The AUTTC is an advisory committee to Vice President for Finance and Operations and Treasurer Fred Poston.

The entire committee would first need to vote to approve the recommendation at its final meeting of the year, April 29, before it is sent to Poston, AUTTC Chairman William McConnell said.

Poston would decide whether it was possible to implement the proposed changes, McConnell said.

Potter said the committee is considering several types of bike enclosures intended to cut down on bike theft and encourage people to ride bikes on campus.

“The way we have bike parking now, it is exposed to the weather,” Potter said. “There can be rust and damage to the bikes as a result.”

Some ideas involve a combination of fencing, surveillance or security measures such as combinations, key cards or attendants, Potter said.

The various methods make it impossible for officials to nail down the cost for installation, he said.

“We’ve looked at the bike locker option,” Potter said. “For a two-bike locker and a cement pad to set it in, the cost is astronomical for it to benefit only two people.”

The university now has at least six covered parking racks — most of which are located inside parking ramps, according to the MSU Transportation Services Web site.

Potter said he wants to secure funding for a pilot installation that would put facilities at commuter lots and an additional location on campus.

“They would have an option to store it overnight in a place that typically you might not want to leave your bike,” Potter said.

The University of Minnesota has had a bike locker program for about 15 years, said Steve Sanders, Public Transportation Services bicycle coordinator at the university.

Currently, the program offers 200 bike spaces — all full — as well as an extensive waiting list, Sanders said.

“Our bike lockers are $84 a year — $7 a month,” Sanders said. “We got a federal grant to buy a bunch of them and we have been adding them ever since.”

English graduate student Connor Ryan said although he would like to have the opportunity to leave his bike in a place where it wouldn’t be exposed to the weather, he usually parks his bike as close as he can to his destination — rain or shine.

Ryan, who lives near Lansing Community College, said he uses his bike to travel from place to place. As convenient as covered bike racks would be, Ryan said the problem isn’t rooted entirely in weather.

“I think most people here ride their bike and then leave it in a snowdrift for the entire winter,” Ryan said.

“Then they have to take it down to MSU Bikes and have the staff take care of it for them. People don’t have much invested in their stuff.”