On a humid late August day, the Union Mall on the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville is bustling with students. Today, a line of bicycle racks line the mall, flanks by booths, handing out everything from stickers and keychains to tote bags and even bike locks. Today, the university's Outdoor Recreation Center is hosting a bike block party.
Emma Armendariz coordinates active transportation for the Office of Sustainability at the university.
“We have a lot of groups here that we invited from around northwest Arkansas,” Armendariz said. “We're just trying to connect our students and faculty and staff with some biking resources and things that can help support their active transportation efforts.”
She defines active transportation as any mode of transport that is human powered.
“So walking, biking, we do consider like e-scooters active transportation,” she said. “It's technically alternative, but I mean we like to promote that as well because it's one less car on campus.”
Next to Armendariz is a booth for the City of Fayetteville Parks and Recreation Department. A group of students gather around to check out some of the swag city representatives are handing out. One of the students, Paige Miller, is a junior chemical engineering major. She said she tries to bike to her classes as much as possible.
“I bike or walk to school every day and so do all my roommates,” she said. “We are so lucky to live right on the greenway and like there's a really big trail system in Arkansas, especially northwest Arkansas.”
And Ty and Caroline Beringer walk past a booth demonstrating bike maintenance and repairs. The two work on campus and said they've recently taken up biking as a hobby, but haven't yet made it a part of their work commute.
“We like to ride our bikes like to a destination,” Ty Beringer said. “But like a fun destination. So we'll ride our bikes like the coffee shop and farmer's market.”
They cited busy road conditions, hilly terrain, and lack of awareness from drivers on bike safety as some of the barriers they see for active transport commuters.
“Yeah, I think there's been a lot of really good progress as far as like bike paths and trails and stuff like that. But I also know that like it's only as strong as its weakest link,” Ty Beringer said. “So like if you can't get right onto a safe biking spot, or if there's a gap, like then...it's an issue.”
With more than 30,000 people commuting to the campus each day, the university has taken significant steps to make it easier to find car alternatives - from investing in infrastructure like bike lanes and pedestrian crossings, to putting bike racks on university buses, and the development of several mountain biking trails. The university's Outdoor Recreation Center also offers a full service bike repair and rental shop with resources on where to find cheap bikes.
Miller said the opportunities are there, but she doesn't see many of her classmates taking advantage of them.
“First off, it's coming up so much more than it was in the past,” Miller said. “The trails around here are always being developed more, and the more like advertising of how cool biking is and trying to get more beginners into biking has been really helpful and increased the number of people commuting I think. But overall when I'm sitting in class, the only people I see with like a bike helmet, like I'm one of two people or whatever, most folks it's kind of just standard and they expect to drive to campus every day.”
And that's a problem that the university has been trying to address, especially as enrollment increases. In 2015, the Office of Sustainability released a campus transportation plan.
The survey looked at in-depth data and analysis on how students, faculty, and staff got to and from campus, and how the university could more effectively implement active transportation and reduce car traffic. And since that study, the university has seen active transport grow, albeit slowly.
“Short answer, yes, active transportation has definitely taken off, especially with the continuously growing biking culture in Northwest Arkansas,” Armendariz said. “Like people are already biking for joy and just for fun, and now they realize like, oh I could do this to get to class and to work too. So, and I mean e-bikes, e-scooters, it makes it way more accessible to people who otherwise might not feel comfortable tackling the hills or riding on the street, whatever it may be.”
That 2015 study showed about 60% of the campus's sole method of transport was by car. In 2023, that percentage fell to 49%, with walking up from 16% to 20%, and biking up from 2% to 6%.
And for those nervous about biking, Caroline Beringer, who recently learned to ride a bike through a community class for adults, offers this advice:
“I think it is a mental thing,” she said. “So I would just say like find those opportunities, find someone who can like push you to literally push you on the bike until you get confident. And yeah, just find the the thing that will break you into it, and then you'll never look back, and you'll be like, why did I wait so long to do this?”
The university's 2024 commuter survey is set to be published later this month.
Ozarks at Large transcripts are created on a deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. The authoritative record of KUAF programming is the audio record.
Ozarks at Large transcripts are created on a deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. The authoritative record of KUAF programming is the audio record.
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