More Local

• ABQTrib.com to remain available
• Former Marine to serve two years in jail for killing Albuquerque robber
• Wilson-Pearce battle for U.S. Senate exemplifies party's disparity

MOST RECENT TRIB STORIES

• ABQTrib.com to remain available
  08:48 a.m., February 25, 2008
• Congressman is indicted
  08:37 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Series of attacks target Green Zone
  08:36 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Iran is defying U.N., agency says
  08:35 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Waterboarding approval probed
  08:34 a.m., February 23, 2008

TRIB IN THE BLOGOSPHERE*

• Ty Murray Invitational thrills fans in Albuquerque
• Is Rome Burning?
• Ominous Skies
• The Road to Invalidation
• Albuquerque company participates in “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”

*Note: The Tribune does not create and is not responsible for the blogosphere's headlines and stories. These links to blogs talking about ABQTrib.com are automatically generated. Use them at your own risk.

STORY TOOLS

• E-mail story
• Comments
• iPod friendly
• Printer friendly

SHARE THIS STORY [?]

Forget dilapidated textbooks and homemade sack lunches.

University of New Mexico Parking and Transportation Services is monitoring how students, staff and faculty are responding to lockers they can stuff with something a little larger and more mobile.

In mid-June, 20 bike lockers were set up around campus to provide a safe storage place for people who ride their bikes to class. Parking services plans to add 20 more in the fall.

Sabra Basler, transportation information and project facilitator at UNM, said even though there will only be 40 lockers on a campus with more than 25,000 people, the lockers are a move in the right direction.

"The university should probably look at obtaining some grants that would encourage people to ride their bikes to work or school," she said.

Basler said UNM will consider in the next three to six months if more lockers are needed.

"When gas gets up to $4 a gallon, there will be more of a need for people to ride their bikes," she said.

The lockers rent for $16 a semester. Proceeds pay for maintenance and installation of the lockers, which cost about $700 each.

The lockers belong to the city, which installed them through a cooperative program with the university, said Cynthia Martin, program planning manager for UNM parking services.

Marica Martinic, a senior at UNM who rides her bike to class, said the fee is too high for something that seems inconvenient.

"I don't think it would be worth the $16," she said. "If I had one locker in one side of campus, it wouldn't help because I would have to walk."

Bike theft has been one of the UNM Police Department's largest reported crimes with 137 reports of stolen bikes in 2006, Lt. Pat Davis said.

Forty-five bikes have been reported stolen from Jan. 1 to April 10 of this year, he said.