| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 73.23 |
| Liaison | Heather Albert-Knopp |
| Submission Date | Feb. 28, 2022 |
College of the Atlantic
OP-17: Support for Sustainable Transportation
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Andrea
Russell Sustainability Coordinator and Community Energy Center Program Manager -- |
Does the institution have a bicycle-sharing program or participate in a local bicycle-sharing program?:
A brief description of the bicycle sharing program:
College of the Atlantic created the “Bike Sub-Committee,” a sub-committee of the Campus Planning and Building Committee during the winter of 2021. This was in an effort to reflect and improve upon COA's work with sustainable transportation and to make bikes more available to all students. The Bike Sub-Committee holds bike registration events where students receive stickers to put on their bikes. A database of the bikes is created to determine the bike storage and parking needs on campus. The registration stickers are used to locate bikes if one is missing and to identify bikes that are abandoned. The unused bikes are fixed up and given to students who need them. The Bike Sub-Committee also helps teach people bicycle repair and maintenance.
COA's long-standing bike program provides a bicycle for any faculty, staff or student at no cost. Bikes can be borrowed from the community bike repair shed. Currently, all of COA's bikes are restored and repaired older bicycles. The bikes are maintained by a team of COA students working with the Student Life Outdoor Program and the Bike Sub-Committee. All COA community members have access to the bike shed where they can get tools or help with repairs. Bike maintenance workshops are also made available for community members. Over 25 bikes are available for loan at any one time.
Does the institution participate in a car sharing program?:
A brief description of the car sharing program:
College of the Atlantic’s car-sharing program is administered by students, and is intended for students (but is occasionally extended to faculty/staff): The College has two electric cars that individuals can sign-up to use through an online reservation site. Use of the eCar has greatly expanded in the last few years. Priority for one of the eCars is given to Beech Hill Farm so that farm work students may travel between main campus and the Farm. Priority for the other eCar is given to educational based needs.
Does the institution offer preferential parking or other incentives for fuel efficient vehicles?:
A brief description of the incentives for fuel efficient vehicles:
College of the Atlantic gives priority parking to electric vehicles on its main campus, such parking spaces being located in close proximity to our level 2 charging stations. There is an additional space designated for electric vehicles near the kitchen.
Does the institution have one or more Level 2 or Level 3 electric vehicle recharging stations that are accessible to student and employee commuters?:
A brief description of the electric vehicle recharging stations:
The College has installed 8 Level-2 electric vehicle charging stations:
6 on campus (4 on the south end of campus, 2 at the north end of campus), one at Peggy Rockefeller Farm, and one at Beech Hill Farm. They are available for public use, and are also used to charge the College's two all-electric vehicles. All chargers are tied to the grid, and offset with solar PV.
Does the institution have incentives or programs to encourage employees to live close to campus?:
A brief description of the incentives or programs to encourage employees to live close to campus:
Due to the high price of housing in Bar Harbor and generally on Mount Desert Island many employees find it unaffordable to live on the Island and therefore choose housing options off-Island. The college is aware of the housing situation and continues to consider ways to develop affordable employee housing on land it owns on the Island to enable employees to afford housing closer to the campus.
Does the institution have other programs or initiatives to encourage more sustainable modes of transportation and/or reduce the impact of student and employee commuting?:
A brief description of other programs or initiatives to encourage more sustainable modes of transportation and/or reduce the impact of student and employee commuting:
The College has two all-electric vehicles dedicated to student use with the priority given to conducting work related to their academic program. Our newest vehicle, a Nissan Leaf was specifically purchased to reduce fossil-fuel miles driven by work-study students between campus and Beech Hill Farm. Priority at the chargers is given to the student eCars, followed by personal e-vehicles.
Website URL where information about the institution’s support for sustainable transportation is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
From the Campus Environmental Initiative: "College of the Atlantic is committed to encouraging low fossil-fuel transport.": http://www.coa.edu/policies/governance-policies/
The Energy Framework sets goals to transition the College's vehicle fleet to 100% electric by 2050. http://www.coa.edu/publicationsandpolicies.htm
From the Campus Environmental Initiative: "College of the Atlantic is committed to encouraging low fossil-fuel transport.": http://www.coa.edu/policies/governance-policies/
The Energy Framework sets goals to transition the College's vehicle fleet to 100% electric by 2050. http://www.coa.edu/publicationsandpolicies.htm
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