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Projects Updates for theme: Transportation

  1. Transportation SWATeam Meeting 24 October 2019

    Associated Project(s): 
    Transportation iCAP Team
    iCAP 2020: Illinois Climate Action Plan
    Encourage Active Transportation
    Encourage Low-Emission Vehicles and Renewable Fuel Options
    Reduce Driving on Campus
    Encourage Telecommuting
    Reduce Emissions from Business Travel

    Attached are the meeting minutes from the 24 October Transportation SWATeam meeting.

    Stacey DeLorenzo was able to join us in order to provide insight to the Road Management Objectives the SWATeam discussed earlier, and to answer questions. She also was able to take a look at other objectives and provide input on potential objective ideas.

    The SWATeam confirmed submittal of Road Management, Active Transportation, and Business Travel Emissions objectives and added a new objective under Reducing Business Travel emissions.

    The next meeting is 31 October 2019.

    Attached Files: 

  2. Weekly Update - BFU status, What to Wear, Build-a-Bike

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, Despite the cooler weather the shop was still relatively busy all week. On Thursday or Friday we even had a waiting list.
    In other news, we achieved Silver status for our Bicycle Friendly University! Congrats to all those involved.

    Last Thursday night we had our What To Wear class at ARC. It went well. 3 people stopped by and we covered all there is to riding in colder weather. Thankfully the people who came already had well-equipped bikes for the muck and suck of the winter elements so it was mostly talking details of clothing choice and how much salt/snow/ice can impair the function of your bike. Fun times!
    Also of note was our 3(!) Build-a-Bikes completed last week, two of which were done on Thursday. When that program works, it is empowering like none other. Unfortunately, it’s a big hill to climb.

    Elsewhere, I’ve been having Staff and volunteers count our used and new parts to compile a master list of inventory. It’s tedious but important to be able to figure how much stuff we’ll be moving the new CBC.

    Thanks to Todd for grabbing scrap over the weekend.

    This week we’ll continue to purge and pare down our inventory, build bikes, and keep plugging away at prep for our move.

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 96
    Sales: $616.25
    Memberships: 8 for $240
    Bikes (refurb): 0
    Bikes (B-a-B):  3 for $266
    Tires/tubes: 17 for $76


    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Manager, Campus Bike Center

  3. Weekly Update - Bike Maintenance 101, First visit free

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, We’ve slowed down enough to offer the First Visit Free option again, which has its plusses and minuses but is at least consistent with our website/literature on the topic.

    Last week we had our Bike Maintenance 101 class. Three attendees came, despite the cold and rain, so that was awesome. I think all of them had issues with their own bikes that precipitated their interest in the class and two of them said they’d be back to fix their bikes. A success!
    One bike was on the donation rack this morning. Another small bike but of good quality that’ll hopefully fix up quickly.
    I got in touch with someone from the Fine and Applied Arts to see if there’s any interest in using some of our scrap metal to keep it out of the dump but that was a dead end. I’ll still try to think of ways to keep our scrap pile a little smaller since we’re frequently at-or-beyond capacity. I think overall, we don’t have enough venues through which to repurpose a bicycle beyond B-a-B and Shop Builds. Something to think about.
    This week if we’re slow I’ll have the student staff do a deep dive on our used parts inventory to get a better picture of just how many bike parts we’re storing here. Additionally, we have our What to Wear info session at ARC on Thursday evening from 7 – 8p.

     

    The numbers:
    Visitors: 82
    Sales: $677.75
    Memberships: 14 for $420
    Tire/tubes: 14 for $79

     

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Manager, Campus Bike Center

  4. Weekly Update - Light the Night, Fix-a-Flat, Bike Maintenance 101

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, Much like the weather, we’ve been starting off cold and slow most days and heating up by the end. We’ve been weaving in and out of our FVF policy as I’ve felt bad turning people away when the shop is empty. But then, of course, in a blink of an eye we’re All Stands Full and members are waiting for stand time, which seems unfair.
     

    We had Light The Night on Thursday and that was a success from what I saw of it. Two CBC staffers helped out with the event in my absence as the shop was too busy for me to be able to get away for the whole event.
     

    We also had our Fix-a-Flat class on Friday. We had one participant. He was eager, engaged and said he’d be back for the next class, which was great.
    This week we have our Bike Maintenance 101 class on Friday and I’ll be doing a training with a new hire.
     

