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Projects Updates for C-U Bike to Work Day

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  1. Champaign County Bike to Work Day 2022 Registration is Open

    Associated Project(s): 

    Champaign County Bike to Work Day 2022 Registration is Open

    Register for Bike to Work Day 2022, happening Wednesday, September 14th from 7-10 am!  (A rain date is scheduled for Friday, September 16th from 7-10 am.)

    The 12th annual Champaign County Bike to Work Day is organized by the Champaign County Bike Month Planning Team, and is presented by major sponsors MTD, Bike at Illinois, and Carle.


    There are 16 welcome stations this year, in Champaign, Urbana, on the U of I campus, Savoy, Mahomet, St. Joseph, and Rantoul!  Use this map to find the location that works best for you.

    Register for the event at the most convenient location to you and come meet us and other bicyclists in the community to celebrate Bike to Work Day!  Grab a snack, get a free T-shirt, and consider making a donation to support bicycling in Champaign County!

     

    ​The 15th annual Light the Night bicycle light giveaway event is the next evening (Thursday, September 15, 2022) from 4-7 pm.  Lights will be available at three campus locations, and you must bring your bike to receive the lights.

     

    Announcements are also posted at www.cubikemonth.org/ and the C-U Bike Month Facebook event.

     

    Gabriel Lewis, AICP

    Planner

     

    Planning and Community Development

    A division of the Champaign County Regional Planning Commission

     

    1776 E. Washington St, Urbana, IL 61802
    P 217.328.3313 | D 217.819.4102 | ccrpc.org

     

    RPC

     

    People. Possibilities.

     

     

  2. Work order (WO 10994256) created for BTWD tables and chairs

    Associated Project(s): 

    Work Order (WO 10994256) created for Bike to Work Day event on Wednesday, September 14, 2022 from 7 - 10 am. for Public Functions to place Tables, Chairs, Recycling bins, Trash bins, Hand Sanitizing stations at the following locations:

    1. Alma Mater Plaza - 4 Tables, 8 Chairs, 1 Trash, 1 Recycling Bin, 1 Hand Sanitizing Station
    2. Campus Bike Center (Basketball Court Next To 51 E Gregory Dr, Champaign) - 4 Tables, 8 Chairs, 1 Trash, 1 Recycling Bin, 1 Hand Sanitizing Station
    3. DRES (Intersection of Stadium And Oak) - 2 Tables, 4 Chairs, 1 Trash, 1 Recycling Bin, 1 Hand Sanitizing Station
    4. Uni High (Stoughton St. And Mathews Ave.) - 4 Tables, 8 Chairs, 1 Trash, 1 Recycling Bin, 1 Hand Sanitizing Station
    5. CRCE - 4 Tables, 8 Chairs, 1 Trash, 1 Recycling Bin, 1 Hand Sanitizing Station
    6. Research Park (SE Corner of Intersection of First and St Mary's) - 2 Tables, 4 Chairs, 1 Trash, 1 Recycling Bin, 1 Hand Sanitizing Station
    7. National Soybean Research Center (Pennsylvania and Dorner) - 2 Tables, 4 Chairs, 1 Trash, 1 Recycling Bin, 1 Hand Sanitizing Station
    8. Orchard Downs (Near Front Office) - 2 Tables, 4 Chairs, 1 Trash, 1 Recycling Bin, 1 Hand Sanitizing Station
    9. Vet Med NW Drive Entrance On Lincoln Ave (Lincoln At Japan House West Side MTD Stop) - 2 Tables, 4 Chairs, 1 Trash, 1 Recycling Bin, 1 Hand Sanitizing Station

    Please set up at all these locations by 6:30 am on September 14, 2022. You can bring everything back after the event ends at 10 am (so by 10:15 you can start removing these). I am confirming the exact location for Research Park and Vet Med locations.

  3. Bike at Illinois and University Housing contributions to Bike Month activities

    Associated Project(s): 

    Bike at Illinois confirmed an allocation of $5,100 for Bike to Work Day and Light the Night events. Following is the breakdown:

    1. $2,000 towards t-shirts
    2. $1,500 towards the purchase of bike lights
    3. $1,250 towards logistics – Tables, chairs, trash, recycling, and hand sanitizing stations for all 9 campus welcoming stations for BTWD and 3 campus locations for LTN
    4. $350 towards the promotion and advertisement of these events (on campus digital advertising)

    University Housing also agreed to donate food and refreshment at all eight or night campus BTWD welcoming stations, in the amount of $1,500.

