Bike corral offers heightened security
By Genna Tan
The university's first bike corral opened to faculty, staff and students this quarter, but it is filled to less than a quarter of its capacity.
"Things have been quiet, and it's obviously not being fully utilized yet," said Charlie Arolla, director of Campus Safety. "However, you do have to keep in mind that the weather right now is not the best for riding a bike."
According to Arolla, the bike corral can hold up to 50 bicycles, and is free for all faculty, staff and students. The only two requirements for applicants are a valid State of California bicycle license and a rigid D-lock to secure bicycles to the rack.
"The bike corral is really an experiment, and it's a little bit unique because we're sort of taking an advanced step as far as requiring the people who use it to have a California state bicycle license," said Arolla. "As for the rigid D-lock, it is the highest level of security you can have, and it just enhances the corral experience."
The cage-like structure was part of a comprehensive program to reduce the incidents of theft on campus, said Arolla.
According to Arolla, so far there have been less than ten bicycle thefts this year. There were between 60 to 80 bicycle thefts last year.
"The corral could be considered as the centerpiece for the securest place to lock your bicycle," said Arolla. "I'm discouraged when I see people who have expensive bicycles with very small cable locks."
Corral users will need to get their access cards programmed for entry to the unit.
Senior mechanical engineering major Adam Wong said he has heard about the bike corral, but has not bothered to apply for entry.
"I heard that you need to have a certified bike license, and I don't really want to go through the process of applying," said Wong. "It's not very convenient for me anyway, because my classes are not near that area, so I just use the bike racks near my classrooms instead."
Arolla said there may be more bike corrals built on campus. Some potential locations include the area by O'Connor Hall and the area by Swig and Dunne Halls.
"I definitely think that the bike corral gives you a lot more security, and if there were more locations, that would be great," said Wong.
The university will be looking at how this corral is used before deciding on new locations for corrals, said Arolla.
"I encourage the law students that have classes in Bannan or engineering students to sign up. It's a minimal effort to sign up, and you won't have to worry about your bike disappearing while you're in class," said Arolla.
In an e-mail to the campus community earlier this week, Arolla announced that all bikes on campus will be required have a State of California bike license beginning next fall.
"Having your bicycle licensed is required by local ordinance and greatly aids the police in recovering it," Arolla wrote.
The Santa Clara Fire Department will be on campus today licensing bicycles for students and faculty. Campus Safety will cover the fee to obtain a license during the event.
The bicycle licenses and discounted D-locks will be available from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Campus Safety held a similar event in October, and due to high demand, the fire department ran out of licenses toward the end of the event, Arolla said.
"Our thefts are way down this year, and we like to think it's because of the increased information we've put out, the encouragement for individuals to use more secure locks and the opportunity to get bicycles licensed by the fire department," said Arolla.
This will be the last opportunity to receive a free bike license this year, Arolla wrote in the e-mail.
Contact Genna Tan at (408) 554-4546 or gbtan@scu.edu.