“America’s Walking City” has wheels, and students need a spot to stash their bikes on campus — something Shelton Hall recently decided to provide.

“The RHA asked for a bike room because there was not enough space on the bike rack located outside,” Shelton Hall Director Jennifer Battaglino said. “Bikes left on the bike rack outside were sometimes stolen.”

The Housing, Residence Life, Parking Services and Auxiliary Services Offices worked together to make an indoor space for bicycles, Battaglino said. Residents parked their bikes outside the dorm or stored them in their suites before the room was made, she said.

Shelton resident Raffi Melanson, a College of Arts and Sciences sophomore, said he has noticed increasing numbers of bikes on campus and likes what he sees.

“I would put the bike in my room, which was very cluttered and hard to deal with in the morning, so this is a great change for me,” Melanson said.

Office of Residence Life Director David Zamojski said he thinks bicycles are the best on-campus travel option.

“I discourage students from bringing cars to campus,” he said. “If a student wants to enjoy the outdoors, we should try to facilitate that effort with bike storage.”

Although some Shelton Hall residents appreciate the bike storage room, others said they dislike it because it replaced the residence hall’s gym.

CAS freshman Sarah Smilowitz said she thinks there are better places to store bikes indoors.

“I don’t know if we need to have a whole room for bikes, I think it would be better as a fitness room,” Smilowitz said.

Melanson disagreed.

“It is more important to have a bike room than a workout room,” he said. “A bike is the ultimate workout.”

The bike room is located near the Shelton lobby and contains several racks for students to hang their bikes, sheltering them from moisture that damages and rusts bikes outside.

The Shelton Residence Hall Association, Student Union and ORL plan to make BU a more bike-friendly campus.

“It is very important that BU provide space for bikes so that students can take good care of their property and not have to worry about it being vandalized,” the Union executive board said in an email.

Due to students’ environmental awareness, biking has become a cool alternative to public and private forms of transportation, so much that there is a biking subculture in most major cities, students said.

Groups like Boston Bike Tours take Bostonians and tourists around the city in groups and introduce them to multiple bike trails found in parks and along the Esplanade, according to websites.

Students said they see biking as both practical and fun, and hope to see BU encourage the two-wheel trend.

“It would be great if we could have more bike paths on campus to make it safer and easier for bikers,” CAS freshman Rebecca Karpovsky said.