    The numbers:
    Visitors: 80
    Sales: $2,108
    Bikes (refurb): 3 for $640
    Bikes (B-a-B): 1 for $400
    Tires/tubes: 15 for $59

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Manager, Campus Bike Center

  5. Response from Newman Hall

    Associated Project(s): 
    It's Your MTD Too!

    Tristan Pisarczyk connected Sarthak Prasad with Jenna Fesemyer, the Resident Director, at Newman Hall. Jenna said that she does not believe that this is a service that their residents need. She said that this program would serve better towards the beginning of the school year.

    Jenna suggested that we should wait for the next academic year to put on a program during an earlier time.

  6. Date change to Oct 16

    Associated Project(s): 
    It's Your MTD Too!

    Got a response from Evan Alvarez on Oct 7, but had to move the date of the event from October 9 to October 16, because one week promotion would not have been enough for the event.

  9. VeoRide September 2019 ridership overview

    Associated Project(s): 
    Bike Share with Veo

    There were 400 e-bikes and nearly 75 pedal bikes in operation. Please see the September Report below:

    September Rides: 36,426

    • E‐bikes – 31,976
    • Peddle bikes – 4,449

    September User Growth: 2,203
    September Average Ride Time: 8 minutes
    Average Rides per day: 1,214
    Total Ridership: 337,704
    Total Userbase: 18,567

    Reports to remove bikes from Private property: 23
    Reports of improper parking: 25

    Below are answers to questions brought up at our last meeting on campus:

    1. Vandalism – Here at UIUC the vandalism rate on the peddle bikes was 1 out of 15 bikes. We consider vandalism any damage the is inconsistent with normal ware and tear. (Baskets breaking off, thrown in creek/river, destroying tires etc.) So far with the e‐bikes we have 10 total that have been vandalized. A much lower rate.
    2. Check on donation availability – At this time the company views donation as a great idea but the liability if something happens down the road is too much of a risk at this time.
    3. Number of scrapped bikes – 215peddle bikes
    Attached Files: 

  10. Slap Wristbands from McKinley Health Center

    Associated Project(s): 
    Light the Night

    Jennifer Carson from McKinley Health Center provided 400 (200 each for two locations) reflective orange slap bands for the Light the Night event that have imprinted on them our 24/7 Dial-A-Nurse. These are great for being seen in the evening hours.

    Jen dropped them off in Sarthak's office at 9 am on October 3.

  11. Event for students at Newman Center - Initial approach

    Associated Project(s): 
    It's Your MTD Too!

    Sarthak Prasad reached out to Tristan Pisarczyk on October 1, 2019, for hosting the "It's Your MTD Too!" event at Newman Center.

    ---

    Hey Tristan,

     

    My name is Sarthak Prasad, and I work as the Sustainability and TDM Specialist in the Facilities & Services department at the University of Illinois. Stacey DeLorenzo asked me to reach out to you to organize a workshop (presentation and demonstration) on how to use the MTD on campus for students living in the Newman Center.

     

    I would love to chat with you to discuss more about this program. I have spoken to the MTD people and two people from MTD would join me for this presentation. I think it would be a great program to demonstrate how easy, safe, and accessible the MTD bus service is. How many students would you think would be interested in this program? What all do we need to do to get this started?

     

    Thank you,

     

    Sarthak

    ----

     

  12. Weekly Update - Light the Night, Fix-a-Flat, Free Visits

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center
    Light the Night

    All, Abbreviated week for me as I was out of town Thursday and Friday. I’ll check in with my staff this week and see how things went in my absence.

    There are 6 bikes on the outside rack from this weekend but unfortunately one or two are locked up as if it’s a regular bike rack. Whoops!

    This week will be busy as we have Light The Night on Thursday and our second Fix-a-Flat class on Friday. I’ll be talking up the F-a-F class incessantly this week in hopes of increasing participation numbers. For LTN I’ll be splitting my staff up between the shop and the event for the time that they overlap.


    We have been oscillating back and forth between allowing for Free Visits and not depending on how busy we are and how well-staffed we are at that time. So that points to things getting a little calmer (thankfully). Addressing the burnout my staff and I feel during these very busy beginning months will be a task for the winter.


    Moving all the kids bikes over to Salt & Light didn’t end up happening last week so I’ll shoot for getting those out this week. It’ll help with clearing everything out for our move. Exciting times!
     

