Bike Red rides a tandem bike with a student at the Velorution bike festival on WKU's campus. Photo by Clinton Lewis, University Staff Photographer.
Western Kentucky University has been a leader in promoting bicycling. WKU has added 500 bike racks to campus during the last three years. All regular service buses are equipped with bike racks. Students can attend the “Velorution” bike festival each fall, and they can check out free bikes through the Big Red’s Bikes bike-lending program.
Jennifer Tougas, director of Parking and Transportation Services, advocates bike riding partly to reduce the demand for parking.
“For many people, getting around town by bike is an excellent alternative to driving a car. It’s healthy exercise, it’s cheap, and it’s sustainable,” she says.
The campus has a full-service bike shop inside the Preston Center athletic facility.
In addition, WKU and the city of Bowling Green are collaborating on the WKU Community Bikeway Project. The $1.2 million, 2-mile project will connect the campus to downtown via Center Street, and should be finished in 2012, says WKU landscape architect Helen Siewers.
Many of these services fall under Parking and Transportation Services, whose mission is to provide access to University programs and services through management of the University’s transportation resources.
Tougas provided a list of the things PTS has done to support biking on campus over the past several years:
- Installed over 500 bike racks throughout campus.
- Installed bike racks on the front of all of the buses.
- Successfully completed a federal grant to build a bike path between main campus and south campus. The City of Bowling Green was a partner on this project.
- Worked with the City of Bowling Green to install bike paths near campus, such as along Chestnut Street.
- Hosted the annual bicycle festival, “Velorution”, to connect students to the biking community and available resources in Bowling Green.
- Support Big Red’s Bike free rental program by donating abandoned bicycles and providing funds for a mechanic.
To learn more about biking on WKU’s campus, visit transportation.wku.edu.
Sara Shipley Hiles is a member of Bicycle Bowling Green. She thinks every day is better with a bike ride. 