  4. Bike Day presentation at National Bike Summit

    Associated Project(s): 

    Sarthak Prasad presented the findings from Bike Day 2021 event to the National Bike Summit on March 29, 2022! Bike Day 2021 was organized on September 14, 2021, with the Bike to Work Day event in the morning from 7-10 am and Light the Night event in the late afternoon/evening from 4-7 pm. Please see attached the presentation.

  5. Weekly Update: Bike to Work Day; Light the Night; Grand Re-opening

    All, Heck of a week we just had. Tuesday was Bike To Work Day and Light The Night; both events went well. CBC as a LTN location was not as popular as the other two spots but we are still only in our second year of offering this location; the other two spots have been there for over 10 years and have a lot more passers-by. I do appreciate the convenience of not having to go anywhere for the event, though!

    BTWD was a decent turn out. We had around 30 people stop by to pick up their shirts. iSEE shot some footage for a promo video. I also talked with a few profs/pro staff folks who said this was their first bike commute, which was great. Hopefully they’ll stick with it! It also reminded me I need to brush up on my beginning commuter tips…

    Our Grand Opening event was a success. We got to show off our space to quite a few people who’d never been by before and a handful of regulars that were duly impressed with the upgrade from our old space.

    This week I’ve got a new student worker starting, so that will be a welcomed addition to the team. I’ll also pick up some bikes from TBP for rebuild as we’re flush out of decent Shop Builds. Demand has waned a bit or word is spreading that we’re out of bikes so fewer folks are coming by—either way, we’ll get a few more fixed up this week.

    The numbers:

    Visitors: TBD
    Sales: $513.50
    Bikes (refurb): 1 for $180
    Memberships: 5 for $150
    Tire/tubes: 6 for $19.50

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Campus Bike Center Coordinator

  6. Bike Day 2021 held on September 14, 2021

    Associated Project(s): 

    Bike Day 2021 was organized on September 14, 2021! Here are some of the numbers from the events from Bike Day 2021.

    Bike to Work Day:

    • Held in the morning from 7 - 10 am
    • Record-breaking event with 16 welcoming stations in Champaign County, including 9 on-campus
    • Record 802 pre-registrations to attend the event and more than 150 walk-in registrations
    • University Housing provided refreshments to all campus welcoming stations
    • iSEE produced a video highlighting the event

    Light the Night:

    • Held in the evening from 4 - 7 pm
    • Three locations: Alma Mater, Hallene Gateway, and Campus Bike Center
    • 40 volunteers for the event
    • installed nearly 750 light sets (front and rear)

    General feedback was very positive from the campus community members. Several mentioned that holding these events in September felt like a welcoming event and gave the returning and new students an opportunity to explore the campus and community on bike and learn about the bike program at the beginning of school year!

    The Bike Month Planning team and Light the Night Planning teams are considering organizing both of these events in the fall semester going forward.

  7. F&S Announcement about Bike Day events!

    Associated Project(s): 

    Celebrate CU Bike Day 2021
     
    Be a part of two great upcoming bicycle events on Tuesday, September 14. You can participate, volunteer, or do both! 

    The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign achieved the Silver-level Bicycle Friendly University status in October 2019 because of its ongoing commitment to improving bicycle education, infrastructure, and programs. Visit the Bike at Illinois website to learn more about the many efforts that support bicycling on campus.
     
    Bike to Work Day
    Champaign County Bike to Work Day returns this semester. There will be 17 welcoming stations open between 7 and 10 a.m., with nine on the Urbana campus. Grab a snack and get some free Bike at Illinois merchandise and a T-shirt! To get the free T-shirt, you must register and bring your bicycle! 
     
    Light the Night
    The 14th annual Light the Night, a free bike light giveaway, will be held that evening from 4 to 7 p.m. at three locations:

    • Alma Mater Plaza
    • Hallene Gateway (intersection of Illinois Street and Lincoln Avenue)
    • Campus Bike Center (51. E. Gregory Drive) 

    Participants must bring their bicycles to receive the free light sets; lights will only be installed on bicycles without lights. Volunteers are needed in the afternoon and evening for three shifts. Fill out the volunteer sign-up form to assist. All volunteers will be required to wear face coverings during the event.

