UMBC tries putting its students on 2 wheels
Bike share program aimed at helping local merchants as well as the campus
Many students at the University of Maryland Baltimore County lack a car or alternate form of transportation to check out what is available off campus.
That can be an issue for them, and also for merchants in the adjacent communities of Catonsville and Arbutus.
Last week, though, a new program began giving UMBC students free access to bicycles to use on campus and in surrounding neighborhoods. Some merchants see the effort as a way to bring students, and their spending dollars, to Main Street.
Scott Westcoat of C’Ville Bikes & The Hub in Catonsville partnered with Mike D’Archangelo at UMBC to create the bike share program, which will operate from the Retriever Activity Center on campus.
“From [the perspective of ] a business person on Frederick Road, who has talked to other business owners, you have this whole population of 11,000 people only a few miles from town on any given day,” said Westcoat, owner of the Frederick Road bicycle shop.
Terry Nolan, president of the Arbutus Business and Professional Association, agrees the program could provide an economic benefit.
“UMBC is a potential economic growth pool for Arbutus,” Nolan said. “When the kids come down here to go to the movies, they buy a toothbrush at Rite Aid and they get a pizza at Sorrento. Those things directly benefit the business in the community. The more we can cause those interactions to occur, it’s a positive action for both communities.”
D’Archangelo, assistant athletic director at UMBC, hopes the program — which is starting with eight bikes — will boost the still-growing relationship between the campus and its neighbors.
“I think this is going to allow them, the folks that don’t have a car or the folks who are a little more health-oriented, to take a ride and get to the local communities,” he said.
Student government representatives originally approached Westcoat in fall 2012 with the idea of making bicycles available on campus. The students quickly became overwhelmed by the work it would take to get off the ground, and the effort fizzled. This summer, they returned with a plan.
“They wanted to make this happen at any level,” Westcoat said.
Towson University began a bike share program last spring, according to the school’s website, which gives winners of a lottery a bicycle to use for a semester.
That’s unlike the UMBC program, which gives students access for a few hours, an entire day or even a week or more. The bikes come at a minimal cost from Diamondback Bicycles, for whom Westcoat’s shop is a designated dealer.
Each bike will come with a lock and helmet, he said. “It’s very easy for anyone to get on the bike and just pedal away,” he said.
D’Archangelo said students simply have to provide their name and student ID, and “there might be a small waiver piece.”
Nolan hopes the bikes will encourage students to come to the community and use their student ID cards — which can be used for discounts at some stores — and also bolster the effort to improve and increase bike paths in the area.
“This is a long-term venture that we have tried to engage,” he said.
First District County Councilman Tom Quirk, who often bikes through nearby Patapsco Valley State Park, said he’s looking forward to immediate benefits from the UMBC program.
“More and more students can grab a bike and bike into the business areas of Arbutus and Catonsville,” Quirk said. “I think that’s what really critical and what’s being worked on, is how we can increase connectivity with UMBC.
“UMBC, perhaps unintentionally, is very self-contained,” he said. “They have a lot of the shops and restaurants right on their own campus. I think the business community in Arbutus and Catonsville need to continue to be accommodating to the students. It’s an amazing asset, and we need to continue to foster and grow that relationship.”