The Sustainable Transportation Challenge on College Campuses
posted by Andrea Webster on October 19th, 2007 Go to comments
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As most of you avid Campus Sustainability Perspectives readers already know, AASHE attended the University of Kentucky’s “Big Blue Goes Green” Sustainability Showcase on Wednesday. The sessions at the event were all fascinating and enjoyable, but my favorite part was speaking with the display representatives.
After a few conversations, I quickly realized that UK is truly committed to becoming more a sustainable campus. Every department I spoke with was able to tell me their current and future green practices, and they were all very excited to share their initiatives. UK still has a long way to go, but the desire definitely exists.
I believe I saw the most ‘yearn for greening’ in UK’s Parking and Transportation Services. When I asked Mr. Stuart Kearns, the Associate Director of the department, how he planned to green the transit culture at UK, I got the feeling that he wasn’t really sure. This is a pretty tough question and probably one of the toughest challenges for colleges and universities in their quest towards sustainability. He told me that currently, UK has a deal with LexTran, the city bus system, which allows for discounted semester and school year passes to UK students. The University is hoping to further the negotiations with LexTran in order to provide free bus rides to UK faculty, staff, and students in the future.
Aside from trying to wheel and deal for free passes to students, faculty, and staff, Parking and Transportation Services isn’t really sure how to convince people to carpool, take the bus, or ride their bikes. Mr. Kearns told me that he read Transportation & Sustainable Campus, by Will Toor and Spenser W. Havlick, three times and loved it every time. He is also reading Peggy Barlett and Geoffrey Chase’s Sustainability on Campus, but he still has no idea how to convince students to travel in more environmentally friendly ways. Coming up with green transportation ideas is easy; convincing people to partake in these ideas…well, that’s a much bigger challenge.
October 20th, 2007 at 7:00 pm
The following is a segment of a policy I wrote with Claire Roby for clean transportation at American University. Other sections included “Green Fleet” and “Tracking Progress.” Certain aspects of the policy are already under implementation. Hope this give some helpful ideas.
Casey Roe
Environmental Studies, Political Science, ‘09
American University
CLEAN COMMUTING
1. American University will maintain and increase efforts to support faculty and staff carpooling.
The reduction of environmental impacts by carpooling results from decreases in the number of vehicles on the road. Fewer vehicles in operation can drastically reduce emissions and the need for roadways and roadway maintenance. Carpooling reduces the rate of global climate change through the reductions of pollutants and improves local air quality. In addition, carpooling saves money and takes much of the stress out of the daily commute.
In addition to the continued promotion of car sharing programs such as Zipcar and efforts to participate in an off-campus carpool program that provides incentives for faculty and staff to carpool, we propose that American University implement the following:
• Priority parking through creation of reserved parking spots for carpoolers
• The creation of a carpoolers’ ride board or online data base where faculty and staff commuting from similar locations can communicate
• The cost of parking passes for carpools should be split between the members of the carpool with each member’s vehicle being given a pass
• Grant a small number (we recommend five per semester) of free daily parking passes for the members each carpool for days when they must drive alone
2. American University will create incentives to increase student carpooling.
• Create a ride board or online database for students traveling to similar locations over breaks
3. American University will take action to promote the use of mass transportation by faculty, staff and students.
In net terms, calculated from the amount of emissions produced by mass transit vehicles and the number of people utilizing the vehicles, mass transportation greatly reduces emissions as compared to private automobile usage. Increases in mass transit use will reduce the need for existing parking lots and for the production of new lots, which causes a beneficial reduction of land usage. The use of mass transit also diminishes congestion on campus and city streets. The decrease of congestion has the additional benefit of making the area increasingly safe for walkers and bikers.