  8. Weekly Update: BTWD and LTN dates finalized

    All, Steadily picking up around here. Had to pull out the folding stands on a couple occasions. Got a new hire in the works. Dates are set for Light The Night and Bike To Work Day for the fall. On Friday we had a volunteer working towards a membership, which was a welcome occurrence.

    This week is business as usual.

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 20
    Sales: $1022.10
    Bikes (refurb): 3 for $500
    Memberships: 5 for $150
    Misc: $58.50

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Manager, Campus Bike Center

  9. Combined Bike to Work Day and Light the Night planning meeting

    Associated Project(s): 

    Please watch the meeting recording here: Combined Bike to Work Day and Light the Night meeting on June 8, 2021.

    Also, attached are the meeting notes for Light the Night, agenda for this meeting, and a draft of the sponsorship/fundraising letter from Champaign County Bikes.

  10. Bike Month planning meeting

    The Bike Month planning team met today, with representatives from several areas across Champaign County.

    1) CU Safe Routes to School - planned for May 5 - Urban Planning student is an intern for CU-SRTS. They are also working on a safe routes to parks program.

    2) Champaign County Bikes - Charlie Smyth is the chair of CCB this year.  They will have a new website in a few days.  They still need one more board member for this year.  They talked with Amelia Neptune at the League of American Bicyclists (LAB), and Charlie shared several points about the national outlook.

    3) This group will plan virtual events for the spring, and meet again in February.

  11. Weekly Update - Bike to Work Day, Bike Rodeo, etc.

    All, What a week! Last week (and weekend) was a TBP meeting, Bike To Work Day, the Bike Rodeo, and picking up donations from the Community Bike Sale. Lots of extracurricular activity! All of the events went well but not amazingly well. Attendance was on the low side for BTWD and BR but the weather is a major culprit there.

    Since 2pm on Friday we’ve gotten (rough count) 20 bike donations, so we’re pretty inundated right now. With bad weather in the forecast and the busyness of finals for most students, we’ll be able to process the donations this week—hopefully.

    Last Friday was the last Fix-a-Flat class and we had our first attendee! Maria and Jacob taught the course well and the gentleman seemed happy to have come. Also on Friday the student staff hosted an impromptu Friday ride of sorts for one of our graduating staffers. This upcoming Friday will be the last official one for the season.

    I’ll be out of town Thursday and Friday so Chris will open and run the shop in my absence.

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 73
    Sales: $750.20
    Bikes (refurb): 2 for $295
    Memberships: 7 for $210
    Tire/tubes: 9 for $64

     

    Thanks!

    • Jake Benjamin
      Campus Bike Center Manager
  12. Weekly Update - Bicycle Donations, Bike to Work Day, etc.

    All, Big but also kind of micro news is that there’s been a noticeable uptick in donations here at the Bike Center. While I’d love to attribute that to our awesome Bike Abandonment Prevention program, it’s really just been local community members who’re cleaning out their garages--most prominently two white bearded men, not the graduating seniors that we’re hoping to attract.

    But that’s a good segue into what our Bike Abandonment Prevention is trying to do: reduce and abate the number of abandoned bikes left by students leaving campus around this time of year. In turn we hope Parking will have to collect fewer bikes that’ll end up in our hands in the end anyway. We’ve got signage and a bike rack set up outside the Bike Center to allow students to donate their bikes and, to incentivize the donation,  in return they can get a water bottle (but the water bottles are only available during open hours). We’ll track how many students are donating and obviously won’t be turning away community donations. There’s already been a social media push and advertising done by Campus Rec to help promote and get the word out!
    We’ve got our Fix-a-Flat class this Friday and of course Bike To Work Day on Wednesday. The weather isn’t looking great but we’ll get the dedicated folks come through, I’m sure. Jeff Yockey dropped off the BTWD shirt last week and we’ve been hanging it by the register to showcase the event. Over the upcoming weekend we’ve got our Bike Rodeo event which will also double as a drop-off spot for the Bike Abandonment Prevention program. May is looking busy but it is Bike Month!

    Numbers:

    Visitors: 73
    Sales: $812.50
    Memberships: 6 for $180
    Bikes (refurb): 3 for $500

     

    Thanks!

    • Jake Benjamin
      Campus Bike Center Manager

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