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Project Updates for collection: Bicycle Related Projects

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  1. Weekly Update: Bike donations, Updated working hours

    All, We received 8 bike donations directly from graduating students last week—easily a record during my tenure so far. Not sure how the word got out, but it was effective! Of course, I forgot to ask for a few photos for future marketing use, but one person did request a photo with her bike before she donated it.

    I also worked with TBP volunteers to move a chunk of bikes out of storage, so we’re making headway on that. But still a good number of bikes left, too, which I’ll continue to work on going forward.

    This week we start our summer hours of M/W/F 2 – 6p.

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 49
    Sales: $868.25
    Bikes: 3 for $570
    Memberships: 4 for $120
    Tires/tubes: 5 for $36

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Campus Bike Center Coordinator

  2. Bike Safety Quiz Form for University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

    Here are some links that direct you to UIUC's bike safety quizzes!

     

    Links to Share – share these links with anyone who’s interested in taking the quiz. Feel free to post on social media, websites, etc.

    Adult BikeSafetyQuiz

    Adult BikeSafetyQuiz - Spanish

    Child BikeSafetyQuiz

    Child BikeSafetyQuiz – Spanish

  3. Bike at Illinois: May Newsletter

    May Newsletter sent out on May 10, 2023.

     

    Bike at Illinois Newsletter: May 2023

     

     

     

     

    Happy National Bike Month!

    Thank you for registering your bicycle! We wanted to remind you to collect your bike registration sticker (shield) and attach it to your bicycle, if you have not done so already. There are, currently, eight campus and community shield pick-up locations - found on the Register Your Bike webpage. You will be required to show the Bike Registration Fee payment confirmation email and identification to collect a shield.

    Winners of Bike Registration Raffle were contacted recently and we will follow up with them again today!

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Notices

     

     

     

     

    Do not leave your bicycle on campus over the summer! 

    Do not leave your bike on campus property over the summer. If you do so, the bike will be considered abandoned and it will be impounded via university staff. If you no longer need your bicycle, consider donating it (go.fs.illinois.edu/DonateBikes) to the Campus Bike Center (51 E. Gregory Drive, Champaign) or the Bike Project of Urbana (202 S. Broadway Avenue, Room 24). 

    No appointment is required. Donations are tax-deductible. Bicycles will be refurbished or recycled, reusing as much of the bike as possible.

    More information, including bike storage options, is available by contacting bike@illinois.edu.

    Removal of Abandoned Bike 

    All unattended bicycles on campus will be impounded after the on-bike sticker notification process concludes this summer. Retrieving an impounded bicycle will require an active bike registration and associated fees in accordance with the University Bicycle Ordinance. F&S removed almost 500 abandoned bicycles on campus last summer. 

    Use the Shared Use Path between Huff Hall and Siebel Center for Design

    Due to the construction of a new facility, Steven S. Wymer Hall, between Huff Hall and Business Instructional Facility (BIF), the bike path will be closed. Bicyclists should use the shared-use path (8' wide sidewalk) immediately south of this bike path by Siebel Center for Design from Fourth Street to Sixth Street. 

    This bike path is considered abandoned and will be removed once the construction is complete. For any questions, please reach out to fandscampustdm@illinois.edu.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Upcoming events

     

     

     

     

    1. Mother's Day Bike Ride - Sunday, May 14
      Starting point: Anita Purves Nature Center (1505 N. Broadway Ave, Urbana, IL 61801)
      Starting time: 2:00 p.m.
    2. Ride of Silence - Wednesday, May 17
      Starting Point: I Hotel and Illinois Conference Center (1900 S 1st St, Champaign, IL 61820)
      Starting time: 7:00 p.m.
    3. Smart Cycling Class - Traffic Skills 101 - Saturday, May 27
      Location: MTD Training Facility (1207 E. University Avenue, Urbana, IL 61802)
      Time:1:00 - 5:00 p.m.
      Cost: $20
      Register to attend here: https://tinyurl.com/yuaxmakr

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Bike Safety: Always lock your bicycle

     

     

     

     

    For nearly 60 percent of the bike thefts reported in the past year, the stolen bicycle was not locked. Always lock your bicycle to a bike rack to keep it safe. Watch this video on how to properly lock your bicycle. Watch other educational videos created by Bike at Illinois.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Thank you so much for all your support! Have a great finals week and congratulations to all graduates! Contact us at bike@illinois.edu for any questions.

     

  4. F&S announcement - Donate Your Bike

      Donate Your Bike!  
     

