News
UB recognized as bicycle-friendly campus
The League of American Bicyclists has designated UB as a “Bicycle Friendly University” at the bronze level, an award presented only to institutions with a strong commitment to cycling.
The Bicycle Friendly University (BFU) program recognizes institutions of higher education for promoting and providing a more bicycle-friendly campus for students, faculty, staff and visitors. The BFU program also provides the schools with technical assistance to create great campuses for cycling.
To receive the “bicycle-friendly” designation, colleges and universities are judged in five categories often referred to as the five “Es” of BFU: engineering, education, encouragement, enforcement, and evaluation and planning. A college or university must demonstrate achievement in each of the five categories in order to be considered for a designation at the bronze, silver, gold or platinum level.
The League of American Bicyclists named nine new and one renewing Bicycle Friendly Universities this fall for a total of 44 universities in 25 states holding the BFU designation in 2012. UB joins Cornell University and the Rochester Institute of Technology as the only schools in New York to receive the award.
“We certainly are pleased that we received the bronze designation,” says Dennis Black, vice president for university life and services. “There’s more we can do to make UB even more bike-friendly, but this award acknowledges great work done to date and encourages us to expand our future efforts.”
The designation from the League of American Bicyclists is for four years. UB must renew its status again in 2016, at which time the university may be eligible for gold or platinum designation.
While UB’s efforts have been ongoing for many years, they began to come together with the formation of the Bicycling at UB program in 2007. Through this program, UB faculty and staff campuswide have come together in an effort to improve the biking experience at UB.
The program’s achievements over the past five years have been significant: more than 800 bike parking spaces are currently designated, bike lanes were added to connect Lee Road to the Ellicott Complex, a bike-share program through GO Bike Buffalo and Buffalo Car Share was launched, and showers for cyclist were made available in Greiner Hall and Creekside Village apartments for riders who want to freshen up after a long commute.
And as improvements continue to be made, the number of cyclists on campus continues to rise, according to Christopher Austin, assistant director of parking and transportation services. In 2008, the number of riders who loaded their bikes onto racks attached to the UB Stampede buses was 1,133; by 2011 that number had risen to 4,640.
In the near future, Bicycling at UB plans to increase the number of bike lanes on-campus, add more covered bike parking spaces and devise ways to link off-campus and on-campus bike facilities.
The program also plans to implement SeeClickFix, a web tool used to report non-emergency neighborhood issues, into the Bicycling at UB website for streamlined notifications of cycling-related concerns.
These improvements complement and build upon UB’s efforts for campus sustainability. Every trip made by bicycle reduces greenhouse gas emissions; that riders can save on gas and get a little exercise is an added bonus.
Reader Comments
Alexandra Balmer says:
I've found UB to be a rather unfriendly place for bikes, especially some of the areas behind Hochstetter and near Flint Village. The roads are dangerous to ride in due to the narrow nature of them, and motorists unwillingness to share the road. The side walks are an alternative, but they have the interesting design of not having ramps on both sides, and instead require sharp right angle turns into the parking lot instead of just riding straight through the intersection. There's no warning however, and can be quite dangerous, especially on a road bike as opposed to a mountain bike.
Posted by Alexandra Balmer, Student, 11/15/12
Sara Zimmer says:
I wonder if the designation was made more with the North rather than South or Downtown campuses in mind. I have had significant trouble navigating the east side of the South Campus, especially along Bailey Rd. where the offshoot from Main with the NFTA bus parking pops out. Also troubling is lack of alternative pathways for bikes or pedestrians when areas of campus are torn up with construction (although I've found that this will be remedied if you call to alert someone about the problem!). My guess is that it will be more difficult to execute good plans on the two smaller campuses because of the physical constraints and existing infrastructure. I've biked in for five years at Cornell (mentioned in the article), UB does not compare favorably in terms of safety and ease of access.
Posted by Sara Zimmer, You Must Be Kidding II, 11/12/12
Michael Ruth says:
I recall very few bike lanes on campus. There are some mixed-use paths, but such are notoriously dangerous for cyclists and pedestrians alike. http://www.utilitycycling.org/2010/08/urban-trails-and-bike-paths-safe-alternatives-or-hidden-perils/
I can recall a specific incident on Main St. next to South Campus as I was riding north. I was riding in accordance with all local, state, and federal laws. A motorist harrassed me for a solid 0.5 mile while passing campus. Multiple police officers were close enough to see this harrassment, my gestures for help, and one could easily hear the motorist honking and screaming while trying to push me off the road, yet they did nothing. The officers were of both the BPD and University Police. The incident described above constitutes menacing.
Posted by Michael Ruth, You Must Be Kidding, 11/10/12