By Emma Bangert and Alayna Hicks, Office of Sustainability Central Communications
In 2023, the University of Arizona and the Office of Sustainability began creating the University’s first Sustainability and Climate Action Plan. This plan details how the University will reach its goal of climate neutrality in 2040. One of the areas that the University is focusing on to meet this goal is through tackling the emissions made from commuters to and from campus, also known as Scope 3 Emissions. In 2019, commuters produced 34,181 metric tons of CO2, which is over 13% of the University’s total CO2 emissions for the year. To combat this, the University is hoping to encourage students, staff, and faculty to add cycling to their commute.
The Bike Ready Wildcats Project was created by University of Arizona senior Madeline Williams, who partnered with Parking and Transportation Services (PTS), to make sure cyclists have the adequate infrastructure in place to get to and from campus. This project worked to repair and maintain four self-service bike repair stations around campus. The Campus Sustainability Fund (CSF), along with The Office of Sustainability, invested $3,800 to purchase tools and pumps to repair these stations. By repairing them instead of replacing them, it kept unnecessary waste out of the landfill. New signage was put up to increase the visibility of the bike repair stations, with each sign constructed using recycled bike racks. Three out of the four stations were moved to more well-lit areas that are closer to emergency blue poles to enhance the safety of students and staff using the stations. The goal of funding well-maintained bike repair stations is to provide a layer of support so that commuters feel more inclined to choose cycling as a mode of transportation. Moving these repair stations to more visible and populated areas helps alleviate concerns over safety and accessibility and will encourage people to incorporate cycling into their commute.
Right: A student using the self-service bike station to pump air into their tires.
Each bike repair station has a QR code that people can scan to see a playlist of instructional videos on how to use the station and its tools. There is also a link to a survey for users to fill out on their experience with the repair stations. In addition, CSF Grant money was used to create stickers that are handed out at events to promote these repair stations. As of now, the self-service stations are fully repaired, and PTS oversees the maintenance of them by employing students to check on them weekly to ensure they are in good condition.
By repairing these self-service stations, the University of Arizona can encourage students, staff, and faculty to incorporate cycling in a safe and accessible manner. The more people rely on bicycles, the less reliance there is on cars which will help reduce CO2 emissions and bring the University closer to reaching the goal of net zero carbon emissions. Together, we can achieve carbon neutrality.
