The Multimodal Corridor Enhancement (MCORE) project requires the Champaign-Urbana Urbanized AreaTransportation Study (CUUATS) partners to monitor the pedestrian and bicycle counts following the completion of the project. This requirement is to understand the increased walking and bicycling activities at the twelve predetermined corridors. Champaign County Regional Planning Commission (CCRPC) collected pedestrian and cycling counts at these locations before the MCORE project. These twelve corridors/intersections are

1. Birch Street and Green Street
2. Lincoln Avenue and Green Street
3. Goodwin Avenue and Green Street
4. Illini Union Entrance/Green Street
5. Wright Street and White Street
6. Wright Street and Healey Street
7. Wright Street and John Street
8. Sixth Street and Armory Avenue
9. Fourth Street and Armory Avenue
10. Third Street and White Street
11. Third Street and Green Street
12. Locust Street and Green Street

The University has identified other locations on campus to add pedestrian/bicycle counters as well, other than these twelve MCORE corridors/intersections. In March 2020, the first Eco-Counter pedestrian and bicycle counter was installed at the Illini Union location on Green Street.

In summer 2021, the Eco-Counters for the intersections of Sixth Street and Armory Avenue and Wright Street and Healey Street will be installed.

We’re inching up in the busyness around here. Visitor numbers reflect that. Elsewhere, we’re working through an influx of kids bike donations that we’ll either store until our winter giveaway or repair for sale this spring/summer. We also got a bike donated back that we sold at least two years ago, if my memory serves.

This week we have another fix-a-flat class offered (still no takers yet) and will be gearing up for Sustainapalooza on Saturday.

Hope to get a couple more bikes on the sales floor, too.

The numbers:

Visitors: 77

Sales: $696
Memberships: 9 for $270
Bikes (refurb): 1 for $170
Tires/tubes: 16 for $77

Thanks!

Uneventful week. Pulled some of the salvageable parts off bikes in the containers and should have that project completed by end-of-week.

Tonight is TBP’s Member Meeting which I will attend.

This Thursdays is another Fix-a-Flat class. We have signage up in the Bike Center, so hopefully will get some takers for that.

Thanks!

The numbers:

Visitors: 73
Sales: $1,575.35
Memberships: 11 for $330
Bikes (refurb): 4 for $620

Bikes (BaB): 2 for $110
Tires/tubes: 27 for $34

This week we will reopen to M – F from our scaled back winter hours!

We’re also hosting our Fix-a-Flat class on Thursday again. Was also alerted that Illini Cycling will begin offering three rides a week that start at the Bike Center, so that will be good publicity for the fitness riding folks.

This week I will make a final run through of the abandoned bikes and which to keep or not.

The numbers:

Visitors: 46
Sales: $909.50
Bikes (refurb): 2 for $360
Memberships: 8 for $240

Tires/tubes: 13 for $73

Thanks!

This month, the Land and Water iCAP Team met on Teams on March 4th, 2026, at 9:00 AM for the team's monthly meeting. This month, the team discussed a report comparing the sustainable practices of peer and model institutions in landscaping, sustainable land management, and sustainable water management. Additionally the team discussed a student project on the team focusing on testing the permeability of pavers and asphalt on campus, the status of legalizing gray water usage in Illinois plumbing code, the possibility of irrigation monitoring, the status of prairie strips plantings, the status of milkweed plantings on campus, green stormwater infrastructure on campus, and upcoming events in relation to the Land and Water Team. To learn more about the topics listed above, please see the attached document containing the agenda and minutes for the team. 

Email from Jacob Benjamin:

Pretty relaxed week overall. Approaching double digits on the number of For Sale bikes we have on the floor.  By end of week, we should be at a dozen or so. This is our prime building season, so we’ll take advantage as we can. Will also get some B-a-Bs prepped. Warmer weather this week usually correlates to more visits to the space, so we’ll see if that holds.

A Bike Project member met me on Thursday at the abandoned bike storage facility and pulled some stock to help their space. We plan to continue with that to help shrink the scrap pile.

