The Department of Public Safety will increase enforcement of Oregon’s bike rules starting Wednesday by posting new signs and issuing warnings to law-breaking riders for about a week before it begins handing out citations.
The efforts come in response to increased complaints last winter and spring from faculty and students on foot who were hit or nearly hit by bikes, DPS Lt. Herb Horner said.
“We periodically enforce things like this,” Horner said, noting that a limited staff requires DPS to focus on individual issues for blocks of time. “Last year, complaints came daily. And the squeaky wheel gets the grease, so for a period of time officers will be out notifying people where to dismount and educating people about the rules.”
Starting Wednesday, four new sandwich-board signs warning riders to dismount will be posted during enforcement hours, from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the ASUO Street Faire on East 13th Avenue. Beginning Monday, two of those signs will sit near the EMU, while the other two will be shifted between campus “problem areas,” such as the walkway from the residence halls near Agate Street to the EMU, Horner said. A pathway near East 15th Avenue to Franklin Boulevard and a fire lane by the Knight Library and Gerlinger Annex to the EMU are the only designated bike routes on campus, not including main roads. Horner said riders who fail to dismount and walk at appropriate areas are subject to a $20 fine, and no skateboarding is allowed at the EMU.
While bikes are allowed on all main streets, including lanes on East 13th Avenue, there are many other rules that riders can unknowingly violate. DPS encourages riders to register their bikes, which is required on campus but has not been enforced. Students who don’t attach their bikes to designated racks risk having them impounded and incurring a $10 fee if they aren’t registered. Registering a bike increases the chance of getting it back if it’s impounded, lost or stolen, Horner said.
In addition, bicyclists are subject to general moving-vehicle rules.
“The rules establish that the speed limit on a skateboard or bike is 15 mph,” Horner said. “But some bikes, they’re flying.”
And although the speed limit is difficult to regulate, at least one Eugene Police Department officer will be on campus daily to enforce other moving vehicle regulations, which restrict bikes as they would cars.
In Oregon, people on bikes have the same rights and responsibilities as people in cars, according to the Oregon Administrative Rules. But Horner said many bicyclists ignore traffic signals and stop signs or ride on the wrong side of the road, endangering themselves and others around them. Bikers are also supposed to dismount and walk at crosswalks and yield the right of way to pedestrians.
University sophomore Jaime Symons said she has nearly been hit by a bike, but both pedestrians and bicyclists should be aware of each other.
“Often, I just needed to pay more attention,” Symons said. “It really should be common knowledge.”
University sophomore Bryan Davidson agreed. He said people are relatively safe as long as bicyclists and pedestrians are courteous of one another.
Horner said DPS does not document the number of accidents involving bikes each year, but the majority go unreported. He said with more than 22,000 students registered at the University this term, there’s a higher risk for accidents between pedestrians and bicyclists.
“It’s a lot of people in a relatively small space,” Horner said. “Our goal is to ensure the safety of pedestrians. There’s a whole lot more of them on campus than people on bikes.”

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