Construction of a new bike storage facility underway on the Tennessee Tech campus, as students and administrators try to address campus parking.
Tech Vice President of Planning and Finance Claire Stinson said the Willow Avenue Purple Lot is underutilized. Stinson said students proposed building an indoor bike storage area that could be locked, allowing them to store bicycles there, then ride them across the street to class.
“Our ultimate objective was to eliminate car traffic on the center of campus,” Stinson said. “So we have closed several roads that are in the middle of the campus. It’s not our intention to eliminate all the parking on the main campus.”
Stinson said the 52-bike storage facility would be secured with features like key card access, lights, and cameras. Students may use additional locks to secure their bikes when they are inside the facility. The shelter also includes an indoor bike repair station.
Stinson said the Purple lot is primarily used by commuter students. It is much cheaper than the remaining main campus options, and the new storage facility makes it more a more viable choice for commuters who bike.
“[Students] would go home in the evenings and store their bike,” Stinson said. “And then when they come back to campus the next morning, they would park in the parking lot, get their bike, ride over to the main campus and use the bike all day and then store it when they’re ready to leave.”
Stinson said the facility is pre-fabricated, but the school will still need to install electric and security elements when it arrives. It will sit on a concrete pad. Stinson said the storage facility makes sense because biking has become more popular on campus.
“We have installed just several bike racks on main campus and they’re always busy,” Stinson said. “Students ride their bikes from building to building, so we try to make sure we have bike racks at each of the buildings.”
Stinson said other racks on campus are not enclosed like the new shelter in the Purple Lot. The facility should be open for student use by the spring semester.
Stinson said Tech’s master plan includes three new parking garages. Te school is still exploring funding because the state would not assist in funding garage construction.
