Yellow bikes melted down for scrap metal

Security program delayed by lack of storage space

Three hundred bikes were supposed to be made available to the public. So the public waited. And waited. And waited. But the bikes never made it.

The 300 bikes, part of the Department of Safety and Security's yellow bike program, were melted down by the Buildings and Grounds department in March. They had been left outside since May due to lack of indoor storage space and were weathered beyond repair.

Under the yellow bike program, 300 bikes were supposed to be available for students to borrow and use whenever needed. The program was formulated by Director of Safety and Security Keith James.

When James arrived in Oberlin two years ago, the College had already collected many bikes. Some of them were recovered from thefts, while others were lost or left abandoned.

James said the yellow bike program was meant to replace giving the old bikes to the Oberlin Police Department, where they are sold at their annual bike sale.

"The bikes could be repaired and used in a community bike program in cooperation with the Bike Co-op," James said.

According to James, Oberlin city officials liked the idea so much they wanted to get involved.

Plans were made to expand the program so it included the abandoned city bikes that the police department had collected. This would allow Oberlin residents to borrow bikes, as well as College students.

James said several problems delayed them in their efforts to begin the program. Issues of liability we brought up in discussion.

"If a student, or a citizen, fell on one of the bikes, would they be able to sue the school, or the police department?" James said, referring to one concern people mentioned.

After officials applied to receive a grant from the Nord Foundation and were denied funding, the project became dormant, according to James.

The bikes were secured at various grounds department areas on campus and an officer took inventory.

"When the weather became inclement, I suggested moving the bikes to an indoor location," James said.

Staff members, however, couldn't find indoor space to house the bikes, so they remained around campus. James said time constraints forced him to divorce himself from the project.

When the Physical Plant hired Dennis Greive as a new grounds manager, he found himself rummaging through the old bikes.

"I thought I could find a bike to ride around campus," Greive said. He said the bikes he found, however, were in very bad condition. "I found one that could move, but it couldn't stop."

Greive conducted the College's annual bike collection around Commencement last May. Once again, staff members looked for inside storage, but the amount of space needed wasn't found. Greive said the bikes sat outside from the beginning of May until March.

The time came around for the grounds department to clean up and renovate their storage areas. Goodwill, The Salvation Army and Mansfield Collection were called in to look at the bikes.

According to Greive, none of these three groups took any bikes because they felt they were badly damaged.

"The bikes were salvaged and the metal from the frames was recycled. Some of the bikes were saved to later cover with lights and decorate around holiday time," Greive said.

Both Greive and James said they want this program to succeed.

"With the parking problems on the campus, the ground is often damaged by cars driving over lawns. More people with bikes would help cut down on that," Greive said.

James said he will continue his efforts to get the yellow bike program started. He said when bikes are collected at the end of this year, they will try again.