Campus Bicycle Plan Support Ride

April 14, 2005

On April 14th, approximately 60 cyclists from around the state gave up their lunch breaks to participate in a "Campus Bicycle Network Support Ride."  The Support Ride, organized through a collaboration between the UConn Office of Environmental Policy, EcoHusky Student Group, and the UConn chapter of the Institute of Transportation Engineers, hoped to demonstrate that:

Photo Album

Participants included students, faculty, staff, and state-wide community members who hope to see the UConn ITE's recently proposed Campus Bicycle Plan implemented by the University of Connecticut. The ride, although short in duration, has hopefully made a lasting impression on not only surprised spectators, but on the University's administration and master planners. 

  

  Background: A Survey & A Plan

Early in the fall of 2004, several Engineering students from the UConn ITE chapter decided to focus their senior project on developing a campus bicycle network and any other changes necessary to improve bicycling at the UConn Storrs campus.  (The Engineering students involved included: Eric Jackson, Jeffrey LaMondia, Craig Jordan, Stephanie Centofonti, and Stephanie Mathers.)  What began as a small class project, quickly escalated into a large-scale student-driven initiative, which would ultimately propose a new Campus Bicycle Network Plan to the University's Parking Advisory Council and Master Planning Advisory Council. 

  

The first step in this major undertaking was to survey the current bicycling attitudes and behaviors of the students, faculty, and staff at the UConn Storrs campus. The ITE students designed a survey to determine who was currently bicycling around campus, what the major problems are in the current system, and what incentives would best increase the rates of bicycling on campus.  With the help of volunteers from the EcoHusky Student Group, the ITE managed to distribute over 2100 surveys.  The survey results were then compiled and analyzed in order to produce a final UConn Bike Map and suggestions for improving overall support for bicycling around campus.

 

  Joining Forces: The Campus Bike Plan Support Ride Team

  

While the ITE students were hard at work analyzing the survey results and developing a comprehensive campus bicycle network plan, a team of interested parties from the Land Use & Sustainable Development Subcommittee came together to strategize ways to develop additional support for the project.  The ITE students' advisor, Dr. John Ivan of the Engineering Department, teamed up with the Director of the Connecticut Transportation Institute, Dr. Lisa Aultman-Hall to enlist the help of Richard Miller (Director of the Office of Environmental Policy), and Janet Freniere (Transportation & Parking Services Administrator).  With the support of the interns from the Office of Environmental Policy, and volunteers from the EcoHusky Student Group, the Bike Plan Support Ride Team was complete!

     

     

  The Route to Success: Event Planning

  

The Team realized that it was important to outline a clear focus and message for this event. Since this was the first attempt to plan a mass bike ride at UConn, the committee relied on Dr. Aultman-Hall’s previous experience organizing and participating in critical mass rides, to outline the steps necessary to ensure the success of this event. The following focus and goals were agreed upon:

 

• Raise awareness on campus for the importance of considering alternative transportation ideas, especially in campus and urban settings.

• Demonstrate the demand and need for a bicycling plan for future campus planning.

• Work to influence campus planners to consider developing a bike lane on roads, especially on new North Eagleville Road Extension.

• Raise awareness of competition problems between bicycles, cars, and pedestrians.

 

With the focus and event goals in place, the next stage was to establish when and where the support ride should occur.  It was decided that the route must cover major areas of travel around and within the campus area – demonstrating the difficultly of dealing with vehicles and pedestrians on busy roadways without bike lanes and safe routes.  In hopes of warmer weather, the team hoped to host the ride in April. It was also important to consider the impact of other busy days and potential deterrents for participation. Spring Weekend and Earth Day, two major annual events, would potentially minimize the amount of participants from campus. Also, by the end of April, the team also realized that the impact of final examinations on students, faculty, and staff would reduce overall participation as well. Based on these points, the Bike Ride was planned for Thursday, April 14, 2005, at 11:00 AM. The team felt that a mid-day event would gain more attention from students and administration during the day, as well as demonstrate the problem of mid-day traffic. This time also meant that students and faculty in class during this time would be unable to participate.

