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  1. New website launched

    CHAMPAIGN, IL – Whether you need to purchase a new bike while at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign or are an experienced rider looking to get more involved and volunteer at upcoming bike events, there’s a new website that can help you do it all.

    Bike at Illinois (bike.illinois.edu) is the campus community’s comprehensive bicycling resource, helping everyone have a safer, more sustainable, and comfortable biking experience on campus. The site’s user-friendly, responsive, and accessible design makes getting information convenient while on the go using smartphones and tablets.

    Facilities & Services (F&S) Active Transportation Coordinator Lily Wilcock said, “Bike at Illinois online was designed to bring all campus bicycle information into one easy-to-find location. The response and feedback to the site have been excellent, and students were very excited about it on Quad Day.”

    The Bike at Illinois website includes detailed sections on registering bikes, campus bike rules, and the campus bike center, plus updates on news and upcoming events. 

    F&S Executive Director Mohamed Attalla said, “I am excited to see us launch this new website to showcase and celebrate the incredible efforts underway for bicycling on campus. The potential for greater outreach and engagement with students, faculty, staff, and community will help support our continued designation as a Bicycle Friendly University.”

    Dockless Bike Sharing Update
    VeoRide, based in West Lafayette, Indiana, is the first company to receive a Concession Agreement with the university for deploying dockless bike share bicycles in this area. The company will offer a fleet of 500 turquoise bikes, the maximum number allowed by the pilot program, throughout Champaign, Urbana, and on campus. The dockless bike sharing program will provide individuals with the ability to rent a bicycle through a smartphone app. Users can park the self-locking bicycles at any bike rack across campus or in the cities. For frequently asked questions about the pilot program go to http://go.fs.illinois.edu/bikeshare.

  2. archived info - previous project description

    Associated Project(s): 

    Facilities & Services Waste Management handles trash and recycling pick-up for the majority of campus facilities.  The exterior garbage and recycling dumpsters are emptied on a regular schedule, by campus drivers working for the Waste Transfer Station.  As of Fall 2014, there was no tracking for the waste volumes within individual trash or recycling dumpsters. 

    This pilot program will install wireless sensors in the dumpsters for a certain area on campus.  The depth of the trash in the dumpsters will be shared online with the F&S personnel, which will allow data analysis of waste generation sites for the first time on campus at the large scale level.  The pilot area is the land bordered by Goodwin Avenue, Illinois Street, Lincoln Avenue, and Oregon Street.  This area includes 8 dumpsters. 

  3. Sale of Carbon Credits to Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF)

    1,075 Carbon Credits (CCs) were sold to BEF @ $6.25/CC.

    This sale resulted in $6,718.75 being added to the Carbon Credit Sales Fund.

     

    An email explaining the sale is attached below.

    An email with transaction information is attached below.

  4. archived info - previous project background

    Associated Project(s): 

    The existing Bicycle Code for the University was effective since May 1, 1989, (read the 1989 Bike Code here) although enforcement of the code has varied greatly.  The 2013 draft update of the Bike Code resulted from several conversations about bicycle enforcement and the need for better policies, beginning in the Fall of 2012 and Spring of 2013.

    The updated code is more comprehensive and detailed, and is an important part of aknowledging the rights and responsibilities of cyclists on campus. The draft code was released for public comment in early September. The following timeline outlines the key dates going forward for having the new bike code to officially replace the 1989 version, before enforcement can begin. 

    Timeline: 

    • September, 2013: The new draft bike code is available for public comment/feedback  (submit feedback here)
    • October-November, 2013: The new bike code will be finalized for adoption into the Campus Administration Manual
    • September, 2013-March, 2014: Increased educational efforts will inform campus cyclists about the policy changes before enforcement begins
    • Fall 2014: Enforcement of the new Bicycle Code will begin Fall 2014.
  5. new planting plan

    Associated Project(s): 

    Campus Landscape Architect Brent Lewis provided the attached planting plan and the following comments on the plan, for review by Chi Omega representatives.

