McMaster is home to a diversity of people with different transportation needs.
Some walk, run, bus or rent nearby, while others need to bike or skateboard to make it to campus.
Once they’re on campus, the options for storage and security for those who do not walk or drive vary.
McMaster has a few different options available for those who bike to campus.
Social Bicycles, better known as SoBi, was recently introduced to McMaster, and has shown great success with students who commute or rent near campus.
SoBi allows students to rent and reserve bikes without a time limit. In 2016, there were a total of 45,699 bike trips across campus using SoBi. Like Presto bus passes, SoBi rentals come with a discount for McMaster students.
However, for those who use their own bikes, there are only a few safe locations to secure your bike.
Though McMaster has over 1,800 bike rack spaces located on main campus, many of these locations are not sheltered.
Unless you are willing to pay $40 per semester or $100 for one year for one of only 28 bike lockers on campus, your bike will remain unsheltered ina harsh weather conditions.
Students living in residence have the option to use relatively safe indoor storage for their bikes, but for everyone else, bicycles are only allowed to be stored indoors with permission from the supervisor in your work area.
The only bike space that is secure and monitored is the ‘Secure Bike Facility’. This caged location is available for $5 per semester, and can only be accessed with a swipe card to ensure security. It is located on the west side of Chester New Hall, and is also not sheltered.
Students living in residence have the option to use relatively safe indoor storage for their bikes, but for everyone else, bicycles are only allowed to be stored indoors with the permission from the supervisor in your work area vary.
Beyond this, there isn’t much guidance for keeping your bike secure, unless you consider “[bikes are] not to be locked to or leaned against hand rails, trees, or other features of the university landscape…Bicycles found in violation are subject to ticketing” helpful advice.
According to Guelph University News, there is a bike shelter in the heart of Guelph University’s campus that doubles as a pavilion for students to use.
The structure holds 90 bikes with two tiers of bike racks that can be removed for small events when the pavilion is needed.
The lighting in the pavilion is also powered by solar panels, and is as big as a four-car garage, and a green roof that has low maintenance plants as a part of it.
For those who do not cycle and prefer to skateboard, penny board or longboard across campus, the options are even more minimal.
Unless you want to pay for a $25 for half a locker or $50 for a full locker in the school year, you are likely to end up making yourself known to your fellow classmates and squeezing your board in between lecture seats.
Seeing as most people use their board to get across campus to get to classes, keeping your board in your locker would be a little redundant anyway.
McMaster has shown great progress with cyclist accommodations and is continuously improving. L.R. Wilson Hall features a pair of very modern looking bike racks available for students to enjoy both aesthetically and practically.
This concept of modern and green should be implemented for those who transport with two wheels instead of four.
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