Overall Rating Platinum - expired
Overall Score 88.14
Liaison Tonie Miyamoto
Submission Date Dec. 6, 2019
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Colorado State University
OP-18: Support for Sustainable Transportation

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 Carol Dollard
Energy Engineer
Facilities Management
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution provide secure bicycle storage (not including office space), shower facilities, and lockers for bicycle commuters?:
Yes

A brief description of the facilities for bicycle commuters:

There are multiple showers, lockers, secure bike parking, and covered parking located across campus. 18,000 bike parking spaces are available for cyclists near most buildings on campus. Additionally, there are 11 on-campus stations where students can fill their tires and/or make some basic repairs with freely available tools. Secure bicycle storage facility is available near the University MAX Station. A student-operated bike shop (the Spoke) and a private shop (Recycled Cycles) conduct business on campus. The university also provides commuter showers in 25 of its buildings, including the Health & Medical Center, and the Biology building.


Does the institution provide short-term bicycle parking for all occupied buildings and makes long-term bicycle storage available for students who live on-site (if applicable)?:
Yes

A brief description of the bicycle parking and storage facilities:

All occupied buildings have bike parking spaces on campus. The Spoke provides long term bike storage for students for a fee.

CSU provides 18,000 bike parking spaces on campus. A new covered bike parking building standard has been crafted including the addition of solar panels. Facilities North is the first building to construct the new standard. Secure bike parking is located near the University Station of MAX and a second will be constructed in October 2019 in the Lake Street Garage.

A map of bike parking facilities can be found here: https://map.concept3d.com/?id=748#!ce/12850?ct/25059,20377,13646,13645,13644,12106,9554,20558,12853


Does the institution have a bicycle and pedestrian plan or policy (or adhere to a local community plan/policy) that sets standards and practices for campus streets to enable safe access for all users?:
Yes

A brief description of the bicycle and pedestrian plan or policy:

CSU has a Bike Master Plan which includes a complete inventory of streets, continuous paths and bicycle accommodation across campus. CSU was awarded Platinum from the League of American Cyclists in 2015. There are ongoing capital improvement projects on campus to continue improving trails and bike lanes on all of CSU's campuses. The Campus Bicycle Advisory Committee convenes monthly to oversee the implementation of the plan. More information here: bicycle.colostate.edu


Does the institution have a bicycle-sharing program or participate in a local bicycle-sharing program?:
Yes

A brief description of the bicycle sharing program:

CSU continues to financially support the City of Fort Collins Bikeshare program known as Pace. CSU funds two stations and allows bikeshare bicycles to park in all bike racks on campus. The Alternative Transportation Department regularly updates the bikeshare app with the latest locations of bike racks on campus.


Does the institution offer free or reduced price transit passes and/or operate a free campus shuttle for commuters?:
Yes

A brief description of the mass transit programs:

Students and employees receive a free bus pass with their Ramcard (student/employee ID) which allows transit access to the vast majority of Fort Collins. CSU invests over $700,000 for an on-campus shuttle operated by the City of Fort Collins that connects all resident halls, exterior parking lots, and the South Campus.

Around the Horn is a free campus shuttle that runs to multiple stops across campus every 10 minutes. More information and schedules: http://www.ridetransfort.com/routes/horn


Does the institution offer a guaranteed return trip program to regular users of alternative modes of transportation?:
Yes

A brief description of the guaranteed return trip program:

There is a Guaranteed Return Trip program for employees who use sustainable transportation so that they are able to get home, or anywhere around town, if there is an emergency or other unexpected situation. A Zipcar or taxi trip will be reimbursed to the employee. Students have a similar program through RamRide.


Does the institution participate in a car/vanpool or ride sharing program and/or offer reduced parking fees or preferential parking for car/vanpoolers?:
Yes

A brief description of the carpool/vanpool program:

CSU offers carpool and vanpool dedicated parking spaces on campus at the beginning of each semester. Employees are paired with carpools during new employee orientation outreach. Parking and Transportation Services host vanpool formation lunches and dinners by home city of the potential rider. A Commuter 10-Pack of parking permits is offered at a discount to those committing not to purchase an annual permit while carpooling/vanpooling.


Does the institution participate in a car sharing program, such as a commercial car-sharing program, one administered by the institution, or one administered by a regional organization?:
Yes

A brief description of the car sharing program:

CSU's partnership with Zipcar Inc. provides the campus with access to the world’s leading car sharing network. The environmentally friendly and cost-effective transportation option has vehicles placed in convenient areas around campus. The service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to all students, faculty and staff members ages 18 and older, as well as members of the local community ages 21 and over.

Gas, insurance, reserved parking spaces, roadside assistance and up to 180 miles of driving per day are included in the regular hourly and daily Zipcar rates. Cars can be reserved for as short as an hour or up to four days.

About Zipcar:
Zipcar is an environmentally friendly transportation alternative; national studies have shown that each Zipcar shared takes at least 15 privately owned vehicles off the road. Zipcar has established partnerships with more than 230 universities. With parking at a premium on college campuses, and a growing interest in alternative transportation options, Zipcar provides an attractive substitute for bringing a personal car to campus.


