The Department of Public Safety is going to start cracking down on bicyclists who ride and park their bikes illegally on campus, warned Loras Jaeger, DPS director.

DPS officers will be working in teams to warn, and eventually ticket repeat offenders who ride their bikes on sidewalks, don’t obey traffic signs and signals and park illegally on campus. The crackdown was initiated by an increase in complaints from pedestrians, motorists and other bicyclists.

DPS has ticketed violators of bicycle laws in the past, but officials say this more aggressive pursuit of offenders is a last resort after years of warnings and “No Bicycles Allowed” signs getting vandalized.

“We are receiving more complaints this week than we have in past years,” Jaeger said.

Jaeger said he attributes the increase in bicycle-related complaints to the warmer weather as well as the lack of student awareness of the existing campus bicycle laws.

DPS allocates $50,000 a year to install more modern bike racks for the nearly 3,500 bicyclists on campus. Still, bikes locked to trees, fences, buildings and parking meters continue to be a problem.

“The university replaces trees each year that are wrecked by bike locks,” said Jaeger, who added that DPS will start imposing a $5 fine for illegal bike parking.

Jaeger said one of the biggest problems DPS encounters is bicyclists who disobey traffic signs.

“Cyclists must conform to the same laws as motor vehicles on the street as established by Iowa law,” Jaeger said.

Jaeger said it is also a university infraction to ride bikes on campus sidewalks.

“We have strategically placed the bike racks on campus close to streets and bike trails so people don’t have to bike on the sidewalks,” Jaeger said. He admits that bicyclists might have to park their bikes and walk to a nearby building rather than parking right next to it, but he said the setup is designed to protect the pedestrians on the sidewalks.

“The sheer number of bicycles on campus makes it difficult to get in sync with the traffic around you,” said Laura Westcott, a sophomore in elementary education who rides her bike on campus daily.

“Sometimes there are so many cars jamming the streets that it is tempting to ride my bike on the sidewalk, just to avoid getting run over, but I know that I’ve run into pedestrians before just as bikers have run into me,” she added.

Some students claim that they’ve never been made aware of the bicycle laws on campus.

“People new to the university like me have no idea these laws exist,” said Shad Fagerland, a graduate student in creative writing. “Maybe more signs advising bicycles of where they can and can’t go would be helpful.”

Two years ago, DPS painted signs on sidewalks forbidding bicycle traffic, only to have those signs vandalized beyond recognition. Jaeger said that DPS is aware that many bikers on campus don’t know that it is illegal to ride on the sidewalks, but they fear vandalism if signs were posted or painted again on the sidewalks.

“The DPS continues to look for ways to improve bicycle use on campus,” he said. “We like to encourage students to ride their bikes on campus because it cuts down on motor vehicles. We would just like to see more responsible use.”

Jaeger said there has been some talk of adding a bike trail running east-west through campus to cut down on some of the bike traffic on the streets and sidewalks, but plans aren’t finalized.

He said DPS is trying to obtain part of the $30,000 needed for the project through grants, but recent cuts at the federal level make the future of such grant funding uncertain.

Jaeger said one way students could help fund such trail projects, as well as help themselves, is by registering their bike through the university and the city of Ames.

A bike registration can be purchased for $2.50 at the parking divisions office, the University Bookstore, any bike shop or any major grocery store in Ames.