The numbers:

Visitors: 24
Sales: $520

Bike (refurb): 1 for $180
Bike (B-a-B): 1 for $60
Memberships: 3 for $90

Tires/tubes: 2 for $30

Thanks!

Email from Jacob Benjamin:

Happy Groundhog Day!

Things have calmed a bit—thankfully! Warmer weather this week means I can get out and safety check the half dozen or so bikes that have been in the queue without risking frostbite.

The numbers:

Visitors: 32

Sales: 704.25
Bikes (refurb): 2 for $420
Bikes (B-a-B): 1 for $60
Memberships: 3 for $90

Thanks!

December 2025 photos of the Florida Orchard Prairie have been added to the box folder.

"Bicycle Reuse Programmes Report Threefold Return on Investment" by Helen Gates

Bicycle repair and reuse programmes generate measurable economic, environmental and social returns, according to analysis by FCC Environment. 
 
The company's white paper, Bikes: A Vehicle of Opportunity, combines operational data with external research to quantify the benefits of repair and redistribution programmes. FCC reports that across its current network, it has refurbished 2,424 bicycles through prison and community workshops, diverting 35 tonnes of waste and preventing an estimated 345 tonnes of CO₂e emissions. 
 
New bicycle sales in the UK fell to around 1.45 million units in 2024, compared with 3.1–3.3 million during the 2020-2021 pandemic peak, according to industry data cited in the report. The Bicycle Association recorded a 7 per cent increase in workshop volumes and a 5 per cent rise in value in 2024, while many independent shops reported workshop revenue growth of 10–50 per cent. 
 
The shift has created demand for trained mechanics, with 13-15 per cent of UK bike businesses citing staff shortages.

Prison workshop programmes

FCC currently operates bicycle repair workshops in nine prisons across seven local authority areas, involving around 100 prisoners. The company states that these schemes have generated £119,000 in recorded social value to date. 
 
Research from the City & Guilds Foundation cited in the report suggests each prison skills qualification saves taxpayers an estimated £34,000 per year through reduced reoffending and related social costs. 
 
The Wigan Cycle Project, run in partnership with Wigan Council and the charity Rebuild with Hope, has recorded a zero per cent reoffending rate among 24 participants since 2022, compared with a cited national average of 65 per cent. Between late 2024 and mid-2025, the project refurbished more than 300 bicycles and diverted 6.8 tonnes of materials from landfill. 
 
Mark Harrison, Director of the Wigan Cycle Project, said the collaboration has "unlocked capacity to get bikes to people who really need them, while passing on new skills and prospects to prisoners preparing for release." 

ReCycling benefits

The report notes that the majority of a bicycle's lifetime carbon footprint is generated during manufacturing. Producing a new steel-frame bike emits around 96 kilograms of CO₂, while an aluminium equivalent exceeds 200 kilograms. Refurbishment preserves this embodied carbon, requiring a fraction of the energy needed to recycle raw materials. 
 
Disposal data suggests significant volumes are available for reuse. The North London Waste Authority has estimated that more than 11,000 bicycles are discarded each year in the UK, while a Transport for London scoping study identified roughly 27,500 potentially discarded bikes in London alone. 
 
External research cited in the report also highlights the economic benefits. Sustrans modelling shows that a national 40 per cent voucher scheme for low-income individuals would cost around £18 million annually but generate £60 million in benefits. Cycling UK's Big Bike Revival initiative recorded £4.30 in health and productivity returns for every £1 invested, while a Lancet study found that increasing active travel in England and Wales could save £17 billion in NHS costs over 20 years.

Policy considerations

The report suggests that right-to-repair legislation for household appliances demonstrates the potential for regulatory frameworks to support repair sectors. FCC argues that similar policy measures for bicycle repair could provide clarity and funding stability. 
 
Gemma Green, Reuse Development Manager at FCC Environment, said: "Bicycle repair and reuse initiatives can address multiple challenges simultaneously – from waste prevention and skills shortages to public health and social inclusion." 
 
The report states that bicycle reuse should be identified as a model that combines waste reduction, carbon savings and community reintegration opportunities through repair programmes

A link to the full article can be found here.