When the MSU Bike Project first was created there were only a few bicycles and no place to call home.
But now, with a new Web site, www.msu.edu/~bikes, and a spot in Demonstration Hall for storage, the project aims at getting students and faculty out of their cars by providing them with bikes.
Officials from the MSU Bike Project are hoping by the summer semester to expand its fleet to 100 bikes. The project has 25 bikes this semester.
The project, a subcommittee of the Office of Campus Sustainability is just one way MSU officials are attempting to make campus environmentally friendly. The office, run by Terry Link, was established in 2002 to raise awareness of the overuse of resources on campus.
"It's like an all-you-can-eat buffet," Link said. "You pay your money and you want to leave full. Sometimes it's not necessary and it's not good."
While there are many steps MSU is taking to improve, there is more to be done, said Amy Gregory, coordinator of MSU's environmental group Eco.
"Our campus hasn't come close to reaching its potential," Gregory said. "It's surprising we're not more environmentally friendly seeing as though we're a land-grant university and have so many programs based around the environment."
But Jeff Kacos, director of Campus Park and Planning said university officials have made positive steps toward sustainability.
"I believe the university has been very sensitive about environmental issues," Kacos said. "You don't take something that has been around for 150 years and change it overnight."
Many changes regarding environmental issues have come about because of the office's participation in the university's 20/20 Vision plan which will renovate campus by the year 2020, Kacos said.
"There was a reversal of transportation priorities," Kacos said. "This campus was designed for cars, but cars are put last now. The pedestrians and then bicycles are first priorities now."
But bringing about change on the campus is ultimately up to individuals' choices, Link said.
"Some students care about environmental equity, some have other things on their mind," he said.
Gus Gosselin, who rides his bike to work during the warmer months of the year, says the MSU Bike Project is a small contribution to the goal of creating a sustainable campus.
"In this country, we love cars," Gosselin, chairman of the MSU Bike Project said. "Most people will just jump in the car, even if it's only a quarter-mile away. People don't think about bicycles as serious transportation.
"There's probably a long road ahead until we reach that."
