Students are parking their cars and riding their bikes to campus now that the weather is improving. With how much money it can save and the easier it is to get to class, the trend seems likely to continue. Junior psychology major Josiah Williams has been riding his bike to school since his freshman year.

“My friends are always talking about how hard it is to find parking. I’ve never had to worry about that, thankfully,” Williams said. “I’m always able to park closer to the building than anyone.”

Parking permits for 2018-19 cost $106 per quarter, $30 per quarter for motorcycles. Students looking for a bargain can buy a permit for the entire year for $224. The daily parking rate is $6 for 24 hours. Without gas money included, the savings are nearly $1,000 over four years.

There are some safety precautions students are encouraged to follow. Andy Bayne, sergeant for the CWU Police Department said it all starts with getting your bike registered.

“If you’re going to bring your bike [to campus], we have a registration program that you can register it with us. In turn we can add it to a database so that if something gets stolen, we can try to recover it,” Bayne said. “We’ve actually found a couple bikes that were registered in [1999] and found the owner.”

Bike registration can be done at the parking services office or online. A sticker is then printed and placed on the bike. While riding on the street or sidewalk, Bayne said students must follow the regulations on both pathways.

“When you’re in the street, you’re a car. You have to adhere to rules of the road. When you’re on the sidewalk, you’re a pedestrian. That doesn’t mean that you just get to tell people to get out of your way or hit people,” Bayne said.

In addition to saving money, bike riding also helps Williams exercise. The full body workout allows him to get into shape without taking him away from his academics. With classes starting at 9 a.m. and homework keeping him up late, finding time for the gym can be hard.

“That’s the main thing for me, just being able to get some cardio in. I’m pretty tired by the time I ride home but it’s definitely worth it,” Williams said.

The most heavily congested pathways during the day are the mall pathways that connect each side of campus cutting through the middle. It has a 10 mph speed limit, and is something junior Synove Carlson sees as dangerous when she’s riding her bike throughout the week.

“I noticed a lot of people on campus don’t wear helmets which is really dangerous,” Carlson said. “My sister, who’s a nurse, says their hospital gets a lot of people with bad head injuries from riding without a helmet.”

Bayne said most of his day involves walking the mall at peak transition hours reminding students to ride safe.

“I like to let students know that it’s probably not a good idea to ride 100 miles an hour down the mall,” Bayne said.