Bicyclists returning to Cal Poly Pomona this winter quarter will find it easier to get around with pedal power, thanks to a new bike path cutting across the campus.

The new path runs from parking lot B to the Bronco Student Center and Bronco Bookstore, giving cyclists easy access to the athletics fields, the residential suites, the Kellogg Gym and the Bronco Recreation and Intramural Complex (BRIC), which is still under construction.

The lanes separate bicycle and pedestrian traffic, include crosswalks, and feature signage directing users to campus locations.

"It's a standard bike path design," says Walter Marquez, associate vice president of Facilities Planning & Management. "The firm we used worked on the city of Pomona's bicycle plan, as well as Cal State Long Beach's bicycle plan."

Marquez says putting bike lanes on the south side of campus made the most sense.

"That's a route that's already being used by pedestrians, cyclists and skateboarders as they come onto campus," Marquez says. "With the construction of the BRIC, we anticipate more activity along the pathway."

Cyclists have long been restricted from riding their bikes on campus sidewalks and pathways, but the growing popularity of "green" forms of transportation has university planners like Marquez rethinking how people get around.

"Circulation is always something we consider on this campus," Marquez says. "How do you connect buildings? How do you move east to west?"

More planning will be required before the university moves forward with creating new paths on other parts of campus.

"To implement anything further will require more engagement with our campus community," Marquez says. "We have many other people besides cyclists and pedestrians on campus that have various types of needs on campus. We have to make sure that we cover those bases."