The Return of the Bike: UWEC Bike Rack Assessment Project December 20, 2012

1. The Return of the Bike:UWEC Bike Rack Assessment ProjectDecember 20, 2012 Introduction Adam King Michaela Leach Taren Leitzke

2. Welcome • Class Introduction: • Name • Major • Guest Introduction: • Name • Profession/Background/Area of Study • When was the last time you biked?

3. Cars, Culture, and Environment “[To] examine the breadth and depth to which the car shapes and is shaped by our physical and social environments.”

5. Why Bike? • Cost efficient • Decreases congestion • Improves • Heart health • Coordination • Stamina • Muscle tone • Air quality Source: http://www.healthcaremanagementdegree.com/biking-and-health/

7. Bikes on the Rise • In the last ten years: • Bicycle commuting increased 63% in 70 largest US cities • 54% of bicycle trips for transportation

8. Bikes on the Rise

9. Why Infrastructure is Important • 1.5 million bikes stolen per year • Lack of proper infrastructure • Infrastructure needs to: • Be visible, accessible and convenient • Support the entire frame of the bike • Meet space demands

10. 5 E’s of Bicycle Planning and Support • Engineering • Bike paths/trail • BIKE PARKING!! • Education • Encouragement • Enforcement • Evaluation and Planning League of American Bicyclists, http://www.bikeleague.org/programs/bicyclefriendlyamerica/bicyclefriendlyuniversity/bfu_five_e_s.php

11. Overview of Bike Rack Study • Purposes: • Test the feasibility of a campus bike rack assessment • Determine the location and usage of bike racks • Create a photo-map of bike parking areas using GPS-labeled pictures and Google Maps

12. Methods David Cifaldi Justin Kohlbeck Rachel Olson

13. Methods: Data collection • Student teams • 5 x 75 minute shifts to capture use during the day • 7:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. • Lower campus only Recorded observations on data sheet adapted from University of Washington bike rack assessment study

15. Data collection form Name: ________________________________________ Shift: ________________________________________

16. Types of Bike Racks Wave Inverted U Grid-type Post

17. Bike Rack Surfaces Concrete Brick Grass Gravel/dirt

18. Bike Rack Conditions • Good: usable, little no wear, rusting, or damage • Adequate: some rust or damage (e.g. bent tines) but still usable • Poor: conditions make bike racks unusable

19. Counts • Number of bike racks per site • Number of parking slots per site • Number of bikes parked in racks/site • Number of poorly parked bikes • Number of tipped bikes • Number of illegally parked bikes • Object to which illegally parked bike is parked

20. Illegally Parked Tipped Poorly Parked

21. Photomapping • Used GPS camera to photograph bikes and racks at each site and to link to Google Maps using latitude/longitude coordinates • Allows quick link of photo to map to visually compare bikes and racks at different sites Photo + UWEC GPS Camera Google Maps

22. Data entry and processing • Each student entered their findings into a web-based Excel spreadsheet • The data was reviewed for errors and inconsistencies between paired observers

23. Data and Analysis Kevin Brooks Lucy Pepin Megan Place

24. What we observed:Bike racks serve different purposes Commuter racks in front of Nursing Storage racks in front of Putnam Hall

25. What we observed: New Davies Inverted-U bike parking: (1) Aesthetically appealing (2) Does not visually interfere with newly landscaped mall

26. What we observed:Some parking areas are under-utilized Underground library parking Parking behind Hibbard

27. What we observed: Some parking areas are heavily-utilized or overcrowded. Library entrance parking Schofield parking

28. What we observed: Some parking areas are mis-utilized Library entrance parking Long-term storage under library

29. Bike parking and use by the numbers • Number of bike racks: 80 • Number of bike parking spaces: 1549

30. Percent of bike racks by type

31. Percent bike racks by type and by parking spaces per rack type

32. Rating of bike rack conditions (%)

33. Percent of bike rack parking by surface material

34. Mean number of bikes per shift Shift

35. Mean number of bikes and usage rate for all racks per shift Number of bikes Shift

36. 11/111 Library (UB) 15/115 11/111 15/115 Schofield

37. High use High parking 11/111 Library (UB) 15/115 11/111 15/115 Schofield

38. Low use Low parking 11/111 Library (UB) 15/115 11/111 15/115 Schofield

39. High Use Low parking 11/111 Library (UB) 15/115 11/111 15/115 Schofield

40. Low Use High Parking 11/111 Library (UB) 15/115 11/111 15/115 Schofield

41. Mean number of tipped, poorly or illegally parked bikes per shift

42. Percent of total illegally and poorly parked bikes and tipped bikes by rack type

43. Percent of illegally and poorly parked bikes and tipped bikes by rack type and parking spaces per rack type Rack type Slots per rack type

44. photo map

45. Implications, Recommendations, and Limitations Erin Hanegraaf Phil Schumacher Chris Reinoos

46. A practical assessment approach • Data collection is “doable” in a relatively short amount of time • Additional training and a published guide can improve reliability • Real data from real users • Prevents unsupported speculation about bike parking • Can track changes in bike travel over time based on bike parking

47. Recommendation #1 • Facilities staff should conduct bike rack assessment two times every year • ½ day in early fall (10AM-2PM) • ½ day in late spring (10AM-2PM) • Choose good weather and high use times to ensure measurement of peak use

48. Rack type matters • Larger proportion of illegally or poorly parked bikes and tipped bikes occur in grid-type bike rack • In areas with multiple rack types, Inverted-U’s appear to be preferred

49. Recommendation # 2 • Consider purchasing more rack types that protect bikes from tipping or being stolen • Smaller strategically placed sets of racks may meet biker needs without impairing campus aesthetics • Inverted U’s easily accommodate this design

50. Signage and biker behaviors • Few areas on lower campus provide bike rack signage, specifically • No updated bike rack signs or maps are available to indicate where other racks are located • This could reduce illegal parking and highlight available parking capacity • No signage exists to explain how to properly use the various types of bike racks • This could also reduce illegal or poor parking practices, as well as reduce bike loss and damage