Bicycle Census was organized on Wednesday, April 28, 2021 from 10-11 am. There were some technical difficulties and light drizzle during the event, due to which we were not able to cover everything on main campus. There were a total of 18 volunteers and we covered 21 map blocks. The remaining blocks will be covered by Sarthak Prasad and others in the next few days. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, students transitioned to online classes, and the majority of faculty and staff established alternative work during the spring semester. This census data will provide a unique look at ridership levels during this period and offer important details about the traveling behavior of those remaining on campus.

The volunteers collected information on the number of off-and-on-rack bicycles along with specific bike rack information, including the type, capacity, and how the structures are installed.

Davis McGregor and Sgt. James Carter won the raffle and they will receive Illinois Coffee mugs.

The information collected in this bicycle census will be updated to the F&S database once the new GIS support is hired.

All, Not much news from last week. We still aren’t busy-busy. I picked up bikes from the warehouse to scrap. I moved six kids bikes to Urbana on the big bike trailer and got lots of surprised looks, quizzical glances, and a couple thumbs up. Considering the amount of attention that trailer gets, we should look into getting some signage for it.

There’s been some nascent interest in volunteering from a few visitors. That’s been welcome. We also rearranged the workspace, moving the second repair stand next to the first one by the tool wall. They’re still safely separated but not totally annexed to the other side of the shop.
This week is our Friday Ride—last week was a no-show again—and our Quad Fix It Day on Thursday. I’ll be helping with the Bike Census on Wednesday as well.

The numbers:

Visitors: 15
Sales: $627.24
Memberships: 3 for $90
Bikes (refurb): 1 for $140

Thanks!

Jacob Benjamin
Manager, Campus Bike Center

To wrap up Earth Week, President Killeen, Chancellor Jones, and leadership teams sent out the following message:

"The University of Illinois System welcomes President Biden’s publicly announced commitment to action on climate change, a serious and essential statement of the country’s resolve to lead in building a better, more sustainable future.

President Biden’s new plan to, among other things, cut U.S. emissions in half by 2030 also represents a call to the country’s centers of research and innovation for the bold ideas needed to make these goals reality.

The University of Illinois System and its three universities stand ready to help."

Go Illini!

https://massmail.illinois.edu/massmailArchive 

Attached are the minutes to the Zero Waste SWATeam meeting which took place on April 23, 2021. The meeting agenda was as follows:

• Elimination of thermal paper receipts.
• Education on Waste Management.
• Reduction of water bottle purchases in vending machines.

Potential initiatives which resulted from this conversation:

• Pursue sustainable receipt options to divert receipts from University waste stream.
• RA Training on waste management, with intent to educate students in university housing about sustainability.
• Creating a sustainability training video for buyers through the Purchasing office.
• Recommendation to create F&S standard to modify water fountain installations.
• Recommendation to do a behavioral assessment on water bottle purchasers.
• Recommendation to launch an education campaign for campus members on tap water quality.

The Energy iCAP Team met on April 14th, 2021 with Brian Bundren, a member of the Illinois Space Advisory Committee, about to learn more about how campus space can be managed more efficiently as a way to reduce energy consumption. The University moving from hybrid learning to more in-person instruction and the new IVCB budget model that assigns bills individual colleges for their energy use will have significant impacts on space usage. The team also discussed our recommendation for Green Labs, or ways to integrate sustainability in research labs and reduce their energy consumption. We will also be moving forward with recommending an Energy Planning document to outline steps towards carbon neutrality by 2050. 

Meeting minutes and agenda are attached!

All, Not a whole lot to report from last week. We had our first attendee for a Friday Ride. He was unfamiliar with basic rules of the road so we took him on a very short loop to get him acclimated. At a stop light he asked, “So you can ride in the road?” Something to consider in future route planning/participation. We missed a call/voicemail from someone else asking about the Friday Ride so we’ll have to keep an eye on the phones going forward, as well.

The forecasted snow on Tuesday probably won’t help business this week. I have the Campus Transportation Advisory Committee to attend on Tuesday but the rest of the week is business as usual. I’ll grab some more salvageable parts from the bike barn for staff-tasks for the week.
The numbers:

Visits: 25

Sales: $339
Memberships: 5 for $150
Tubes/tires: 10 for $50

Thanks!

Jacob Benjamin
Manager, Campus Bike Center