This morning I went to unlock my bike after leaving it locked up on Stanton Avenue. To my dismay, I found the seat post broken, the front tire kicked in and the fender bent. I couldn’t even wheel the bike forward. Sadly, I had feared that it would be damaged during the night but had hoped for the best.

Of course, I realize that this was partly my fault. I knew Campustown would be teeming with drunks; it was Halloween weekend. And I have heard plenty of my friends complain about their bikes being damaged or stolen after leaving them locked up in Campustown.

I’m not here to rail against people getting drunk in Campustown, even though the stupidity and pointlessness of ruining people’s bikes for fun is infuriating. Every time I lock up my bike on Welch or Stanton Avenue, I know I’m running the risk of it being damaged, but people should not have to be so nervous about leaving their bikes there.

The problem is simple: There are hardly any bike racks. Sure there are parking meters, light posts, and a few single bike racks here and there, but in reality, there is nowhere safe to park your bike. In a town that prides itself on being bike-friendly, it seems strange that there are no bike racks in such a populated, busy part of town.

A good friend of mine and former professor, Sandra Looft, published a piece about this problem in 2010 in the Iowa State Daily. Looft is a cyclist and a talented writer; you can check her out on her blog, Simply Bike. In her opinion piece titled “Ames needs more bike racks” she described this “bike-unfriendly infrastructure.”

The biggest problem she highlighted was the lack of bike racks. She said, “There is never a shortage of bikes chained to the parking meters and trees, and I have no doubt many a driver has found the parked bike obscuring their meter annoying. But what is a cyclist to do when no better options exist?”

She raised a valid concern, and I myself have often been troubled by where to park my bike when no bike racks are available. During the day in Campustown, I don’t usually worry about my bike being stolen or damaged, but leaving it there at night is a different question. Either way the situation calls for more bike racks. If there were safe, out-of-the-way places to park your bike, I think this problem might have a better chance of being solved. Plus, Ames would more truthfully be able to claim that it is a bike-friendly community.

Apparently, contacting the local patrons of Welch Avenue has been unsuccessful, as well as contacting the city’s traffic engineer. Personally, I would be happy to advocate for more bike racks in Ames. If Ames would like to truthfully claim itself as bike-friendly, this change needs to happen.

However, it may take more than a small handful of people to make this possible. If you are a cyclist or would simply like to be able to safely park your bike in Campustown and around the community, it’s time to speak up to local officials and business owners.