The Daily Tar HeelThursday, June 28, 1 9901 3B
STUflDE
KIT UF
Parking shortage prompts alternatives in transportation
By CAMERON TEW
Assistant Editor
With few parking spaces available
and the fact that freshman are not al
lowed to park on campus, students have
discovered other methods of transpor
tation to get around the University and
Chapel Hill namely bicycles, buses
and trolleys.
Bicycling is a popular recreation in
Chapel Hill, but more and more students
are beginning to use bikes for trans
portation, said Tom Davis, store man
ager of Performance Bicycle Shop, in
Carrboro.
"We have a lot of students come in,"
he said. "Our best-selling bike is the all
terrain bike that most students buy."
Davis said the all-terrain bikes are
built to handle more abuse than other
styles. Most students buy the city model
which is lighter and is used to get around
town on trails and over curbs, he said.
Davis said bike prices at his shop
range from $250 to $800, which are
lower than some local stores because
his store is part of a national chain with
its own line of bikes. He urged students
not to spend too much on bikes if they
were not serious cyclists.
"If you are using it just for transpor
tation there is no reason to spend extra
money, unless you just want a good
bike," he said.
According to campus pol ice, students
should registertheir bicycles at the police
station in the security services building
next to Morrison Residence Hall, or at
any local police or fire station.
When the bike is. registered, a per
manent registration number is stamped
on it, and a decal warns that the bike is
registered with local authorities.
As further protection against theft,
police advise students to park their bikes
in well-lit locations, and to buy a good
lock which secures both wheels and the
frame of the bike.
Bikes are not the only type of trans
portation, however. Chapel Hill Tran
sit, the town's bus system, is another
popular alternative. Scott McClellan,
an administrative assistant for the or
ganization, said many people associated
with the University ride buses.
"Carolina has the single largest
concentration of people in the commu
nity, so they use the buses to go back
and forth to class, the store and the
gym," he said. "They use it for every
thing." Fares for the bus system are in
creasing, McClellan said. Trips around
the University will increase from 25
cents to 30 cents and other routes around
town will increase from 50 cents to 60
cents.
Students can also buy bus passes at
the transportation department. Frank
Carpenter, cashier for transportation
department, said prices for passes range
from $20 for a 40-ride ticket to $302.40
for an unlimited route pass.
Carpenter said the most popular pass
with students is the all-routes pass that
costs $ 1 24.20. This pass includes every
route but the Blue Line, which travels to
Durham. The pass expires May 15.
Another source of public transporta
tion is the Chapel Hill trolley system
that began operation last year. The
trolleys run from downtown on Rose
mary and Franklin streets and Colum
bia and Pittsboro streets to North
Carolina Memorial Hospital. The trol
leys run Monday through Friday from
1 1 a.m. until 2:30 p.m.
Still, some students bring their cars
to campus" hoping for all-too-elusive
parking spaces. Nick Franzese, student
government parking administrator, said
all available spaces have been allocated
for the upcoming year, but students can
still file hardship applications for the
fall. The applications will be due Au
gust 31.
When purchasing a permit students
must provide proof of registration giv
ing present student status and their car
registration, Franzese said.
Students should remember that
parking fines range from $5 for improper
display of a permit to $50 for parking in
a reserved space or fire lane. Carpenter
said parking in reserved spots may also
result in the car being towed. Parking in
a lot without a valid permit carries a $20
fine and is the most frequent ticket
students are given, he said
He said unless students absolutely
need a car on campus they should use
the bus system. "Most students are
spoiled and used to having their cars
parked close by, but with traffic con
gestion parking rules are strictly en
forced," he said.
The department of transportation will
make allowances for students who are;
moving into their residence halls in the
fall. Students will be allowed to park in
temporary unloading zones for 451
minutes from Aug. 25-3 1 .
Commuters who live in a two-mile
radius of the Bell Tower are ineligible
for permits.
Hey! Conformist biking is not as easy as it looks
I bought a mountain bike yesterday.
I know, I know, it's just my way of
being a hip conformist, but hey, this is
Chapel Hill, remember?
