Given the flagrant disregard for road rules observed by some in Philadelphia, riding a bike to and from Center City has often taken on the appearance of an extreme sport. Then, when you get to campus (alive if not unscathed), you’re hard pressed to ensure your bike isn’t stolen from its rack while you hastily check out a book from Van Pelt. You’re not even safe on your own two feet sometimes, as bike riders come whizzing down Locust Walk at 60 miles an hour, often in the middle of the day.

Thankfully, Penn is responding to the dangers and inconviences of biking:

• The Division of Public Safety launched a “Share the Road” campaign, summarized in this nifty brochure, aimed at educating drivers and bikers about how to ride on the same road together,
• Penn will install more bike racks around campus (by Fall 2009) to accommodate more cyclists and provide more safe places to store your bike,
• New signs will be placed around Locust Walk explaining the University policy that you cannot ride a bike there during class hours, followed by expanded enforcement of this rule by DPS,
• Local vendors will only sell U-Locks for bikes. This is good, because A CABLE LOCK IS NO BETTER THAN NO LOCK AT ALL. If you tie your bike to a pole with a cable lock, your bike will be stolen. QED. Invest in a U-Lock.