In transit
Reporter finds it's a different world when biking to campus or busing to town.
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By Matt Dees, Staff Reporter
CHAPEL HILL -- It's Car Free Day, and you're one of the 1,000 people who pledged to eschew the automobile as much as possible, if only for today.
But you're also one of the more than 21,000 people in Chapel Hill and Carrboro who have been driving yourself to work, to school, to the grocery store, to the movies for years.
Going cold turkey, you think, won't be easy.
Cycling is dangerous. You should know -- you've almost hit one yourself.
Buses are slow and, besides, aren't there just weirdos and college students on there?
But that twinge of social and environmental conscience -- or that hit to the wallet every time the gas tank needs filling -- breeds a determination to tough it out.
Here's a first-hand look at what to expect.
Where the sidewalk ends
The bike trip to campus gets off to a shaky start, with the chain slipping off the gear a block up the road.
After 10 minutes of the rider cursing and getting progressively greasier hands, the chain is re-attached, and it's up to Smith Level Road.
The object is to stay within the eight inches of asphalt between the white line and the grass as much as possible, and the trip goes fairly smoothly, despite at least a year since the last bike ride.
It's true what they say about riding a bike.
Drivers who slow down in addition to veering to the left are appreciated.
Those who zip past at 50 miles per hour, less so.
Just as a rumbling, souped-up roadster roars past, the bike rolls over a dead squirrel on the side of the road -- a reminder that just one errant motorist is all it takes to send a cyclist to a similar fate.
It's enough to inspire a prayer for a bike lane.
Chapel Hill officials just unveiled a proposal to begin connecting sidewalks and bike paths to form a connected network throughout town.
The town also just received $200,000 from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to encourage Chapel Hill residents to have "more active lifestyles."
The money will be used for education efforts to promote the health benefits of biking and walking, as well as to create a more bikable and walkable community through planning.
Places like Meadowmont, Southern Village and the UNC campus have these facilities, but there's a sense of "can't get there from here," said Brian Decker, a manager at Franklin Street Cycles and member of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro-Orange County bicycle and pedestrian advisory committee.
"There's a bunch of facilities that aren't connected yet," he said. "I think this plan does a great job on focusing on what's needed."
Until that network is in place, Decker said, unseasoned cyclists won't feel completely comfortable riding a bike to get from Point A to Point B.
"What it comes down to is people who ride around a lot, this is a real easy town to get around," he said. "But that's not most people. They like to feel a little bit separated from the traffic."
Count this cyclist in that category.
The ride is about eight minutes from Dogwood Acres to the bus stop at University Commons apartments.
From there, you can strap your bike to the bus and cruise into campus.
But it's a brilliant fall day, and exercise is sounding good. For now.
They call it Chapel Hill for a reason, and there's more than one stretch up Merritt Mill Road where it's tempting to hop off and walk. And, still, no bike lanes.
Huffing and sweating, the rider turns on to Cameron Avenue, where the going is easier.
The arrival at South Building is 17 minutes from University Commons, 25 from Dogwood Acres.
Bike lanes are available to campus in the morning and away from it in the afternoon. During off times, cars block the paths.
The return trip down U.S. 15-501 is easier, with bike lanes lining most of the way home. It takes 20 minutes to get to Dogwood Acres, 13 to get to Southern Village.
Riding on the sidewalk seems like a safer and easier option for some, although some cyclists interviewed thought it was illegal to do this.
In Chapel Hill, it's not, though cyclists are required to pedal slowly and mind pedestrians.
"If you bike-commute, you'll always have close calls," Ken Fortino, a graduate student, said. "But I feel very safe. Especially on the sidewalk."
Decker said Chapel Hill drivers are better than most about sharing the road with cyclists.
"Part of it is they see so many people riding that the vast majority are used to it," said Decker, who wants awareness of cyclist safety to be a more integral part of driver training.
"I think most of the negative interactions stem from a lack of knowledge."
Kristin Munro-Leighton, a UNC graduate student, said she hasn't had many problems with safety or convenience.
"It takes me about 15 minutes to get from Carrboro to class, once I wipe the sweat off my brow," she said, stopping on Cameron Avenue.
"It's a great way to start the day, biking to campus."
Round and round, all over town
There's no problem finding a seat on the North-South bus from the park-and-ride lot at Southern Village on the 9:45 a.m. bus to the hospital, Franklin Street and Airport Road.
It is difficult finding a parking space.
Most commuters take earlier buses, and many of them said sometimes those are jammed.
There's an express shuttle to the hospital, and another that makes stops all the way to the Eubanks Road parking lot.
Celia Brinker, a nursing student from Henderson, said she used to try to park at the Friday Center park-and-ride, but she could never find a space, even after the lot was expanded several years ago.
The trade-off is that a bus only arrives at the Eubanks lot once every half-hour.
Ed Ellesson, an undergraduate student from Hillsborough, said the bus is a convenient and cheap option.
There's no charge to park at a park and ride, and buses are free.
That beats paying for a parking space on campus or at a parking garage, he said.
More and more people are taking advantage, according to transit figures.
Ridership was up 12 percent between 2002 and 2003, 45 percent between 2001 and 2002, the year buses became free.
"Last year, I never had any trouble getting on the bus after school," Ellesson said. "But this year I've had to wait for the next bus or even the bus after that."
Is that a frustration? Nah, Ellesson said.
"Since it's in town, I just go in and get a beer," he said.
The bus is empty at 4:45 p.m. at Southern Village, the start of a trip to University Mall.
This requires a transfer to the F bus, which doesn't arrive at the Carolina Coffee Shop until 5:26. (It, like all buses on these trips, was right on time.)
Karen Edwards, a UNC graduate student, said she and her husband factored in proximity to a bus stop when looking for a house.
The couple has only one car.
"I live a mile for the last stop on this line, and I still find it more convenient than driving," Edwards said. "It's awesome. I'm surprised more people don't take it. But I guess that makes it less crowded for me."
Not all take the bus just as a means to get to and from school and work.
Jennifer James, of Chapel Hill, takes her daughters Annlyel, 6, and Aila, 3, on bus outings.
They go to the grocery store, the mall, the library, Franklin Street for lunch, Ackland Art Museum.
"We just do little things like that," James said as she waited for a bus at University Mall.
"We come out with the girls and have a good time. If it wasn't free, I wouldn't use it as frequently as I do."
The bus to return to Franklin Street arrives at 6:05, 30 minutes after the last one left. That was plenty of time to pick up a birthday gift and a snack.
Then it's 10 minutes back to Franklin Street, another transfer, and 10 more minutes to Southern Village.
All told, the trip to the mall took just under two hours. That's much longer than a car trip, but that would have involved meeting a lot fewer people and getting a lot less reading done.
"It's a nice social occasion," Elleson said.
"You get into conversations with people. It makes me feel more a part of the community. It's a great service."
Contact Matt Dees at 932-8760 or at mdees@nando.com