James Longhurst, a history professor at UW-La Crosse, is seeking to create a project that will promote a safer environment for the abundance of pedestrians and bicyclists that the UW-L campus has.

His project, entitled “UW-L ON THE GO,” will aim to improve the biking and pedestrian community at UW-L by collecting surveys, interviews, opinions and a tally of all the bikers and pedestrians at UW-L. By accruing this data, Longhurst hopes that it will create a plan that is more sustainable and safer in order to accommodate the large number of bicyclists and pedestrians. In addition, this will help UW-L in being able to apply and be recognized as, for the first time, a “Bicycle Friendly University.”

How does UW-L go about becoming a “Bicycle Friendly University?” UW-L will have to prove what they are doing in order to encourage utilizing alternative modes of transportation campus-wide. Longhurst hopes that this new program of his will foster in the process of UW-L gaining this recognition.

On Sept. 24 and Oct. 21, Longhurst, along with many volunteers, counted the total number of pedestrians and bicyclists in designated areas. Volunteers could volunteer anywhere from one to five hours. These numbers will certainly aid in UW-L being recognized as a “Bicycle Friendly University.”

Longhurst was able to form the “ON THE GO” program through a grant of $1,400 from the UW-L Foundation.

The significance of this program for UW-L is related to the increasing popularity of biking as a mode of transportation. Biking and walking as a means of transport, especially for college students, have been increasing nationally over the last 10 years. Biking or walking to work or school have become popular alternative modes of transportation because of their extreme levels of affordability.

As well as being affordable, biking and walking is also a great opportunity for young people to participate in physical activity throughout their days. Instead of driving, walking or biking provide a few key benefits that make them better options than driving, which is also certainly more costly.

In addition to his new program, Longhurst has also written a book “Bike Battles: A History of Sharing the American Road,” which explores the history of biking in communities and the conflict that is posed when deciding which mode of transportation to use in everyday life. In addition, Longhurst has also written other articles and chapters that deal with research on cycling in communities.

Longhurst believes that by incorporating various modes of transportation in the UW-L campus, an overall safer environment will be created for all who choose to attend the college, as well as people driving near the campus and many others as well.