By Richard Zagrzecki
As president of the Cougar Cycling and Triathlon Sports Club, Jeremy Gor spends a lot of time riding and racing bicycles.
So when the Office of Sustainability recently created a bike program coordinator student worker position, it seemed logical that the sophomore kinesiology major would be a great choice to fill it.
He’s only been at the job since the end of September, but already has been busy. One of his first duties is formulating and creating a survey to gauge student interest in biking in and around campus.
Students will be able to complete the survey on laptops at different events and resource tablings. It’ll also be included in the Office of Sustainability newsletter and posted on the Facebook page.
“Basically, we are trying to see how many cyclists we have on campus and what can be done to encourage them to cycle more,” he said. “We also want to see if there are any other issues about biking on campus that we haven’t addressed.”
Gor, who grew up in southwest Houston and graduated from Carnegie Vanguard High School, found out about the position when he was being interviewed for an entry on the Office of Sustainability blog. The job intrigued him.
“It’s a great student worker position to have. It incorporates everything that I enjoy,” he said.
He’s been busy researching bike programs and determining what would be a good fit for UH. That includes looking at bike share programs, bicycle lockers, better bike racks and improved security.
“We’re looking at anything that will make it easier for students on campus to use their bicycles,” he said. “We want to make it where students look at bicycling as a viable option to driving or walking.”
One concern he has is students who lock their bicycles to trees or posts, rather than to a bike rack. Part of that problem stems from a need for more racks in certain parts of campus and around some buildings. Soon, he will be walking around campus and counting how many racks the campus has and where they are distributed.
Security is another issue some students have. A lot of them, Gor said, are afraid of having their bicycles stolen, or parts from their bikes stripped away. He recommends using more than one lock on a bike as a preventative measure.
Once he has completed a case study that includes recommendations for what to include in a bike program at UH, it will be presented to leadership and administration. That could lead to the creation of a bike advisory committee and work moving forward on addressing the campus bike needs.
Gor, who plans on becoming a physical therapist following graduation, is not the first person in his family to attend UH. His father studied electrical engineering here.
What does he consider the best part about the University? The people.
“Everyone is very friendly. I have met so many people on a day to day basis in between classes and after classes or even just standing on the elevator,” he said.