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Projects Updates for key objective: No name

  5. Previous description in iCAP Portal

    Associated Project(s): 
    2014 Campus Bike Plan [ARCHIVED]

    Transportation Demand Management (TDM) in Facilities & Services is finalizing the 2014 Campus Bike Plan, a master plan to direct our efforts for future bicycle infrastructure improvements and program development.  The official public comment period for the Campus Bike Plan ended in April 2013, but additional feedback is always welcome via the online bicycle feedback form.

    The draft 2014 Campus Bike Plan was available for public input during a four-week period, and members of the campus community were encouraged to review the plan and submit their comments and feedback via the online Campus Bicycle Feedback Form. 

     

  9. Renewables presentation to MSTE

    Associated Project(s): 
    Sustainability Engagement and Outreach
    Use Clean Power

    The Office for Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education in the College of Education hosted Morgan Johnston as a guest speaker on February 27.  One part of the overall Climate Action Plan is to increase the use of renewable energy generation for our campus power requirements. This presentation reviewed the progress toward increased use of renewables for our campus, and discussed current efforts underway, including the forthcoming Solar Farm.

    https://youtu.be/edg5OfDCfck

    Attached Files: 

  14. Housing recycling bin test project

    Associated Project(s): 
    Install Appropriate Waste Collection Infrastructure

    During the fall ’14 semester, University Housing was able to acquire a recycling bin from MaxR through their Free Bin Friday promotional event. The bin was specifically designed for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign using our colors and logo, and currently resides at the entrance of 57 North inside the Student Dining and Residential Programs Building (SDRP).

    A suggestion was made to use this bin, along with the recycling bins recently purchased for the main quad, to conduct a test to determine if the branding of a bin would impact recycling participation among our student population.

    The test would be conducted at the north entrance of SDRP, and would take place during the spring ’15 semester once weather is more favorable for outdoor foot traffic. All existing trash receptacles would be removed and replaced with the MaxR bin and the appropriately signed bins for the main quad. The test would be conducted for a two week period with the containers switching places after the first week to eliminate positioning as a possible cause for false results. Data would be collected and analyzed by ISCT to determine participation and contamination rates for each style of container. The results would be available made available to various sustainability groups across campus including ISTC and ISEE.

  16. idea for online content

    Associated Project(s): 
    Achieve Zero Waste

    Ben McCall suggested a central repository of information about "how to deal with stuff" on our campus -- maybe a website called zerowaste.illinois.edu.  He suggested it could perhaps be a collaboration between F&S, ISTC, and iSEE.  Morgan replied with the recommend ation that we use an existing website with a short URL rather than set up a completely new one, and then get a short URL for it. 

    The current pages for our campus are the F&S Waste Management and Recycling page at http://www.fs.illinois.edu/services/waste-management-recycling, and the iCAP Portal repository page at https://icap.sustainability.illinois.edu/themes/procurement-waste.

    Urbana has a similar site at: http://urbanaillinois.us/residents/recycling-program-u-cycle/where-do-i-take-it.

  17. update from Ben McCall

    Associated Project(s): 
    Transportation iCAP Team
    2014 Campus Bike Plan [ARCHIVED]

    Dear Transportation SWATeam,

    Morgan and I had a very nice discussion with Pam Voitik at F&S late last week, and I wanted to brief you on some of the key points as they relate to the iCAP revisions.

    1) F&S is in favor of hiring a full-time "Active Transportation Coordinator," and having that person report to the Transportation Demand Management Coordinator (Stacey DeLorenzo).  "Active Transportation" (as you probably all know, but I didn't!) is industry lingo for all transportation except single-occupancy-vehicles.  So this person would be responsible for mode shift, the Bike Plan, and so forth...basically the last two bullet points in item #6 on page 30 of the current draft.

    2) Pete Varney and his team would be the sensible locus for efforts related to shifting the fleet more towards EVs and bicycles, and exploring renewable fuels for the fleet.  [The second and third bullet points in item #6 on page 30.]

    3) The first bullet point, about air travel, is outside of the scope of F&S, and should perhaps be a focus of iSEE or another entity in the domain of the Chancellor or Vice Chancellors.

    4) The Campus Bicycle Plan is essentially finalized now, but F&S is working on ascertaining exactly what entity should formally approve it. 

    Pam's suggestion is that it should be approved by the campus leadership (rather than by F&S), but the responsibility for implementing it should be with F&S.  This would give the Plan more authority/heft than if it were approved by F&S alone. There is reason to hope that this approval will be finalized before the iCAP.

    Cheers,

    Ben

     

  18. Update from Ben McCall

    Associated Project(s): 
    Transportation iCAP Team
    Parking Master Plan
    F&S Sustainable Fleet Plan
    Install Public Use Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Stations
    Support the MTD Bus System

    Dear Transportation SWATeam,  [Sorry for the barrage of emails...this is the last one for this morning!]

    I met with Michelle Wahl from Parking late last week, and she had some very useful comments on the iCAP draft that I thought I should share with you:

    1) She mentioned that in years past, she used to receive "idling reports" on her vehicles, which must have been equipped with some sort of system that tracked when the vehicles were idling.  This raised the question of whether such technology could be deployed widely on our fleet, rather than focusing only on "class 6 and above trucks" (neither of us knew exactly what that means).

    2) She was concerned about the financial aspects of providing additional opportunities for people to purchase less than full-time parking privileges in lots with wait lists...this is probably something that deserves further discussion.  If Parking allows someone to drop their full-time parking pass for a particular lot and instead purchase less than full-time for the same spot, their revenue will decrease.  This is concerning because Parking is legally required to be self-supporting -- they cannot receive any subsidy from campus, nor can they make a profit.

    3) She recommended adding a recommendation that parking rates be increased to provide a dis-incentive for single-occupancy vehicle use. 

    This would also be essential if the number of parking permits sold were to decrease, as Parking's costs are essentially fixed. Raising rates would be a challenge because they are subject to collective bargaining, but it has been successfully done on other campuses (including UIC). 

    Having an explicit call for this in the iCAP might help provide ammunition for such efforts.

    4) She recommended some investigation of the subsidy that Parking currently provides to MTD.  At present, Parking pays over $500K per year for this, ostensibly to support the buses that run to the "shuttle lot" (E-14, I think).  But this amount greatly exceeds the total revenue that Parking receives from selling permits in the shuttle lot.  She thought it was worth making sure that the amount Parking is contributing towards the MTD is the appropriate amount, because any funds that could be "saved" there could be directed towards other sustainability-related initiatives within Parking.

    5) She pointed out that there are now 18 "Level 1" charging stations for electric vehicles on campus, and Parking has plans to install some "Level 2" charging stations in 2015.  She thought it might be worth showcasing this work on page 29 of the current draft, and I am inclined to agree.

    Cheers,

    Ben

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