University Times

This Dero Fixit Station, which has been installed outside Bruce Hall near the William Pitt Union, has an air pump and a selection of bike tools for campus cyclists in a jam.

Pitt’s annual Bike to Campus event, part of national Bike to Work Day, will take place from 8-10 a.m. Friday, May 18, on the South Bouquet Street side of Posvar Hall.

The event will include light refreshments, free bike registrations (with gifts for the first 30 new registrants), safety checks and prize raffles.

The event is sponsored by Pitt’s Parking, Transportation and Services office with support from the Oakland Transportation Management Association, the Pitt police and the Panther Cycling Club.

Janet Thomas, Pitt’s assistant director for Parking, said there are a number of recent bike-friendly additions on campus this spring:

• Bike lockers have been added near Sutherland Hall and at the William Pitt Union near Bruce Hall.

• Pitt’s Student Government Board recently funded a Dero Fixit Station, which has been installed outside Bruce Hall near the William Pitt Union. The heavy-duty repair stand has an air pump and a selection of bike tools.

• Pitt shuttle buses on the 10 and 20 routes have been equipped with bike racks.

• Faculty, staff and students can rent bikes at the William Pitt Union information desk 9 a.m.-7 p.m. daily. Details can be found at www.intramurals.pitt.edu.

• A new campus bicycling brochure and updated information on biking has been posted at www.pts.pitt.edu/commuting.

• Additional bike racks will be installed this summer at Sennott Square, the Schenley Quad, William Pitt Union and the Cathedral of Learning.

Bike Pittsburgh, which named Pitt to its Bike Friendly Employer list last year, is kicking off its annual Car-Free Fridays initiative with Bike to Work Day. The program encourages alternatives to single-passenger car travel.

The bicycle advocacy group also is coordinating the Pittsburgh Bike Challenge in conjunction with the National Bike Challenge, which runs May 1-Aug. 31. The national goal is to have 50,000 people pedal a total of 10 million miles.

Although the University is not a formal sponsor, participants can identify themselves by their workplace or form their own teams in the challenge. Details can be found at bike-pgh.org.

—Kimberly K. Barlow