    1. We have many trees in this very small garden, who are all fighting for water and nutrient resources here.  We have lost a few trees already and the cherries that are left don’t look as good as we would like them.  Around each tree we will just install a mulched area.  This will serve to reduce some competition from the woodland plants and the trees.  You can really notice that now as we are late summer and the geraniums that should still be up have dried out and greatly dissipated.  Adding mulch will also give the sense of some order when a maintained edge is present in the beds.  However, this will be a good area to include some early spring ephemerals like Blue Bells or Spring Beauty as they will thrive when the moisture is there, but no longer compete when the trees are out-competing for water.
    2. Currently there are no shrubs in this garden.  Adding them to the plan does a few things for us. For one, it adds some structure to the garden.  With them, we will have a mid-level plant that serves to punctuate some areas, and to form a backdrop to other areas.  They will also add some winter interest to this garden, which is currently missing.  Lastly, they assist in our effort to reduce the maintenance in the garden by taking up larger amounts of space, while simultaneously keeping the weeds at bay as they shade them out.
    3. Another design element that is not obvious in the current design is a return to matched plantings at the sidewalk entries.  In the new plan I am putting matching plants on either side of each walk.  This leads the eye and the brain to connect one side of the garden to the next, thus rendering it as a more cohesive whole.  Regardless of the plant used, the average person understands this and will perceive this as an intentional garden, versus the state it is in now.  
    4. Adding to the above, I am also using plants along the main east-west walk that most anyone will know.  Regardless of what is planted behind them, people will see plants that they have in their yard, and are accustomed to seeing.  They may not know Baptisia or Penstemon, but they know coneflowers and hostas, which they will see first and assist them in understanding this garden as a planted space and less of a question mark (when they can’t quickly tell what is supposed to be there).
  6. Info Night 9/12

    Associated Project(s): 

    Illinois Enactus Information Night
    Illinois Enactus uses the power of entrepreneurial action to transform lives and shape a better, more sustainable world. In 2017, we ranked top 8 in the nation amongst hundreds of Enactus teams! Our 10 projects seek to tackle social inequities, economic disparities, environmental sustainability, and more. We welcome and encourage all majors to apply - and would really appreciate urban planning students' unique perspective as well as expertise. 

    September 12th, 7-8 PM 
    Wohlers 141, Business Casual

    Learn more at illinoisenactus.com, feel free to reach out to Jasmine Tew at jtew2@illinois.edu with any questions.

  7. Weekly Update

    Associated Project(s): 

    All, busy, busy week, as it always is this time of year. A few members completed their B-a-Bs, sold more memberships due to the suspension of the First Visit Free policy. Very few instances of people scoffing at the price/cost of entry, as most understood that a membership is a darn good deal. At its worst we had 10 people waiting for stand time.  


    One of the student workers, Tovah, gave her 2 weeks’ notice last week, as her class schedule is too demanding for her to also work here. I’ll be interviewing/hiring a replacement ASAP.

     

    Todd helped out with picking up scrap over the weekend and Barry got the sign-in computer up and running (though it could die at any moment). Lucas and Logan (former staffers both) visited the shop on Friday and ended up volunteering, which was super awesome of them. Thanks to all four gentlemen for their help!

     

    This week I’ve got the Bike Maintenance 101 class tonight at the ARC. I’ll be building bikes (2 for sale right now), coordinating with UIPD to pick up some donated bikes they have for us, and reaching out to Working Bikes and the Parking Dept. about our annual Bike Warehouse Clean Out.

     

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 83 (actual number was much higher; sign-in computer was down)

    Sales: $1,891.50

    Memberships: 21 for $630
    Bikes (refurb): 4 for $520
    Bikes (B-a-B): 3 for $246.50
    Tire/tubes: 27 for $136

     

    Thanks!

    - Jake Benjamin
    Campus Bike Center Manager

  8. Weekly Update for Zero Waste

    Associated Project(s): 

    Hi Pete and Shawn,

    • Morgan finalized plans for a glove recycling meeting with the Division of Research Safety to discuss whether training may be needed to prevent gloves that have been in contact with harmful chemicals going into the recycling stream. Our instructions for participating labs note that gloves that such gloves cannot be recycled, but we want to discuss whether further instruction or training should take place. The call is scheduled for Sept. 4.
    • I posted glove recycling statistics that Kimberly-Clark sent us in the spring and back-dated the entry accordingly (April 10, 2018).

    Best regards,

    Marya Ryan

    Zero Waste Coordinator

  9. e-week notice

    New Bike at Illinois Website Launched

    Bike at Illinois is the campus community’s new, comprehensive bicycling resource, helping everyone have a safer, more sustainable, and comfortable biking experience on campus. Need to register your bike, learn bicycle rules, visit the Campus Bike Center, or volunteer for upcoming events? All that information and more is available in an easy-to-use, responsive, and accessible design.

    Lily Wilcock . Facilities & Services

  10. e-week notice

    Associated Project(s): 

    Campus Community Invited to iSEE Congress 2018: 'Sustainable Cities'

    Join iSEE for its fifth annual Congress, featuring open discussions about the cities of now and the future. Session topics include transportation (including a keynote on autonomous vehicles!), material flows, infrastructure, urban agriculture/food security, urbanization and the environment, sustainable development and more, featuring academic experts, industry leaders, and mayors. Classes welcome!

    Tony Mancuso . Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE)

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