high
schoolers. I • also tra in o n -the
c o u n try roads o u t here a n d it
seem s to be folks th a t drive big
diesel tru c k s are p a rtic u la rly
adverse to cyclist. A d o se second
w ould be d istrac ted m om s th at
text w hile driving th e ir children
in th e ir m in i vans. T h e th ird
w ould be self-absorbed career
professionals in th e ir T oyota
Priuses th a t are b u sier texting
a n d talking on th e p h o n e w hile
p u ttin g on th e ir m akeup, sm ok
ing, eating a b u rrito all at the
sam e tim e.
T C P: W h en waS th e last tim e
ou were in an accident and w hat
appened?
M yers: A long tim e ago, pro b
ably 20 years ago. I’ve b e e n h it
tw ice, once in a p a rk in g lo t
w hich was k in d o f m y fault and
once at an intercep tio n . It was
a four way stop a n d it w as a h it
and ru n w hich was n o t m y fault.
T he guy d idn’t see m e I guess or
was try in g to h it m e, I nave no
id e a ... It was k in d o f d a rk so I
did n ’t get a plate o r anything;
th ey to o k off so fast I couldn’t
get a d escription. T he tim e in
th e p a rk in g lo t I shouldn’t have
b een w here I was. P arking lots
are th e m o st dangerous place o n
earth. People don’t look and they
can’t see you, so th a t was k in d
o f m y fault.
TCP: W hat are your suggestions
for drivers on cam pus?
M yers: O bey th e speed lim it.
P u t y o u r p h o n e away, you’re
ab o u t to p a rk anyw ay th e n you-;
can u se y o u r s tu p id p h o n e .
Seriously, th a t I do n o t u n d e r
stand.
TCP: D o you th in k Clackamas
is a safe place for bicyclist?
M yers: Well, there’s ‘n o bike
lane o n th e loop ro a d b u t th e
speed lim its are fairly low . T"
th in k it’s safe, th ere’s a .path to
com e in a n d out. T here’s w orse
th a t’s for sure.
T C P: Is th ere anyth in g you
w ould like to add? v-
M yers: I w ish m o re folks
w ould ride th eir bikes. For every
bike it m eans one less car o n the
road. For th o se w ho are cur
re n tly rid in g I th in k it’s really
im p o rta n t for th e m to obey th e
traffic "laws b ecause’a lo t o f the
in cid en ts th a t I have are a result
o f o th e r cyclist th a tid o n ’t obey
th e law s th a t fru s tra te d riv
ers, therefore th ey takes th e ir
fru stra tio n o u t on th e re st o f
us. I always really stress m yself
to follow th e rules o f the ro a d
because we really are ju st like
cars. It’s a g reat alternative from
driving a car especially w hen gas
is nearly four dollars a gallon. It’s
b e tte r for th e e n vironm ent, it’s
ju st b e tte r all the way around.
E specially w hen you’re paying a
car paym ent, you can buy a really
nice bike in a couple o f m onths.
Myers rides his bike through campus, supporting his belief that more people should be riding bikes. He believes
riding a bike is a great alternative to driving a car as long as you obey the traffic laws.