Meeting notes from 3/22:

• LRTP 2045 review it
• They are starting work on 2050
• Subject line for email: Name of Person/Organization
• Expect 5-7 meetings (Landscape Architects, SPO, Transportation iCAP team, SSC, maybe League of American Bicyclists, Champaign County Bikes, RPC)
• The rest will be communicated with through emails and/or CTAC
• April 27th, morning meeting with CTAC
• Start document for 2024 Campus Master Bicycle Plan (start outlining sections i.e introductions, executive summary, etc.). Use the 2014 plan as a template. 
• In April we will start filling some of the information on the 2024 plan (Introduction, Planning Process).
• In April will present to Bumsoo Lee and DURP to show progress

Meeting from 3/10:

Sarthak and Ethan met via zoom to discuss plans for the rest of the semester. Ethan is to finalize the email template which they will begin sending out after Spring break (last two weeks of March). Ethan is also to finish readings mentioned by Stacey by the next meeting in two weeks. 

Notes: 

• Be ready for reach out process, email ready, finish readings, you will hear from us in coming months, there will be future stakeholder meetings, feel free to share some ideas over email now, attach 2014 bicycle plan and 3 reports (at least the 2019 and 2022 one) (link it in email itself). 
• Start report for undergraduate project early April.

Meeting from 3/1:

Sarthak and Ethan met via zoom to reflect on their meeting with Stacey. Ethan and Sarthak made note of stakeholders that she suggested that we reach out to and other readings to review. Ethan is to draft an email for reaching out to stakeholders once we return from Spring Break. Ethan is also expected to review RPC Bike Plan, Campus Master Plan, Crash Data, and TDM Plan.

Notes:

• Readings to do:
  • RPC Bike Plan
  • Campus Master Plan
  • Crash Data
  • TDM
  • APBP and League of American Bicyclists we will reach out to
  • Look at TDM report for Bicycle Friendly University updates
  • TDM to be published this year
• Starting introductory email template and we would greatly appreciate your input and guidance when developing plan
• Give info on what the old plan was and progress
• Suggestions on adding more 
• Ethan: start draft of email 

Please see the attached the article by Ethan Simmons of the News Gazette published on March 20, 2023. You can also read the Just Askin' | Veo bikes or scooters? online.

Veo is starting to redeploy vehicles on campus in the coming weeks! They plan to begin redeploying bikes tomorrow, 3/16, with a goal to reach full deployment (750) by 4/8.

Sarthak and Ethan met with Stacey DeLorenzo to discuss their development of the planning process for the 2024 Campus Master Bicycle Plan which will occur this semester. Stacey approved of a bicycle audit happening in the fall as well as gave some suggestions for some other stakeholders to include such as Ride Illinois. They also discussed more readings to refer to such as the TDM Plan and Urbana bike plan. This semester will culminate with the meeting with CTAC discussing the working structure and plan for the next two semesters. They also talked about other potential ideas to include in the plan such as scooter parking, more bike share programs, and more bicycle education programs. Stacey agreed to meet with Sarthak and Ethan once a month to get updates on their progress. 

All, Another abbreviated week for me, but the staff held down the fort. We’re working up bikes and our staff is peer-to-peer training during slow times to get the new folks up to speed.

This week I’ll schedule some off-hours staff trainings and a staff meeting to help bring folks along. We’re close to being able to open back up M – F, still have a few more things to iron out. I even found the same open hours poster we used to have for our M-F hours, so we don’t have to order a new sign. Reduce, reuse, recycle!

The numbers:

Visitors: 17
Sales: $299.30
Bikes (refurb): 1 for $160
Memberships: 1 for $30
Tires/tubes: 3 for $45

Thanks!

Jacob Benjamin
Campus Bike Center Coordinator

All, Abbreviated week for me as I took a half day on Thursday and all of Friday off. Staff handled things admirably and I’ll check in with them today for a full shift report.

Got a couple Build-a-Bikes completed and a bike sold last week. We’ve got a dozen or so bikes on the floor and working to bump that number. I’ll likely grab a few more bikes from the warehouse, too.

The numbers:

Visitors: 29
Sales: $429.25
Bikes (refurb): 1 for $90

Bikes (B-a-B): 2 for $100
Memberships: 1 for $30

Thanks!

Jacob Benjamin
Campus Bike Center Coordinator

Daily Illini published an article on the recent cyclist collision with an MTD bus by Transit Plaza: https://dailyillini.com/news-stories/2023/02/13/mtd-campus-resources-res...

MTD, campus resources respond to recent cyclist collision
   

Sidney Malone

A student races past on a bike on South Wright Street in one of the University’s many bike lanes.

By Layli Nazarova, Staff Writer
February 13, 2023

Following the recent incident on Wright Street involving a cyclist and an MTD bus, MTD said that the bus “was operating safely” and not at fault for the collision. 

“We do not know what caused the cyclist to swerve toward the side of the bus, but we do know the bus was operating safely outside the bike lane and did not take action to cause contact,” said Amy Snyder, chief of staff at MTD, in an email. 

According to Snyder, road safety is one of the MTD’s top priorities which they achieve through training. 

“MTD maintains an extensive training program to on-board and retrain current Operators to drive safely in our busy campus environment,” Snyder said. “It involves classroom curriculum, simulated environments and on-the-street instruction.”

The overall number of bike crashes has significantly decreased over the past few years, according to the Illinois Climate Action Plan portal. That may be due to improvements in bike infrastructure on campus, according to Steven Breitwieser, a spokesperson for University Facilities & Services.

“In the last 10-15 years, the University has improved bicycle infrastructure to provide a safer, more convenient and enjoyable experience for bicyclists,” Breitwieser said. “These efforts emphasize better connecting the campus bike network with surrounding communities.”

Most of those infrastructure changes are a part of the University’s Campus Bicycle Master Plan published in 2014.

However, the accidents still occur and, according to Campus Bike Center Coordinator Jacob Benjamin, students continue to express concerns regarding road safety. 

“Most of our education really is face to face with folks that come in,” Benjamin said. “Generally, the safety concerns are related to being able to be seen well at night.”

To increase safety and spread awareness among cyclists, the Campus Bike Center provides various resources. 

“We try to educate folks more on defensive bike riding, as well as predictable bike riding,” Benjamin said. “There’s the Illinois bike safety quiz that the League of American cyclists puts out. We encourage everybody to take that. And we have a bike map that was put together and distributed by Champaign County bikes that we’ve been giving out, and this has all the safe bike routes listed on it.”

Regarding road safety concerns, Campus Bike Center recommends avoiding “busy” streets on campus, considering the increased traffic. 

“We’d certainly recommend riding on quieter side streets and less busy major streets because traffic is just a lot higher,” Benjamin said.

According to Benjamin, bike and road safety depends on both the awareness of cyclists and infrastructure on campus. 

 “Infrastructure improvements are always welcome, but awareness and education about how to ride safely is important as well,” Benjamin said. “Transportation systems are kind of an ecosystem of cars, cyclists, pedestrians, buses — all play a role in creating a safe transportation system.”

laylin2@dailyillini.com