The payoffs to promoting bicycling on college campuses are many, from healthier students and faculty, to dramatic reductions in traffic congestion and carbon emissions. Successful bike programs don’t build themselves, however, so we’re here to offer our advice on kicking your program into high gear. Get first hand insights from Steve Sanders, who for many years served as the Sustainable Transportation Coordinator for the University of Minnesota, one of the largest campuses in the United States.
More detailed information is available upon request. Please enter your email address if you would like to discuss more ways to boost your campus bike program.
About the Author
In his 34 years at the University of Minnesota Transportation Department, Steve Sanders employed a mix of strategic infrastructure upgrades and a robust bike commuting rewards program to improve and encourage bicycle commuting on the school’s expansive campus.
Now Sanders has joined Dero’s team to help campuses across the country raise their cycling standards and build more accommodating environments for any member of their student body, faculty, or staff that wants to bike.
Feel free to contact Steve directly with questions: [email protected]
Well-considered campus bike programs make colleges more accessible for a clean, efficient, and healthy mode of transportation. While there are challenges along the way as programs become an essential part of campus life, Dero is helping colleges and universities nationwide build strong, resilient cycling cultures.
For many years Dero’s Higher Education Business Developer, Steve Sanders, directed the sustainable transportation program at the University of Minnesota, one of the nation’s largest campuses. Under his leadership, the University of Minnesota became a campus where students and staff can safely and easily move around under their own power. Below are some of his top tips on building a successful biking program at your own school.
1. Approach the effort holistically
According to Sanders, it is important to understand that a good bike program needs more than physical infrastructure to succeed. Support and encouragement for people using bikes are elements that can’t be ignored.
2. Assess your finances
One of the biggest challenges confronting fledgling bike programs is how to secure funding for their initiatives. Vehicle parking revenue, bike registration programs, transportation grants and campus bike shops are all potential revenue sources.
3. Foster relationships
Bike programs cannot thrive in isolation. Aim to connect your program to passionate individuals within your administration. Build ties with the various departments that share your concerns and goals and who can understand the benefits of a robust bike-friendly network on campus. Those departments include Transportation, Sustainability, Health and Wellness and Facilities Management.
4. Build with intention
Install bike parking that is aesthetically pleasing, easy to use and conveniently located. Consider creative ways to incentivize your commuters. Rewarding staff and students who bike commute with reduced health care premiums for staff and gift cards to local businesses for students are great ways to build support for your program. Create campus-wide team challenges. Dero’s Zap system can help with those efforts.
5. Score early wins
It is important to score early wins to build support for your program, so start simply by identifying visible problems that lend themselves to straightforward solutions. Good examples of this include a systematic method for abandoned bike removal or a process to provide orderly bike parking in areas where bikes are locked to trees, benches, fences, etc. These are problems that the campus community sees every day. Position your program to provide solutions and you position it to enlist allies for your future success.
About Steve
For 25 years, Steve Sanders served as the Sustainable Transportation Manager at the University of Minnesota. During that time the University received recognition as both a Platinum-level Bicycle Friendly University and Bicycle Friendly Business. Steve has served on the Minneapolis Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committees and for 10 years was the higher education representative on the Minnesota State Non-Motorized Transportation Committee. He is a year-round bicycle rider and League of American Bicyclists certified safety instructor.
First and foremost, quality bike parking on any campus means more than just something to lock to (that would barely qualify as a passing grade). Good bike racks and bicycle storage should be u-lock compatible, protect students’ bikes from the elements, and be numerous enough to meet demand. Everyone hates searching for a spot to park when you’re already late for class!
Bike shelters are a great example of quality bicycle storage that protects students’ bikes from bad weather. In the above photo, a student at St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN checks out a bike from the campus bike share program. The Kolo Shelter is a perfect solution for fitting two-tiered systems, like the Dero Decker, to double up on bike parking capacity.
A bike room at Portland State University.
It should be no surprise that bike rooms receive an “A” grade in our book. Fully enclosed, secure parking, like in Portland State University’s Bike Garage, includes both two-tier and floor-mounted parking options, which accommodates many different types of bikes. Many bike rooms are furnished with public bike repair amenities, such as the Fixit repair stand and Air Kit bike pumps.
Bike repair stands don’t only belong in bike rooms. They’re perfect for busy bike paths, in or outside student residence halls, and in central public spaces on campus. The Dero Fixit provides all the necessary tools so students can perform basic bike maintenance. Add either an Air Kit 2 or Air Kit 3, and students have the ability to repair flats or top off the air in their tires.
Public bicycle repair stands are also great educational opportunities. Many campuses teach fix-a-flat or tune-up classes at the stands, so students can learn how to use all of the tools available to them. Here are a few videos that colleges and universities made to highlight their campus bike repair:
College campuses have high numbers of active people in a concentrated area. Dero ZAP is our automated commuter tracking program and is used to incentivize and gather data on students’ commutes at campuses across the country.
At the University of Minnesota, Dero ZAP has been used to track both faculty and students’ commutes since 2012. Steve Sanders, Alternative Transportation Manager at the U, says that “Since the program’s inception in 2012 we’ve seen increased bicycle mode share and a deepened cycling culture. We’ve also been extremely pleased by how many women are actively participating – over 40% of participants are women.”
St. Olaf Collage chose to highlight their logo in this custom laser-cut Bike Bike Rack.
As more colleges and universities invest more resources into their biking infrastructure, custom racks are a great way for schools to stand out and add a personalized touch to their bike parking. At Dero, we’ve had years of experience making custom projects a reality. All we need is your school’s logo or mascot.
Feel confident you’ve mastered Campus Bike Parking 101? Time to take your biking game to the next level: consider applying for Bicycle Friendly University (BFU) status through the League of American Bicyclists. Dero has been a Gold certified Bike Friendly Business for over 4 years (you can read our story here), and we hope you “ace” your BFU application!
A bike room at Portland State University.
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St. Olaf Collage chose to highlight their logo in this custom laser-cut 
