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Posted on Mon, Nov 5, 2012 : 9:25 a.m.

University of Michigan celebrates bike week after installing pump and service stations on campus

By Kellie Woodhouse

It's bike week at the University of Michigan.

U-M recently installed two bicycle tire pumps and a repair stand on campus and this week students, dubbed bike ambassadors, will be at the stands from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. to help people with their bike problems.

bicycles_downtown_RJS_002.jpg

Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com

The pump stations are located outside Pierpont Commons on north campus and North Quad on central campus; the repair stand is located near the Central Campus Transit Center.

And you don't have to a be a student to participate: The products are available for use by anyone in Ann Arbor.

The school's first bicycle resource fair, Bike Fest, will take place on Tuesday from noon until 2 p.m. During that period, officials and ambassadors will explain how to use the repair and pump stations.

The new stations follow the launch of U-M's first-ever bicycle rental program. Thirty bikes are for rent through the U-M Blue Bikes program at the rate of $5 per day, $11 per week and $75 per semester. They're available at U-M's Outdoor Adventures office located on 336 Hill St. and the North Campus recreational center.

The program launched in September and demand has already outpaced supply.

"We need more bikes," U-M President Mary Sue Coleman said during an event in October. Coleman, who launched a$14 million sustainability initiative in 2011, began pushing for a bicycle rental program after she visited a university campus in Colorado and saw the infrastructure in place there.

"The bikes were everywhere," she recalled, "so I took photos of all these bike kiosks and came back and said we should do this on campus."

The Ann Arbor campus is also exploring a bicycle share program that would allow them to operate similarly to Zipcar, allowing participants to pick up and drop off bicycles when needed. Earlier this year, U-M was named among the country's 35 most bike-friendly colleges.

Kellie Woodhouse covers higher education for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at kelliewoodhouse@annarbor.com or 734-623-4602 and follow her on twitter.

Comments

HB11

Tue, Nov 6, 2012 : 1:42 p.m.

Great News! Can't wait to pull my Jeep up on the sidewalk to check the tire pressure and fill them on one of those new pumps!

Sally Carson

Wed, Nov 7, 2012 : 2:32 p.m.

Haha, I'd love to see you pump up your cars tires with one of these pumps, it'll take 45 minutes or so.

Mike

Mon, Nov 5, 2012 : 9:07 p.m.

"We need more bikes," U-M President Mary Sue Coleman said during an event in October" You won't see her riding one. You ride your bike so she can feel good about using your share of the carbon based fossil fuels that you would have otherwise in her travels as president. Bikes and shoes for the peasants and first class for the ruling class..............coming to a town near you.............

America

Mon, Nov 5, 2012 : 8 p.m.

Anything to increase ridership is a great thing. More of this Ann Arbor. This is why I live here. Great!!

justcurious

Mon, Nov 5, 2012 : 8:27 p.m.

Yes, ridership on the bus system.

treetowncartel

Mon, Nov 5, 2012 : 7:21 p.m.

Back in the 1980's there was "Green Bike" program. The city/university put out bikes around toen painted green that people were free to ride wherever they like and leave them there. I know I made my way home from a night out on more than one occasion.

Homegrown

Mon, Nov 5, 2012 : 5:39 p.m.

I think it's funny that they recycled the picture used for the controversy around a potential ordinance to stop people from biking on the sidewalks... how bout something related to the article like a picture of one of these stations?

MRunner73

Mon, Nov 5, 2012 : 4:41 p.m.

Why not turn bike week into bike month. Better yet, lets make 2013, bike year. Anything else that can be done for them will surely come down the pike. Too bad winter is approaching because if it snows a lot, there won't be as many cyclists out there. Maybe the city can make sure all the road and bike paths are cleared out so they can ride. If only the city can eliminate winter altogether, I'd even be happy.

Mever12

Mon, Nov 5, 2012 : 3:33 p.m.

This is great news! I know that our family will use these pumps often as we predominately get around on our bicycles. Great thinking U-M, this is a great resource for the many commuters, residents and students that regularly depend on their bikes as a primary source of transportation.

BikeNinja

Mon, Nov 5, 2012 : 11:41 p.m.

Justcurious, I don't like my tax dollars going to subsidize cheap oil for our country, because that we won't see any of that money ever again. Investing in transit infrastructure that doesn't get burned up into exhaust is usually a good idea, also as Mary said the majority of the capital used was raised by a local non-profit. How's life under that rock?

justcurious

Mon, Nov 5, 2012 : 6:01 p.m.

Mary Sell, I'm not all worked up. I was smiling the whole time while I typed it.

Mary Sell

Mon, Nov 5, 2012 : 4:27 p.m.