• Create free or subsidized fares for students, faculty, and staff who commit to the regular use of public transportation as their means of commuting daily
• Grant a small number (we recommend five per semester) of free daily parking passes for students, faculty, and staff who commit to the regular use of public transportation
• Expand the Commuter Connections program for those who rely on public transportation for their commuting to include students, and increase the publicity of this service
4. American University will take actions to promote biking and walking as alternatives to car usage.
The environmental benefit of biking and walking is simple; these alternatives produce no emissions. This means a complete elimination of the pollutants emitted by vehicle traffic as well as a vast reduction in expenses for individuals and the university (i.e. road maintenance). Walking and biking reduce noise pollution, traffic congestion, and the need for new traffic lanes and roads.
• Expand the Commuter Connections program for faculty and staff to include students who commit to biking or walking to campus
• Provide bike lockers for faculty, staff, and students to lease for a small fee for the duration of a semester
• Encourage pedestrian and bike traffic when redesigning sites
• Create a publicly distributed map of bike rack locations on campus
• Increase the number and accessibility of bike racks on campus, especially at Leonard Hall and in sheltered areas such as the parking garage and under the Mary Gradon Center bridge
• Publicize the faculty and staff gym membership discount for bikers and walkers to utilize showers
• Eco-Sense, SPA Leadership, and Dinosaurs Against Fossil Fuels are in the process of creating a bike-lending program. Support this initiative by establishing work-study positions to assist with the administrative aspects of the program and maintenance of the bikes.
5. Each department at American University will develop a policy encouraging telecommuting when feasible and outlining telecommuting procedures.
Telecommuting presents extensive reductions in energy usage ranging from the reduction of greenhouse emissions from car operation (especially idling in rush hour traffic) to reductions in office building heating, cooling, and lighting needs. The environmental benefits of telecommuting can be categorized into three sectors that are impacted: vehicle-related materials and resources, highway-related materials and resources, and office-related materials and resources. The phrase “materials and resources” describes the energy required for production, maintenance and repair of the related equipment. Increased telecommuting can also lead to reductions in need for land usage and clear economic benefits to the university.14
6. American University will provide incentives to faculty, staff, and student operators of green vehicles.
Given that the operation of green vehicles, such as hybrids, by students, faculty, and staff has such a drastic positive impact on the reduction of greenhouse gases emitted by the American University community, the following actions should be taken to reward their operators and promote the purchase of these green vehicles:
• Priority parking through reserved parking spots for electric or hybrid vehicles
• 50% off parking permits for people who are driving electric or hybrid vehicles
November 5th, 2007 at 12:44 pm
Hi Casey,
I’m working on the parking committee at my school, Arcadia University, in suburban Philadelphia. One of the question I have, is how much time on the part of Public Safety do initiatives like these require. Here at Arcadia, we are revamping our parking policies and arrangements and i am lobbying hard for ones like those listed above. The director of Public Safety here is stretched pretty thin and is unsure if he can devote man-hours to this type of stuff. Any insight you can give is much appreciated. Thank you.
Jeff Murphy
Environmental Sociology, Political Science minor, ‘08
November 30th, 2007 at 2:16 am
Hi Jeff,
Sorry for the delay, I didn’t see your question until just now. The three departments that we worked with here on our transportation policy were Facilities Management, Transportation Services, and Public Safety. I am not sure of the exact departmental structure of Arcadia but, at American University, Facilities Management and Transportation Services encompassed the majority of aspects of our policy. Our Director of Facilities Management is extremely dedicated to sustainability and already had many of these policy items in mind as future objectives. Sustainability is incorporated into his job description, and thus he is able to dedicate time to working on these issues. I would say that if jurisdiction of parking falls under a director who does not have much available time, you should take every action possible to ease the burden of implementation. For example, through researching, writing clear policy items, and compiling a guide to similar parking policies at other schools you can lessen his workload. Also, if he supports it, students could work with higher administrators to call for the integration of sustainability into this official job description.
I hope this is helpful. Feel free to post any more questions here or call if its easier.
Casey Roe
603.686.2166
American University
Environmental Studies, Political Science, 09′