     
      A bike shelter with vertical racks on the Urbana campus
     

    Don't abandon your bike on campus at the end of the semester. If you no longer need your bicycle, consider donating it (https://go.fs.illinois.edu/DonateBikesto the Campus Bike Center (51 E. Gregory Drive, Champaign) or the Bike Project of Urbana (202 S. Broadway Avenue, Room 24). 

    No appointment is required. Donations are tax-deductible. Bicycles will be refurbished or recycled, reusing as much of the bike as possible.

    Removal of Abandoned Bicycles 
     All unattended bicycles on campus will be impounded after the on-bike sticker notification process concludes this summer. Retrieving an impounded bicycle will require an active bike registration and associated fees in accordance with the University Bicycle Ordinance.

    More information, including bike storage options, is available by contacting bike@illinois.edu

  5. Weekly Update: Schedule update, bikes for sale

    Associated Project(s): 

    All, The past work week was full of last shifts for a lot of the student staff, as well as a lot of talk of finals schedules. Ended on a bright note as a couple rented a tandem from us as practice as they didn’t want their “Just Married” post-nuptial ride on a tandem to be their absolute first one. Fun!

    This is our last week of being open M – F. Next Monday we start M/W/F hours.

    This week I’ve got a meeting to hash out some Tue/Thurs appointment hours to still help folks in need of bike repair.  I’ll also move some bikes out of the warehouse with the help of TBP folk.

    The lobby is currently packed full with sale bikes, so we’ll have to rearrange in the back to accommodate moving some sale stock back there. A good problem to have.

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 33
    Sales: $233*
    Memberships: 3 for $90*
    Tires/tubes: 8 for $73*

    Thanks!

    *Due to technical difficulties, these numbers may not be 100% accurate.

    Jacob Benjamin
    Campus Bike Center Coordinator

  6. Weekly Update: TBP equity membership policy change, Bike Moving Party

    Associated Project(s): 

    All, Last week was a TBP members’ meeting where it was decided to reduce TBP work equity memberships from 8 to 4 hours, as well as no longer offer First Visit Free at either space. Staff can still help with small on-the-spot repairs as they see fit. Both changes are good for the Bike Center and the campus community.

    I also participated in the Bike Census and Campus Transportation Advisory Committee meeting last week.

    Thanks to TBP volunteers we were able to progress nicely on clearing out the abandoned bikes, per the request of Parking. TBD on hosting a Bike Moving Party on a weekend in May.

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 38
    Sales: $782
    Bikes (refurb): 3 for $525
    Memberships: 3 for $90
    Tires/tubes: 2 for $23

    Jacob Benjamin
    Campus Bike Center Coordinator

  7. Campus Transportation Advisory Committee (CTAC) spring 2023

  8. Weekly update: Green Quad Day, Donations

    Associated Project(s): 

    All, On the whole, an uneventful week. We tabled at Green Quad Day last Friday, but other than that it was business as usual. A local bike shop is scaling back their operations, and we got a lot of donations as a result, including NOS handlebars, fenders, and tires. Always welcome! There is, too, the potential for more demand with one less option locally for folks to fix their bike. We’ll see how that plays out over time.

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

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 42
    Sales: $362
    Bikes (refurb): 1 for $170
    Memberships: 1 for $30
    Tires/Tubes:  9 for $72

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Campus Bike Center Coordinator

  9. Sarthak Prasad and Daphne Hulse present Sustainable Transportation and Zero Waste topics to 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students at Franklin STEAM Academy

    Presentations given during the lunch sessions for each grade in the library. Franklin STEAM hosts sustainability speakers each April in honor of Earth Month.

     

     

    Thanks so much for coming!!!

    We really appreciate your time and energy today speaking to Franklin's future "world rescuers."

     

    I know you cannot attend our Open House this May 11th but do consider if you would like to table at our fall Open House on September 14th.

     

    We really appreciated your clear and important messages.

     

    Zanne Newman

    Magnet Site Coordinator

    Franklin STEAM Academy

     

  10. Weekly capstone meetings: Meeting from 3/29 and 4/5

    Meeting from 4/5/2023

    Summary: Ethan and Sarthak met via zoom where they discussed the work on the plan that Ethan has done so far. They also discussed the thorough plan for the next year to describe to the stakeholders, in regard to their involvement with the 2024 plan. Ethan is expected to respond to stakeholders by next week, add onto the plan (mainly the executive summary, goals & objectives, introduction, and planning process sections). Ethan will send Sarthak separate emails about his Urban Planning presentation on their work for school, and request for GIS information.

    Meeting from 3/29/2023

    Summary: Ethan and Sarthak met briefly via zoom (Ethan was out of town dealing with a family emergency so there was not much to discuss). Ethan is expected to make a Google Sheet with stakeholders' information and responses, a sheet of timeline for the planning process, and a document for the 2024 plan.