Oye, justcurious, kind of a silly thing to get worked up about! These installs were done in collaboration with a local non-profit, and in conjunction with the University of Michigan's general funds. Considering a bike repair stand may cost $100 (or less!) to install, the incremental cost to your taxes is negligible. Perhaps if we want to decrease our taxes, we should all consider driving less, no? Last I checked road taxes, gas taxes, etc - were taking a lot more out of my budget (yes, I drive a car too...) than the absurdly low cost of a GREAT communal resource like these bike repair stands.

justcurious

Mon, Nov 5, 2012 : 3:49 p.m.

uh...bicycles used to have pumps mounted on them. Very handy. My tax dollars at work again I guess. Your welcome for the pumping station, though I never authorized it.

kelly

Mon, Nov 5, 2012 : 3:03 p.m.

If you dare to drive a car in Ann Arbor, you are evil incarnate. I can't wait for the ballot proposal to close all gas stations within the city limits. Or at least a $5 a gallon city gas tax. How dare you drive an automobile on streets that were clearly designed for bicyclists and pedestrians.

getyourstorystraightfirst

Mon, Nov 5, 2012 : 4:09 p.m.

Kelly are you kidding me? I have lived in Ann Arbor my whole life & I plan to continue driving my car! Maybe if they thought about getting mass transit (since the AATA is unable to get me back & forth to Detroit everyday for school) I wouldn't drive as much. But you sound pretty ridiculous with this comment.

Bob Zuruncol

Mon, Nov 5, 2012 : 3:56 p.m.

Feeling a little defensive; are you Kelly? This isn't an anti-automobile article. Think of it this way: the more bikes on the road, the less congested it is for you and your car, and the more parking spaces available in town for you.

justcurious

Mon, Nov 5, 2012 : 3 p.m.

Yippeee, skipppeee....but can they make them obey the traffic laws and stop at the stop signs too?

Sally Carson

Wed, Nov 7, 2012 : 2:28 p.m.

I know it's probably the last thing you want to hear when you're already feeling frustrated towards cyclist as a class of people, but the most effective way of getting cyclists to consistently obey all traffic laws is to provide better infrastructure for them. If you look to cities like Copenhagen, or elsewhere in Europe, where bike ridership is high, and where the infrastructure to support cycling is comprehensive, cyclists are generally law-abiding. As an example: There are a couple of places around town where I slowly, thoughtfully run a red light (after making sure there are no cars or pedestrians who will be affected), because the bike lane stops leading up to, and just after the intersection (without any signage or notice). So if I don't start to roll through the intersection about 5 seconds before the green, drivers get really upset when I'm taking the whole lane and slowing everyone down until the bike lane resumes. That's just a random example, but the point is any time I'm flouting a traffic law, it's in the name of my own safety, or the safety of someone else. And it's because the infrastructure is not yet sufficient.

BikeNinja

Mon, Nov 5, 2012 : 11:33 p.m.

Can they make the drivers of cars stop using their phone while driving so I don't get hit by a two ton piece of steel? Do you motorists like killing people with your car?

Mike

Mon, Nov 5, 2012 : 9:08 p.m.

Never happen..............

Radlib2

Mon, Nov 5, 2012 : 3:43 p.m.

It's not a straw man at all; most drivers routinely flout laws themselves, yet constantly point the finger at cyclists. When we bent the rules, we're the ones at risk, not the public. I defy someone to find an incident where running a stop caused an accident. So long as we yield when appropriate, I don't see what the big deal is.

Ghost of Tom Joad

Mon, Nov 5, 2012 : 3:28 p.m.

This might be the only issue that justcurious and I agree on. The bicyclists in this town are out of control. Radlib2, you act as if people blowing through stop signs and cutting people off at intersections isn't a huge health hazard. While the items you mentioned are dangerous, they are not at all what justcurious was referring to. Stop with the strawman arguments.

Radlib2

Mon, Nov 5, 2012 : 3:12 p.m.

How predictable...most of us won't ever obey. There's a reason for that, the "laws" make no sense whatsoever. We should be more worried about cars speeding, people texting, eating, and otherwise distracted while they operate their motor vehicles.

StopCrying

Mon, Nov 5, 2012 : 2:46 p.m.

We need more car tire air pumps. The BP on williams removed theirs this weekend and the other BP on Miller has an out of order sign on it. Please provide a vehicle adapter so I can fill up my American made car at one of these bike pumps.

StopCrying

Wed, Nov 7, 2012 : 5:37 p.m.

Well obviously my tires are not in good shape for the winter considering I need to keep filling it up with air. I get about 30 miles per gallon and I can eat a burrito while I drive. Can you? I also have air conditioning and a heat? Do you? My exhaust is pumping as efficiently as ever, I often find myself just leaving my car running because I feel like a rebel when I break the idling car rule. How does that make you feel? Would you like to race? I will probably win. I can go upwards of 120mph. Can you?

BikeNinja

Mon, Nov 5, 2012 : 11:27 p.m.

Super relevant my foreign oil burning friend, want to tell us all about how your engine needs to be rebuilt too? How's that exhaust doing? What kind of mileage you get? Your tires in shape for winter? I get about 53 miles per burrito, pretty good eh?

harry

Mon, Nov 5, 2012 : 5:34 p.m.

I got tired of trying to find one that works so I bought a $50 that plugs into my lighter. What a waste of $50 but what could i do.