Why is it there are 10 times the number of cyclists at the University of Wisconsin than at UNC? It must be the climate, right? Except that argument goes the other way around. Poor planning at UNC? How about no planning at UNC?

UNC prides itself on sustainability, and it does a pretty good job at that. But when it comes to promoting a good cycling environment, why does it fail so miserably? And why do Chapel Hill and Carrboro still fail, too? Are officials in all three jurisdictions just weak visionaries or lazy politicians?

Let's first see what the situation is. There are some bright spots. Look at the bike trail that goes along the side of the railway in Carrboro and connects to the beautiful biking street that Cameron Avenue is, practically leading right onto campus. Look at the wonderful hard-surface greenways that exist and are being planned in both towns.

Alas, there are rather more dark spots. Bike lanes that don't connect to anything, disappearing bike lanes as you approach downtown, dangerous drainage grates for bicycle wheels to catch in, same for surface cracks on the sides of streets.

What can be done? How can we turn this around into a good biking environment? There are three levels of action: fixing the practical problems now, planning a cycling environment and thinking out of the box writ large.

The practical problems are easy fixes. First is maintaining bike lanes more frequently than car lanes, for the simple reason that a bike has a lot less rubber on it and less stability than a car has. It doesn't just glide over holes and cracks like a car will. Second is replacing all inappropriate drainage grates. These priorities are simple and don't need us to pass a new bond issue.

Planning is more of a challenge. But why should that be for a bright community like UNC? How do cyclists get around campus now? Where are the networked cycle paths? How do students get to the east part of town without taking their lives in their hands fighting cars and buses going down the hill on Franklin Street? Just try it and you will see what I mean.

UNC should be the focus of any bike plan for the simple reason that its population size can have the most impact in this area of need. UNC needs to show some leadership here.

As for the towns, they need to stop treating cycling simply as a nice-to-have recreational activity. Planning needs to classify cyclists and their needs. A young family cycling in town is very unlike the athletic cyclists on their way out of town, which in turn are very unlike student commuters, and so on. Planning needs to consider the needs of each.

Really making a dent in our growing transportation woes through cycling, though, will need more than this.

Some very creative thinking is in order.

For instance, how about reducing the number of car lanes on some streets in order to make more space for bicycles? That of course will slow traffic and increase car congestion. And isn't that exactly the way to encourage people to switch from cars to bikes? Out of the box thinking, right?

How about turning South Road and Cameron Avenue on campus into woonerfs, those mixed-use streets where traffic goes at the speed of pedestrians? How about a network of off-road bicycle paths throughout south campus as well as linking the center of campus to Franklin Street? How about major bike paths to east Chapel Hill, to Morgan Creek, to Carolina North and beyond? All off-road, or at least separated from car traffic.

How about a major Blue Urban Bikes program on campus? How about tapping into some other creative ideas that would invariably come out of the bright people at UNC if biking became a serious priority?

Now why is this important? To be greener, to be more fit, to have a more beautiful, less car-centric campus and community. The potential is huge. We could have as many cyclists here as in Madison, Wis., or in other university towns that have thought out of the box.

The big why question, though, is "Why is this not happening already?" We are doing some things to improve the situation, but I estimate that we are perhaps a quarter of the way to where we could be a proud biking community. Let's go the distance and make ourselves proud.