An ASUCD senate bill, calling for an extension of the 1971 ASUCD Bike Barn to be built in the Memorial Union (MU) was brought to the table at an Oct. 20 ASUCD senate meeting.
Authored by Senator Andre Lee and co-authored by Bike Barn business and inventory manager Amelia Badish, Bike Garage rental and service manager Shell Sumerel and Bike Barn general manager Robert St. Cyr, Senate Bill 13, allocates $8,555.88 from Capital Reserves to fund the capital costs of a new Bike Barn location.
“[Money will come from] our reserves, money that we had set aside from ASUCD, money that we’re pulling out of our own budget and then some grant money from ASUCD to help get it going,” St. Cyr said.
Appropriately titled the Bike Hub, as a “hub” refers to the center on a bicycle wheel, the store is planned to be more accessory oriented. The new store will provide students with an extensive selection of bicycle equipment such as lights, locks, helmets, jackets, fenders and baskets, enabling students to buy any necessary equipment they may be lacking while on the North end of campus.
Badish said the new store will be opened to provide students with more access to their basic bicycle needs.
“We will be selling a lot of lights at the new store. California state law requires that a cyclist ride with a front white light if they ride their bicycle at night. … If someone forgot their lock, and they parked their bike near the MU, they can come on in to the ASUCD Bike Hub, and purchase a new lock,” Badish said. With an overall budget of $20,000, construction of the Bike Hub is determined to begin in either the end of the Winter quarter or the beginning of the Spring quarter and is set to open in the middle of the Spring quarter.
A driving force of the project and a UC Davis alumna, Sumerel has been working at the Bike Garage since her first year. She hopes to start construction as soon as possible but the space the store will occupy in the MU has yet to be determined. The former T-Mobile location was the initial suggestion, but officials of the project are aiming for the travel agency space, that is slated to relocate to the current UC Davis post office. “Not only will the space help us bridge the gap between the Bike Garage and the Bike Barn, but it will also open up more student jobs as well as provide us with more space to offer different products,” Sumerel said.
Employees said the store will be open for minimal hours during the middle to end of the Winter quarter and fully open at the start of the Spring quarter.
The Bike Barn, housed in a relatively small area, prevents the full inventory from being properly displayed. The Bike Hub will soon be able to display those items that are not currently available to students because of the store’s size. This includes the chrome bike messenger bags.
“They have them designed for laptops and books … they stay on securely and are comfortable while you’re riding. We have them here but we want to put them over there where they can be better on display,” said St. Cyr, who has been working at the Bike Barn for over 14 years.
“[It will reach] a new portion of the campus that I think is untapped and not being served adequately. [It would] be great to have one big store, but there is not enough space on campus in the locations where the students are, to have that big space, so we’re going to have to take a different approach,” he said. The opening date will be decided when the bill passes, according to Badish. A final decision from ASUCD Senate will be made tonight during the ASUCD Senate meeting. If the bill is passed, the ordering and remodeling of the space is set to begin.
Another Bike Barn senate bill, Senate Bill 16, was passed last week. This bill allocates $12,634.16 from Capital Reserves and $1,598.78 from Bike Barn reserves. This will fund equipment replacement and upgrades.
MUNA SADEK can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.
