At a glance
In order to encourage bicycle commuting, Commuter Services intends to install DIY bicycle repair stands across campus with the… Read full summary
- Funding received
- 2010-2011
- Large
- Awarded
- $7,237
- Funding partners
-
- Services and Activities Fee (SAF)
- Website & social links
In order to encourage bicycle commuting, Commuter Services intends to install DIY bicycle repair stands across campus with the goal of eliminating maintenance and uncertainty barriers to bicycling. These fix-it stations would allow students to perform minor bicycle maintenance and repairs quickly and conveniently while on campus. The predicted effect of this project would be an increase in cycling on campus due to the removal of barriers to bicycling.The long-term goals of this project are to reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with driving, minimize negative impacts of congestion around the University, and create safe transportation options for students at the University of Washington.
In order to maximize the benefits of this project, Commuter Services will work with an intern whose position will be dedicated to assisting in project development and reaching out to the campus community and raising awareness about this new piece of campus infrastructure. Some of the activities the intern will be involved in will include creating a Google-powered fix-it station map, advertising the new tool to the campus community in multiple mediums, and working with various student groups to ensure that the benefits of this product are widespread around the University community; including increased visibility of the ASUW Bike Shop, University of Washington Commuter Services, and other bicycle-related interests on campus.
In order to encourage bicycle commuting, Commuter Services intends to install DIY bicycle repair stands across campus with the goal of eliminating maintenance and uncertainty barriers to bicycling. These fix-it stations would allow students to perform minor bicycle maintenance and repairs quickly and conveniently while on campus. The predicted effect of this project would be an increase in cycling on campus due to the removal of barriers to bicycling.The long-term goals of this project are to reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with driving, minimize negative impacts of congestion around the University, and create safe transportation options for students at the University of Washington.
In order to maximize the benefits of this project, Commuter Services will work with an intern whose position will be dedicated to assisting in project development and reaching out to the campus community and raising awareness about this new piece of campus infrastructure. Some of the activities the intern will be involved in will include creating a Google-powered fix-it station map, advertising the new tool to the campus community in multiple mediums, and working with various student groups to ensure that the benefits of this product are widespread around the University community; including increased visibility of the ASUW Bike Shop, University of Washington Commuter Services, and other bicycle-related interests on campus.
David Amiton
Project lead
- damiton@uw.edu
- Affiliation
- Staff
Celeste Gilman
Team member
- cgilman@uw.edu
- Affiliation
- Staff
Define the campus environmental problem that you are attempting to solve:
Commuter Services actively promotes non-automobile trips to campus in efforts to:
- Reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with fossil fuels-based transportation;
- Minimize the negative impacts of congestion in and around the University District; and,
- Create safe and convenient transportation options for all members of the UW community.
As a result, just 21% percent of all commute trips to the UW Seattle campus are drive-alone. These trips, however, account for a significant share of the University’s commute-related and total greenhouse gas emissions. In order to meet the Climate Action Plan’s aggressive goal of an additional 30% reduction in commute-related greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, further reductions in drive-alone trips will be necessary.
Describe your proposed solution to this problem:
A major component of Commuter Services’ strategy to reduce drive-alone commute trips is encouraging trips by bicycle. In addition to providing incentives and end-of-trip facilities like bike racks, lockers, and showers, Commuter Services seeks to encourage bicycling by reducing uncertainty – what happens if I get a flat? Where do I go if something comes loose? – associated with riding to and around campus. Commuter Services intends to accomplish this by providing DIY bicycle maintenance and repair stands at convenient and strategic locations throughout campus, such as at dorms, high bicycle traffic locations, and heavily-utilized bicycle parking areas.
In addition to meeting the needs of the UW bicycle community, Commuter Services also intends for these repair stations – which will be UW “bike program” branded – to be visible indicators of the University’s commitment to encouraging bicycling and environmentally-friendly transportation.
What form and amount of student leadership will your project involve?
Commuter Services plans to use CSF funding to hire a student intern to assist in all phases of the project’s implementation. This would include working to identify potential installation locations for the Fix-It stands, collaborating with University building coordinators, and preparing materials for review committees prior to installation. The student would also be responsible for creating an online Bike Repair Stand Google Map consistent with other Commuter Services online maps. The student intern would gain firsthand experience working on a small-scale infrastructure project start-to-finish, and would be playing a significant role in making the UW more bicycle-friendly.
What type and amount of outreach and education will your project involve?
This project contains several outreach and education components. The student intern would be responsible for creating an online Bike Repair Stand Google Map to serve as a point of reference for the UW community. Commuter Services could also use one of the Fix-It stands, modified to make it portable, during events and at quarterly bike maintenance classes. Finally, Commuter Services is open to the possibility of partnering with the ASUW Bike Shop on maintenance education programs that utilize the Fix-It stands.
What amount of funds do you anticipate your project will require from the CSF?
The funding for this project will be directed at two different areas: hiring and maintaining a student intern, and purchasing up to ten Fix-It stands.
These program costs are roughly estimated to breakdown as follows:
- Student Intern (at $10/hr wages - adjusted to $11.39 for cost to Commuter Services):
- 80 hrs * $11.39 = $911.20
- Fix-It Stations: 10 units * $900 = $9,000
- Shipping: $500
- Installation: $2,000
TOTAL: $12,411.20
Request amount and budget
Problem statement
The campus sustainability problem that this project addresses is transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions. Although just 21% of campus-related trips are currently made by single occupancy vehicles (SOV), these trips contribute a significant amount of transportation-related carbon emissions. With the Climate Action Plan’s ambitious goal of making the University of Washington a carbon neutral campus, further reductions in SOV trips to campus are necessary. By encouraging students, staff, and faculty to get out of cars and onto bikes, this project seeks to reduce transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions.
This project benefits all students, staff, faculty, and visitors at the UW by providing convenient access to the tools for performing basic bike maintenance. This will reduce the uncertainty associated with biking to and around campus, thereby removing a barrier to biking for members of the UW community.
Measure the impacts
Education and outreach goals
One of the unique features of this project is that publicity is intrinsic to the product itself. Many of the fix-it stations will be highly visible and located in areas of campus that draw considerable amounts of student traffic. In addition to the outreach inherent in the product, Commuter Services will work closely with the hired student intern and campus groups to raise awareness of this new feature on campus.Through coordinated outreach campaigns online, on campus, and through word of mouth, we hope that this new feature becomes a staple of the campus community.
Finally, as we publicize the fix-it stations, we also anticipate that this new element of campus infrastructure will be used to raise awareness of other important entities on campus that promote bicycle commuting. For example, we believe there is an opportunity to generate interest in ASUW Bike Shop services and Commuter Services bike offerings by including contact information and branding for the two organizations on the fix-it stations.
Student involvement
Students will be involved in this project on many levels. Commuter Services is planning on hiring a student intern to facilitate the site locations for the project and coordinate outreach and advertising for student awareness. The student intern will work closely with the Manager of Grounds and Operations and the University Landscape Architect to ensure
that installation sites meet both operational and aesthetic standards.
The finished product is tailored to provide a service to the student community who can use these products at their leisure. In addition to the student intern who will work diligently to make the campus community aware of this new product, Commuter Services is also planning on working with the ASUW Bike Shop to communicate between our two entities on possible future collaborative efforts. We have also talked with the ASUW Bike Shop about addressing their lack of visibility to the student community by including ASUW Bike Shop contact information and list of services on the fix-it stands.