Install Indoor Biking Racks at Stuyvesant

Stuyvesant students and staff have various commuting options when coming to and leaving from Stuyvesant. While many rely on various forms of public transportation, the option of taking a bike to school is often ignored. Biking to school improves physical and mental health, reduces pollution, and provides an alternative for people who do not want to ride the subway due to concerns of crime.

Though Stuyvesant students and staff are known to have long commutes, there are a significant number of students and staff who live within a comfortable distance, where they can ride a bike or scooter to school, but many choose not to. In addition to this situation, for the significant portion of the Stuyvesant community who arrives at school by the subway, they must walk to and from that subway station to Stuyvesant, often crowding the sidewalk and potentially making people late to school. There are also many students and staff who commute by commuter rail to school and do not live within walking distance of their station. These individuals could rather easily ride a bike or scooter between the station and school/home, but similarly, almost all do not.

The lack of safe and easily accessible storage of bikes and scooters acts as a hindrance to students and staff using bikes to commute to school. The current storage racks outside of the school are of very low capacity and leave bikes vulnerable to theft and non-ideal weather conditions. Many staff who ride bikes or scooters to school store them in their classrooms or offices, which is not an option for students, who only have access to a hallway and gym locker for storage. Safe and convenient storage of bicycles and scooters is necessary in promoting their use during a commute, which is why we should install bike and scooter racks in school.

Possible options for installing bike racks would be on the first floor (with a new scanner, conveniently serving the disabled) by the pool or in the atrium, on the second floor at the back of the senior atrium, or a plan that combines the use of these spaces. All options would impact the elevator since bicycles would need to be brought up and down, unless a combination of options is used or a new scanner entrance is installed.

New bike racks would allow bikes and scooters to become a more realistic commute option for many and shorten commute times. People concerned about the safety of the subway would have a convenient alternative. Bikes and scooters would have negligible risk of being stolen.

However, there are several concerns with regard to the installation of bike racks. As it currently stands, there aren’t a significant amount of bike commutes, raising concerns of an unnecessary investment. But the lack of use of this commute option may likely be due to the unavailability of bike storage facilities in the first place. Bike racks and making space for them cost money. There are also peak periods when students and staff are entering or exiting the building, and bikes and scooters could clog the entrances, depending on the option chosen, but this situation can be controlled.

Indoor bicycle racks in the school can be implemented through a well-planned installation plan. Bicycles and scooters could be brought in through a first floor entrance and scanner, with the scanner also assisting the disabled and injured when entering the school building, and be stored in racks near the pool and atrium. Minimal racks would be needed, and they would also cost very little, relative to other school expenses. Owners would provide locking mechanisms. Peak periods could have constraints if needed. The numerous advantages of bicycle racks at Stuyvesant cannot be damaged by the few disadvantages that can be mitigated. It is clear that it is finally time for Stuyvesant to have bicycle racks available to its students and staff.