Anyway, I was riding my old piece-of-shiftless
aluminum, out-of-date 1
speed to class the other day when my
back tire suddenly started spewing a lot
of hot air, prompting me to kiss a tree.
At that moment I knew I had a pretty
good reason for getting a new bike.
Mountain bikes are great, everyone
says. You get one and suddenly you're
riding all over the place, even places
you're not supposed to ride, like front
lawns and cemeteries. You're riding
through the woods, under huge oaks
and over small animals, through creeks
and into huge oaks, picking up danger
ous Lyme-disease-infected ticks. On
campus, every eye is on you as you whiz
by on your way to do hip things like
going to class and every mouth utters in
awe, "Get outta my way, ya $&!"
And they're great for your health,
too, unless you plummet down the side
of a hill at 40 mph. You can get out in the
fresh air and cycle all day long, doing
great cardiovascular things, turning that
beer gut into 100 percent potential
muscle. So who cares what it costs
because you're getting in shape, and
you can't put a price tag on what? It
costs how much? What does it do, evade
Soviet radar?
Of course, the most difficult part of
buying a mountain bike is scraping up
the dough. The second most difficult part
of buying a mountain bike is choosing
from the hundreds and thousands of
models, even though the one you buy
will look just like everyone else's.
Questions to ask yourself before you go
into a bike shop are: Should I get
aluminum, steel or titanium? How am I
going to explain this to my dad? Is my
credit card over the limit? What's really
wrong with having a 10-speed? Did
Dick Tracy cost this much? Will my
schoolwork suffer because of the four
jobs I'll need to pay for this damn thing?
How am I going to explain this to my
dad? What's the capital of North Da
kota? How many Canadian provinces
are there? How much wood would a
woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could
chuck wood?
While you're in the bike shop, don't
get talked into buying something you
really don't need. If it comes with a
depth finder, ask yourself if you're going
to use it for fishing. If the answer is yes,
then by all means get it. However, wheels
might come in handy, so be sure you get
them. And let's face it, microwave ov
ens are convenient , but not in heavy
traffic. Of course, none of this means
anything if you've got the will power of
jelly. Like me.
Also, you're going to need a bike
lock, because if you don't lock up your
bike it'll disappear faster than an
American in Beirut. The best lock for a
mountain bike is a large safe, preferably
made of high-quality steel, with laser
sensors and a siren loud enough to wake
up an economics class in Carroll Hall.
Unfortunately, a safe is rather difficult
to drag around campus, unless you put
wheels on it, and then it might drag you,
John Bland
Fans
from page 12B
different species, however. They have
good seats in the Kenan Field House
and generally don't let it hang out in the
parking lot.
The Professional Football Fans
wouldn't leave before the end of the
game if there was a fire; they're here to
watch some football. Most come with
Sony Watchmen to check the Notre
Dame-Nebraska scores on slow downs.
Football is a rough sport, but in Kenan
the violence is not limited to the playing
field. The Korean War caused fewer
injuries than the Card Section, where
fans try to imitate Ninja warriors by
hurling cards at innocent Band mem
bers. What was going on when they
thought this up? "Really guys, giving
sharp cards to thousands of drunken,
rowdy football fans is a great idea!"
On a serious note, we hope the whole
UNC family, from the lowliest freshman
to the most Grand Exalted Rams Club
member, learned something from the
Dick Crum debacle. Namely, you should
never fire any ACC coach who comes
within four points of beating Clemson
especially if you get anywhere near
Hillsborough Street. Therefore, a U
shaped lock that doesn't look like it
could hold grease is probably your best
bet. If it comes with an alarm or deadly
spikes tipped with cyanide that shoot
out when messed with, all the better.
After you buy your Stealth bom ,
uh, mountain bike, you will suffer from
a mild guilt trip, which I like to call the
"post-buyem depression." The best cure
for this is to call "Women's Secret
Confessionsto help take your mind off
it.
Of course, since you spent so much
money on it, you can't possibly ride it
because it might get scratched, so it's
better to lock it in the attic, right
alongside your Colecovision and your
BMX. Or you could frame it and hang it
over the mantle. But remember, the
whole point is to just enjoy it.
Editor's note: Reprinted from the
Sept. 7, 1989, edition of Omnibus.
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