Sacramento State is getting a new bike path this semester, but not everyone is happy about it and the people in question are bicyclists.

Some Sac State bicyclists have banded together to form the Bicycle User Group, or BUG, said Freddy Orozco, University Transportation and Parking Services appeals coordinator and Sac State employee transportation coordinator.

“What we intend to do with the BUG is get some members signed on, so this way they can communicate with each other, whether employee or student, and maybe hold some bicycle rides on the weekends,” Orozco said. -“Currently, there are 11 members of the BUG and, as far as I know, they’re all employees.”

Orozco spoke of the Bicycle Master Plan and how there was supposed to be a bike trail cut from Hornet Crossing to Amador Hall, an aspect of the plan the bicyclist group wanted.

“Apparently that’s not going to happen for several reasons,” Orozco said.

One reason is that the university doesn’t want bicycles on populous sidewalks and inner campus.

“They felt that building this path would create more bicycle traffic,” Orozco said.

Also, the proposed bike path runs through the football practice field, and the bike path might disturb that practice, Orozco said.

Another proponent of the bicyclist group is William Appleby, who’s working on his second bachelor’s degree in environmental studies.

“I got interested in bicycling as a solution to a whole slew of environmental, social and health problems. -The literature refers to bicycling as a win-win situation: Everyone benefits by managing congestion and pollution and by becoming healthier,” Appleby said.

Appleby took a class on planning at UC Davis, where he learned that there are three components to planning: the legislative aspect, the ministerial aspect and the citizen enforcement.

“The system was actually set up to work that way,” Appleby said. “Citizen enforcement and advocacy was intended to keep the system honest and on track.”

Futhermore, Appleby said the California Environmental Quality Act requires public input hearings and a whole list of findings whenever an institution does anything.

Facilities Services Associate Vice President Ron Richardson said anyone can attend Transportation Advisory Committee meetings to learn about the project’s updates.

“The TAC is an open committee,” Richardson said. -“Nothing is secret or hidden in terms of what we’re trying to do with the Bicycle Master Plan, or any construction projects.”

Appleby said the current plan requires state and federal government to get the funding, and that the funding for the project is federal. -The master plan was approved in Sept. 2001, and it included a peripheral circulation of bikeways, plus cross-campus circulation.

In March 2003, a UTAPS advisory group announced that the segment leading from Hornet Crossing to Amador Hall was scratched from the current plan, Appleby said.

Appleby said the reason why it’s important for the campus to have the path is because bicyclists want greater access to the campus’ center. –

“If you’re going to come in at Hornet Crossing, they’re asking you to ride your bicycle all the way around campus,” Appleby said. “And park over by the Guy West Bridge and then walk to the Library, or the (University) Union, or Amador.”

“The explanation for the athletic field as the reason that they can’t have this path is something I hadn’t heard, but it could be easily mitigated with chain link fencing. -It’s not an impossibility,” Appleby said. -“My concern is that the bicycle users weren’t included anywhere in this process.”

Richardson said Facilities Services identified about $3 million worth of things that could be done for the Bike Master Plan.

“Usually, a master plan means that you’re going to do things in phases as funds are available,” Richardson said.

Richardson said Caltrans granted the university funds to begin the master plan through the Sacramento Area Council of Governments, an organization that deals with transportation issues. However, the university did not get the full $3 million, but instead got about $700,000, limiting what the university was able to do.

“We only got about $700,000,” Richardson said. “That allowed us to do the design, hire construction inspectors and do construction in the neighborhood of about $500,000, and that’s what we’re doing right now.”

The project is currently underway with the renovation of the current bicycle path on State University Drive West. It is being extended 4,000 feet from State University Drive to Stadium Drive. Striping on roads will be added to identify existing bike lanes.

Richardson added that some funds will go toward adding bike racks and lockers in various areas. The locations of these additions have not been determined, but Facilities Services will work with the Transportation Advisory Commitment to pick relevant areas. –

Tom Roberts can be reached at [email protected]