    The numbers:
    Visitors: 96
    Sales: $1,242.50
    Memberships: 16 for $480
    Bikes (refurb): 2 for $225
    Bikes (B-a-B): 1 for $57
    Tires/tubes: 20 for $92

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Manager, Campus Bike Center

  13. Light the Night 2019 - Bicycle Lights Giveaway

    Associated Project(s): 
    Light the Night

    Bring your bicycle to Alma Mater Plaza or the Hallene Gateway (Illinois Street and Lincoln Avenue) on Thursday, October 3 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. for the free installation of bicycle light sets. Light the Night strives to improve the visibility of bicyclists in Champaign-Urbana and provide general bike safety information. Free, on-site bicycle registration will also be available. October 3, 4–7 pm

    Sarthak Prasad • Facilities & Services

    Light the Night 2019 – Bicycle Lights Giveaway

  17. Weekly Update - Earn-a-Bike, Light the Night

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, Last week was busy, per usual this time of year. TBP and I met with Circle Cycle to discuss their Earn-a-Bike program using abandoned bikes on campus. I interviewed two applicants and will be hiring them. The light sets for the LTN event arrived on Wednesday and were expeditiously moved to the Urbana shop, saving some space over here. Two bike donations were on the rack when I pulled in this morning.

    This week I’ll be taking the large pile of kids bikes over to Salt & Light to donate. I’ll also be meeting with F&S Sustainability and VeoRide to discuss bike share on campus. I’ll be out of town Thursday and Friday. I’ll arrange for the student staff to cover for me.

    The numbers:
    Visitors: 101
    Sales: $1,463.00

    Memberships: 19 for $570
    Bikes (refurb): 2 for $400
    Bikes (B-a-B): 2 or $120
    Tires/tubes: 28 for $107

    Jacob Benjamin
    Manager, Campus Bike Center

  18. Torch Blinking bike lights received, Light assembly, and Volunteer Training

    Associated Project(s): 
    Light the Night

    Jake Benjamin received the Torch Blinking Bike Lights on September 18, 2019.

    Barry confirmed the times for Volunteer training and Light Assembly.

    See Quote from TBP to purchase Torch Blinking bike lights

    ------------------------------------------------------

    Optional training sessions: 
    There will be two chances to go to a short training session for those who haven't participated before, those who want a refresher, or those who want to practice with this year's models of lights:

    - Mon., Sept. 23, 2019, 6:00 pm--6:45 pm, at the Downtown Urbana Bike Project, 202 S. Broadway, Urbana, IL. (enter via south side basement door).
    - Thu., Oct. 3, 2019, 3:00 pm--3:45 pm, at Alma Mater (SE corner of Green St. and Wright, Urbana, IL)
          

    We will run a light-assembly / battery-install event (plus a second if needed) to get lights ready in advance:
    - Mon., Sept. 23, 2019, 7:00 pm--9:00 pm. Downtown Urbana Bike Project, 202 S. Broadway, Urbana, IL. (enter via south side basement door)
    - Possible second session: TBA

  20. Weekly Update - First Visit Free still suspended, Fix-it Stations need repair,

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, Still busy! I went over to the warehouse last week and picked up some of the nicer, minimally-broken bikes over there. One only needed air in the tires and a few minor tweaks to be roadworthy. It’s already on the sales floor. Will hopefully have a few more of those to churn out this week. I also returned 3 Chambana Bikes to Neutral Cycle.
    We’re still suspending the First Visit Free policy here. We’ve been less than at-capacity for the first hour or two every day which is a harder sell but haven’t had too much trouble. I frankly wouldn’t mind seeing the suspension extended well into the fall as it helps to weed out people who aren’t at all interested in doing the work in the first place. I often wonder how many people are in the shop to genuinely learn and how many are here because we’re cheaper than every bike shop in town… Just something to think about.

    Got more complaints about the broken fix-it pumps. One guy on the phone seemed especially frustrated since he’d been to 3 – 4 pumps across campus. I sent him over to Neutral Cycle since he was in that neighborhood already.
    I have a couple interviews for some new hires this week. I already got a couple questions about Light The Night, which was surprising and welcome. I guess after 10+ years people are beginning to expect it. I also spoke with a U of I alum who’s interested in starting some similar DIY/education programming over at a small school in Indiana where he teaches. I gave him my card and flyer for TBP in case he wants to pick our brains a little more on the subject.

     

    The numbers:
    Visitors: 102
    Sales: $933.60
    Memberships: 18 for $540
    Tires/tubes: 20 for $116

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Manager, Campus Bike Center

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