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Around Campus

Get your bike on

May is National Bicycle Month. Check out the University’s resources for workers and students who ride bikes to and around campus.

A line of bikes that are part of the Tar Heel Bike share program.
Tar Heel Bikes, a new bike share program to provide affordable, environmentally friendly transportation across campus, launched Oct. 25 at Carolina. The event was held at one of 18 initial bike racks on campus in front of Davis Library. (Jon Gardiner/UNC-Chapel Hill)

Carolina’s many efforts to enhance cycling on campus have earned it a silver-level “Bicycle Friendly University” designation from the League of American Bicyclists.

The varied programs and amenities that led to the designation, which is valid through 2022, include:

  • The Commuter Alternative Program, which rewards cyclists and others who do not drive an automobile to campus. The program provides information on commuting options and offers benefits such as discounts, prizes and free one-day parking permits and 20 free weeknight permits per semester.
  • Events such as “May the Wheels be with You” on May 4 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at Polk Place offer free bike checks from local mechanics, free swag, free bicycle registration and more.
  • A map showing amenities such as shower and locker locations, bike racks and repair stations.
  • A free bike registration program.
  • Carolina Ready emergency communications, which include a safety app to help keep you safe as you move around campus.

And, amid a network of bike lanes and trails throughout Chapel Hill and Carrboro, the University’s streets and sidewalks give cyclists direct routes to buildings.

By enhancing the cycling experience, Carolina contributes to its sustainability efforts.

Many commuters ride to a Chapel Hill Transit or GoTriangle bus stop, place their bikes on the bus’s rack and ride the bus to a stop near their destinations. Bikes that can be folded and put in a bag are allowed inside a bus.

Check move.unc.edu and gotriangle.org for more information.