People driving through Ames may seem to take special care to watch for students walking to class, but often bikers do not get the same consideration.

A great percentage of Iowa State students and Ames residents use bicycles as their form of transportation during the warmer months, though many bikers in Ames complain of not having a place to ride safely.

Ames resident Shawn Goodheart has had a couple encounters with motorists not giving bikers respect. She said she has nearly been run off the street.

Goodheart said she once became so fed up that she yelled at motorists: “Bikers have rights, too!”

Tom Jones, a sophomore in pre-med, said he was hit by a car while riding his bike to class. He was not badly hurt, but he said the motorist quickly learned a lesson about sharing the street with bikers.

Due to a large number of bicycle accidents, bikers at ISU have been arguing to try to get some sort of recognition as rightful users of the streets.

Many ISU streets either do not allow cars or are not highly traveled by university-associated automobiles. Also, many of the streets on campus are wide enough for both cars and bikers.

The City of Ames is trying to protect the rights of bicyclists. At a recent city council meeting, the Ames/ISU Bicycle Committee brought forward their Bicycle Master Plan.

The committee is designing biker-friendly routes in Ames and at ISU.

The plan is to bring more off-street paths for bicyclists, which will widen certain streets. The plan will consist of a two-lane street with an approximate 8-foot bicycle lane.

The design would be used from Ontario Street to Oakland Street and will move onto Hyland Avenue and Lincoln Way.