Does the institution have one or more Level 2 or Level 3 electric vehicle recharging stations that are accessible to student and employee commuters?:
Yes

A brief description of the electric vehicle recharging stations:

CSU has 37 level 2 electric vehicle charging stations on campus and is looking to expand that as part of its partnership with Drive Electric Northern Colorado.
The campus map (maps.colostate.edu) has an EV charging station overlay under both Parking & Transportation and Sustainability to make stations easy to locate. Charging is also currently provided free of charge for registered vehicles to further support EVs on campus.

New buildings on campus are required to install conduit for future chargers to reduce installation costs.


Does the institution offer a telecommuting program for employees as a matter of policy or as standard practice?:
Yes

A brief description of the telecommuting program:

The University values its employees’ well-being and strives to promote a positive work-life integration. Flexible work arrangements, such as flextime schedules, compressed workweeks, part-time arrangements, telecommuting, job sharing, sabbaticals, and phased retirement can help employees balance work and personal life demands while, at the same time, enabling employees to meet their needs and perform well the duties of their position. Flexible work arrangements are encouraged whenever, in the discretion of the department or unit head, they will promote the productivity and efficiency of the work unit and enhance employees’ work-life integration.

The program can be found here: https://pts.colostate.edu/employee/telecommuting/

The sponsored programs department just implemented a department wide telework program: https://source.colostate.edu/adopt-and-adapt-how-one-unit-implemented-teleworking/


Does the institution offer a condensed work week option that reduces employee commuting (as a matter of policy or standard practice)?:
Yes

A brief description of the condensed work week option:

The University values its employees’ well-being and strives to promote a positive work-life integration. Flexible work arrangements, such as flextime schedules, compressed workweeks, part-time arrangements, telecommuting, job sharing, sabbaticals, and phased retirement can help employees balance work and personal life demands while, at the same time, enabling employees to meet their needs and perform well the duties of their position. Flexible work arrangements are encouraged whenever, in the discretion of the department or unit head, they will promote the productivity and efficiency of the work unit and enhance employees’ work-life integration.

The program can be found here: https://pts.colostate.edu/employee/telecommuting/


Does the institution have incentives or programs to encourage employees to live close to campus?:
Yes

A brief description of the incentives or programs to encourage employees to live close to campus:

There is limited low cost, on-campus housing for Faculty and Staff which is provided as available once student applications for housing have been assigned.

Additionally, the University offers free bus passes to Employees, thereby encouraging staff to live closer to campus. CSU recently mapped all employee and student off campus residencies against access to bus routes. They found that more than 60% of employees living in Fort Collins have access to a bus stop serving campus within 0.25 miles of their home.

CSU has dedicated two properties in Fort Collins for the construction of starter housing to encourage employees to live closer and reduce their commuting costs while the cost of living in Fort Collins continues to rise.

https://www.coloradoan.com/story/money/2018/05/03/fort-collins-colorado-state-university-timberline-church-plan-swap-affordable-housing/559150002/

https://www.coloradoan.com/story/money/business/2017/11/29/heres-what-fort-collins-residents-want-hughes-stadium-become/903391001/


Does the institution employ other strategies to reduce the impact of commuting (e.g. preferred parking for fuel-efficient vehicles, cash-out of parking programs)?:
Yes

A brief description of other strategies to reduce the impact of commuting:

CSU has an educational bike shop on campus where students, faculty, and staff can learn about bicycle repair and maintenance for free, departmental bike-shares, preferred parking for fuel-efficient vehicles, free EV charging, student ambassadors who teach bicycle safety, and a number of other direct outreach programs provided by CSU's dedicated Alternative Transportation Manager, that include:

- Bike to Work Day – a biannual event to encourage people to bicycle for transportation, experience the benefits of riding a bike, highlight Fort Collins’ extensive bike routes, and demonstrate that bicycling is an easy, fun and healthy means of traveling around the city
- Bike to Breakfast – three days in September to encourage riding to work
- Back on the Bike – designed to get more people in active transportation and physical activity
- National Bike Challenge – an online logging center for users to record miles ridden and compete with other riders all over the country. But the National Bike Challenge is so much more than that. It is a community of people who all share a love of riding bikes
- Get Back on the Bike Program – 8 month program supporting employees seeking to start riding their bicycle to work. Participants receive on-bike skills training, monthly lunch and learns, and gear in return for riding their bicycle to work throughout the program.
- Community Rides – Lunchtime bicycle rides for employees and the community. The group rides include bike skills, lunch, and a tour of a location near campus.
- CSU Moves – This online curriculum provides online training to first year students about the bicycle culture of the university. CSU received a grant to develop the curriculum. http://csumoves.colostate.edu

Each of these campaigns contribute towards decreasing single occupancy vehicle trips to campus and increasing the bicycle friendly culture of CSU.


The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
---

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.