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Project Updates for collection: Bicycle Related Projects

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  1. Weekly Update: Bicycle Donations

    Associated Project(s): 

    All, We were closed Monday for Memorial Day and so were only open W/F last week.

    Thanks to the generosity of a local bike shop, we were absolutely inundated with donations—something to the tune of 15-20 bikes. Then two community folks dropped off even more donations. Needless to say, I’ll be processing these all week.

    I dropped off flyers with WRC last week, too, in the hopes of expanding our reach to folks that haven’t already come into CBC.

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 15
    Sales: $557.95
    Bikes (refurb): 1 for $180
    Build-a-bike: 1 for $30

    Memberships: 4 for $120
    Tires/tubes (new/used): 12 for $76

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Campus Bike Center Coordinator

  2. Weekly Update: Grabbing scraps; Safety Checking bikes

    Associated Project(s): 

    All, I was out most of last week and my staff ably handled running the shop in my absence. This week we’ll only be open W/F due to the Memorial Day holiday.

    Thanks to Todd for grabbing scrap over the weekend as we were getting quite full on that. Still have a few more bikes to strip.

    This week I am meeting with a prospective new hire, a U of I dad who is involved with a similar non-profit group in Boise, ID (of all places), and safety-checking a few bikes that’ll help us build our for-sale inventory back up.

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 21
    Sales: $1,043.00
    Bikes (refurb): 3 for $550
    Memberships: 6 for $180
    Tire/tubes (new/used): 10 for $77

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Campus Bike Center Coordinator

  3. ArcGIS Field Maps application to be used for tagging abandoned bicycles

    Sarthak Prasad worked with Chad Kupferschmid, from F&S FIR, to develop an electric way to tag bicycles on campus and mark them on a GIS based map. Chad developed the Field Maps application for this project. We would use it in three phases:

    Phase 1: Initial tagging of the bicycles - Only Tag ID and Comments section available

    Phase 2: Confirming the abandoned bicycles - New field (Abandoned or not) would be available

    Phase 3: Inventory of the impounded bicycles - Once confirmed, the Parking department would remove the bicycle and transport them to the Round Barns, where Sarthak Prasad along with his intern will inventory all the impounded bicycles. During this phase, more fields - Make/model information, Bike Registration information, Serial Number information, pictures, etc. would be available

    This app was ready for us to use by the end of May

  4. Weekly Update: Very busy last week, Reduced hours for summer, bike donations

    All, The semester is over, and the students have left. For summer we’re down to just a couple of folks. And of course, Friday was super busy all day but we were lucky to be well-staff for the last day of the semester as staff report that it remained ASF (All Stands Full) until after close. We’ll see how busy we are this week.

    We’ve reduced hours to M/W/F in accordance with projected diminished demand and staff availability. As we get more staff hired/onboarded and demand is there, we’ll bump hours back up.

    We received 10 direct donations last week with I’d guess about half being students.

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 38

    Sales: $854.60
    Bikes (refurb): 2 for $370
    Memberships: 3 for $90
    Tire/tubes: 7 for $61

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Campus Bike Center Coordinator

  5. Eco-Counter set installed and activated at Green and Goodwin

    A set of Eco-Counters were installed at the intersection of Green St and Goodwin Ave by Loomis Laboratory on Monday, May 9, 2022. This was a new set of counters with no groundbox, purchased in October 2021. This set of Eco-Counter was purchased using the SSC funding. These counters were activated on May 10, 2022, and they are now collecting and transmitting data. See attached the pictures of these counters.

  6. Weekly Update: Summer is coming

    Associated Project(s): 

    All, Had some rainy weather last week that kept our visitor numbers low. We also had a few staff bow out for the summer.

    This week will be summer-like and judging by the first half hour of open shop time today, we’ll be nice and busy all week. From there it’s on to the summer sessions. We’ll likely reduce hours as demand and staffing availability dictate.