   

 

  Crossing the Finish Line: Last-Minute Considerations

  

With the route and date established, the group embarked on the task of ensuring that all last-minute considerations had been identified and a plan of action established.  Food permits were secured, safety personnel notified, and advertisements and press releases sent out. Speakers were lined up and coached regarding main points and how to keep enthusiasm high.  Volunteers signed up to help run the event, and donations from vendors were sought by staff of the Office of Environmental Policy.  A raffle and the promise of a free tune-up from a local mechanic helped ensure attendance at the event. And of course a rain date was established. 

      

  

  The Cool Down: Reflection & Suggestion

  

The first UConn Bike Network Group Support Ride was successful, with approximately sixty participants from across the state. The event ran smoothly, with setup in the morning going quickly and the majority of participants finding the starting location on time. A display was set-up with raffle prizes, food and drinks in a visible location.  There was also a skilled bicycle mechanic offering free service to riders all morning prior to the start of the ride, we believe that this was a deciding factor for many of the participants to attend.

 

By blocking the parking lot, participants were able to park at the starting line, instead of traveling to parking garages on the other side of campus. This was a great convenience and still provided ample space for bicyclists to line up for the ride. In addition, a police escort was helpful in keeping the ride smooth, as well as allowed for an ITE truck with the UConn Mascot to follow along and play music as well. This was an excellent crowd pleaser. Lisa Aultman-Hall also carried the megaphone and used her experience to vocalize the ride’s purpose and get people’s attention as the riders came by.  However, the use of a police escort may also have reduced our ability to demonstrate the difficulty that cyclists on campus encounter when attempting to ride amidst heavy traffic.   

 

There are many areas for improvement should the group determine that their is a need or interest in holding additional support rides in the future.  The following suggestions are offered based upon our experience here at the University of Connecticut:

 

• Be sure to outline a route the is long enough to fill at least a 30 minute time slot, and if possible, include roads that extend into the local community to promote the concept of a continuous bicycle network which extends beyond the campus boundaries.  Development of such a network will encourage not only bicycling among campus residents, but also among commuting students, staff and faculty.
     

• Ensure strong advertisement within the campus and surrounding communities, and contact the appropriate building superintendents to ensure that any posted advertisements will remain up until the event occurs.  Many of the large posters put up around campus and in the academic halls by the EcoHusky members on Friday were taken down by the custodial staff before Monday morning classes, preventing students from being exposed to this information.  Also in our case a one-day promotion in the campus newspaper the day before the event was helpful.  In addition, while our volunteers were scheduled to do an outdoor display in the campus core to promote the event, strong winds prevented this afternoon promotion from taking place.  Based on these issues, if future events are held, we will seek to expand upon this pre-event promotion timeframe. 
      

• Don't compete with classes or work. We initially chose a weekday afternoon to hold the event, because we assumed that if held during the between-class rush period, we would capture a wider audience's attention.  However, this logic was flawed because due to these very classes, many students and faculty who otherwise would have, were unable to participate. An event held either after classes or on the weekend would increase the number of participants, therefore creating better post-event publicity, and ultimately reaching a greater audience regardless of the number of actual witnesses during the event itself.  Hosting the event earlier in the semester or during the fall semester is also suggested to avoid conflict with exams, and prevent having to 'share the spotlight' with other campus events organized to celebrate Earth Day.
         

• Try to locate a high-profile participant to boost interest. While we sought the participation of our administration as well as well-known athletes and coaches, we were unsuccessful.  We were able to secure a volunteer to dress up in the University's athletic mascot uniform, which made for excellent photo opportunities and served as a reminder of the connection between bicycling and your health, as well as bicycling and University pride.

Finally, it is important regardless of how successful your event is to document its strengths and weaknesses for future organizers.  Many of the student interns in the University of Connecticut's Office of Environmental Policy serve only a one or two-semester term.  Such records will serve as useful planning guidelines for future events, allowing the energy saved to be put towards creating an even larger more successful event next time. 

  

  

Campus Bicycle Plan Homepage