  11. Weekly Update: Bike sales, Bike Fix-it day, Stripping junk bikes

    Associated Project(s): 

    All, Business as usual over here. We’ve almost fully occupied the front lobby space with for sale bikes—which will likely diminish a bit this week with the warm weather. Fingers crossed.

    This upcoming Saturday we have a partnering event with the Urbana Parks District to help with a bike fix-it day from 10  - 12p in Urbana at the Phillips Recreation Center. Will be nice to get off campus and help folks where they are—or maybe closer to where they are. The event was successful last year and will hopefully be so again this year. Although, offsite repairs always mean you can’t bring every tool for every possible repair, which is a strong impulse.

    We’ve hit a bit of a stride with some volunteers and staff stripping junk bikes. This, of course, has the added bonus of creating a surplus of used 26” tires. We’ll have no trouble working through those in due time. Accordingly, I’ll be grabbing a few more from the warehouse this week.

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 44
    Sales: $529
    Bikes (refurb): 2 for $240
    Memberships: 1 for $30
    Tires/tubes: 8 for $31

    Jacob Benjamin
    Campus Bike Center Coordinator

  12. Weekly Update: Earth Month, Nice weather

    Associated Project(s): 

    All, Happy Earth Month! Weather is picking up in the next week or two, so we’ll see how that impacts visit numbers. Still working our way through the warehouse bikes and our for sale bikes are hovering around 20. Other than that, business as usual.

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 36

    Sales: $612.75
    Bikes (refurb): 2 for $360
    Membership: 3 for $90

    Tires/tubes: 6 for $35.75

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Campus Bike Center Coordinator

  13. Weekly update: No First Visit Free policy, weekend and summer programming

    Associated Project(s): 

    All, Pretty chill this last week. Weather was iffy but we were a little busier than expected considering that. I moved some bikes over from the warehouse as we have a volunteer who’s on a take-apart-a-bike-every-Friday schedule, so I’ll do my best to accommodate him going forward.

    We have been piloting our No First Visit Free policy without too much push back. We’ve had a few people turn and leave, but that’s fine.

    This week I’ll work on planning/R&D for some weekend programming and take stock of summer staffing.

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 41
    Sales: $552
    Bikes (refurb): 1 for $180
    Memberships: 5 for $150
    Tires/tubes:  4 for $36

    Jacob Benjamin
    Campus Bike Center Coordinator

  14. Weekly capstone meetings: Meeting from 3/1, 3/10, and 3/22

    Meeting notes from 3/22:

    • LRTP 2045 review it
    • They are starting work on 2050
    • Subject line for email: Name of Person/Organization
    • Expect 5-7 meetings (Landscape Architects, SPO, Transportation iCAP team, SSC, maybe League of American Bicyclists, Champaign County Bikes, RPC)
    • The rest will be communicated with through emails and/or CTAC
    • April 27th, morning meeting with CTAC
    • Start document for 2024 Campus Master Bicycle Plan (start outlining sections i.e introductions, executive summary, etc.). Use the 2014 plan as a template. 
    • In April we will start filling some of the information on the 2024 plan (Introduction, Planning Process).
    • In April will present to Bumsoo Lee and DURP to show progress

    Meeting from 3/10:

    Sarthak and Ethan met via zoom to discuss plans for the rest of the semester. Ethan is to finalize the email template which they will begin sending out after Spring break (last two weeks of March). Ethan is also to finish readings mentioned by Stacey by the next meeting in two weeks. 

    Notes: 

    • Be ready for reach out process, email ready, finish readings, you will hear from us in coming months, there will be future stakeholder meetings, feel free to share some ideas over email now, attach 2014 bicycle plan and 3 reports (at least the 2019 and 2022 one) (link it in email itself). 
    • Start report for undergraduate project early April.

    Meeting from 3/1:

    Sarthak and Ethan met via zoom to reflect on their meeting with Stacey. Ethan and Sarthak made note of stakeholders that she suggested that we reach out to and other readings to review. Ethan is to draft an email for reaching out to stakeholders once we return from Spring Break. Ethan is also expected to review RPC Bike Plan, Campus Master Plan, Crash Data, and TDM Plan.

    Notes:

    • Readings to do:
      • RPC Bike Plan
      • Campus Master Plan
      • Crash Data
      • TDM
      • APBP and League of American Bicyclists we will reach out to
      • Look at TDM report for Bicycle Friendly University updates
      • TDM to be published this year
    • Starting introductory email template and we would greatly appreciate your input and guidance when developing plan
    • Give info on what the old plan was and progress
    • Suggestions on adding more 
    • Ethan: start draft of email 

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