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Campus cyclists have been working with UCLA Transportation Services to improve biking conditions,

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An effort to improve conditions for campus bicyclists appears to be stalled.

Transportation Services started the project, formally known as the Bicycle Improvement Effort, last year. Not very much has been done since.

The decision to undertake the effort began last year after public outcry at the exclusion of bicyclists from Transportation Services’ long-term plans.

The first draft of the Long Range Development Plan – an agreement between UCLA and the city of Los Angeles regarding university plans in transportation, capital projects and other aspects – extensively detailed plans in areas such as parking.

More than a dozen people sent e-mails or letters criticizing the exclusion of bicycling improvements.

The criticism prompted Transportation Services to amend the LRDP to work with the Bicycle Advocacy Committee, a campus bicyclist group, on developing a campus bicycle plan.

But collaboration since the agreement has been limited to one meeting on Feb. 4, when Transportation Services officials told BAC the first step was to figure out how to formulate a plan, according Todd Nelson, co-president of BAC and an urban studies graduate student.

“The pace that has been set has not been rapid,” Nelson said. “That has been a source of some concern for us.”

Steve Rand, manager of traffic citation review, said Transportation’s projects were ongoing, and some of the recommendations BAC made take a lot of time by nature, such as working with surrounding cities to add new bike routes to campus and working with the Veterans Association to reopen paths through the Los Angeles National Cemetery.

But Rand noted Transportation did have a timeline for some of BAC’s recommendations.

“All Transportation Services programs are ongoing, but we also have definite goals we want to achieve, such as updating bike racks next year,” Rand said.

Transportation mentioned a “plan for producing a plan by the end of the year,” as well as creating a survey to identify the needs and concerns of campus bicyclists, Nelson said.

BAC recommendations included measures to make streets safer for cyclists by opening more bike lanes, posting speed limit signs, and building speed bumps in the areas surrounding campus.

Since the February meeting, BAC has not had contact with Transportation Services. Nelson said he sent e-mails to Transportation Services to follow up on the meeting, but never received a response.

Nelson said he was hopeful about the opportunity to help Transportation Services, but added it has not informed him of any definite plans beyond the survey idea.

“We’d like to know what’s going on,” he said.

In a March meeting with the Daily Bruin, Transportation Services said more had been decided.

Transportation Services has identified several goals in the bicycle improvement effort, but expects more will be pinpointed after the survey is conducted and analyzed in April, said Rand.

Transportation hopes the survey will give a better sense of the prioritization of the issues cyclists face, Rand added.

“What are the most important things we need to address?” he asked.

Among the short-term projects Transportation Services will complete next year are changing bike maps to make them more user-friendly and making bicycle information more accessible at the Transportation Fair held each year.

Transportation will also update the bike racks to make them safer and more accessible, Rand said.

An estimated 145 bicycles were stolen from campus last year, said Reuben Carver, business analyst for the university police. Eighty-seven bicycles were stolen in 2002, according to the UCPD Web site.

The risk of damage or loss to her bicycle is one reason fourth-year English student Sarah Farzan said she would not bike to school.

“I wouldn’t trust bringing my bike here because it might be vandalized,” Farzan said.

After learning of Transportation’s plans to renovate bicycle storage racks next year, Nelson said he approved.

“It would be great if that does happen – it should continue to happen,” he said.

But improving bicycle racks and updating maps should not be the entirety of Transportation Services’ work, Nelson added.

“We need to address not only physical amenities, but an institutionalized level of support and promotion of bicycling as a viable and desirable form of getting to and from campus,” he said.

About 2.5 percent of the student population, or 875 students, use bicycles regularly to get to and from school, said Renee Fortier, director of Transportation Services.

Correction: April 13, 2004, Tuesday

In an April 8 news story about efforts to improve bicycling conditions on campus, it stated that UCLA Transportation Services had not contacted members of the Bicycle Advocacy Committee since a February meeting. However, Transportation Services had contacted BAC on April 7.