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 24
    Sales: $605.60
    Bikes (refurb): 1 for $180
    Memberships: 2 for $60

    Wheels (used/alloy): 5 for $75
    Tire/tubes: 7 for $47

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Campus Bike Center Coordinator

  7. Weekly Update: New staffer, Friday Rides

    Associated Project(s): 

    All, Friday—warm weather and a Friday—meant a busy day. Rest of the week was slower. A new staffer started last week, which was a great help.

    This week looks warmer so we’ll be busier, likely. Will get some bikes finished and do some more onboarding with new staff. We have a weather radio and a regular radio here now to communicate with DCR staff as needed.

    Our Friday Ride events concluded last Friday with a decent showing and a ride to Meadowbrook and back. I’ll gauge staff interest in keeping them going this summer and we’ll definitely look to restart them in Aug/Sept when students are back full-time.

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 53
    Sales: $866
    Bikes (refurb): 2 for $340
    Memberships: 7 for $210
    Tubes/tires: 23 for $141

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Campus Bike Center Coordinator

  8. Eco-Counter set installed and activated at Armory and Sixth

    A set of Eco-Counters were installed at the intersection of Armory Ave and Sixth St on Tuesday, April 26, 2022. This is the last set of old counters that were purchased in 2019. These counters were activated on April 27, 2022, and they are now collecting and transmitting data. See attached to see the pictures of these counters.

  9. Weekly Update: Friday Ride, New staff

    Associated Project(s): 

    All, Pretty quiet last week. Friday picked up along with the weather. And nicer weather meant our first successful Friday Ride of the season!

    This week a couple new staffers will be starting. As the weather has warmed, we’re seeing an uptick in volunteer interest as well, which is welcomed.

    Tonight is the Bike Project Member Meeting, which I’ll attend.

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 39
    Sales: $862
    Bikes (refurb): 3 for $550
    Memberships: $3 for $90
    Tire/tube: 3 for $6.25 (used/new)

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Campus Bike Center Coordinator

  10. Campus Transportation Advisory Committee (CTAC) spring 2022

    Please see attached the final presentation for the CTAC spring 2022. We also talked about abandoned bicycles and Campus Landscape Master Plan during this meeting. Also watch the meeting recording and read the chat from during the meeting: https://uofi.box.com/s/lv1xbqlcevdp6f2dfmiep2fpx3cq2zde

  11. Weekly Update: Bicycle Donations; Collaborations

    Associated Project(s): 

    All, Had some intense weather mid-week that kept folks away from visiting us. A new student staffer started this week and hit the ground running. We got two quality bikes donated last week that are in-progress and one very nice near-new bike that is already on the sales floor.

    TBP prices bumped up slightly last week to no Ill effect here at CBC. In fact, the first mention of the higher prices was met with “A used tire for $8? That’s a great deal!”

    On Thursday, I consulted with a student from University of Connecticut about starting a bicycle cooperative space at his school. He’d heard good things about our operations from a former TBP member. Small world, too, since I grew up 20 minutes from UConn.

    This week is the Campus Transportation Advisory Committee meeting and the last week for one of my student staffers.

    The numbers:
    Visitors: 26
    Sales: $912.50
    Bikes (refurb): 1 for $180
    Bikes (B-a-B): 1 for $50
    Tires/tubes: 2 for $21

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Campus Bike Center Coordinator

  12. Weekly Update: Bike donations; Buid-a-Bike

    Associated Project(s): 

    All, Rainy and cold kept us slow last week. Made some headway on some builds and received some donations that were aside for our Build-a-Bike program. Interest in Build-a-Bikes seems high--or at least stands out when we don’t have any available.

    On Friday, we were able to coordinate with Lael Elementary to donate most of the leftover kids bikes from last winter—15 bikes—despite the rainy weather. They were super appreciative and are interested in future donations of more kids bikes, which is great.

    Most of my staff will be gone for the summer, so this week I’ll finalize availability and assess from there with an eye towards setting summer 1 hours.

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 26
    Sales: $551.50

    Bikes (refurb): 1 for $120
    Memberships: 9 for $270
    Tires/tubes: 7 for $46

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Campus Bike Center Coordinator

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