| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 60.52 |
| Liaison | Lindsey MacDonald |
| Submission Date | March 1, 2019 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Western Washington University
OP-18: Support for Sustainable Transportation
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
Jillian
Trinkaus Transportation Program Coordinator Office of Sustainability |
Does the institution provide secure bicycle storage (not including office space), shower facilities, and lockers for bicycle commuters?:
A brief description of the facilities for bicycle commuters:
There are 13 bike lockers available to rent through the Sustainable Transportation program. They lock with a key and are completely secure and enclosed. Eight of the bike lockers are adjacent to Carver Gymnasium; the remaining 5 are a short walk (1 minute) from Carver Gym. Faculty, staff and students have access to lockers and showers in Carver Gym. The cost to rent a locker for faculty and staff is $15/quarter or $40/year. Students pay $10/quarter for a locker. Everybody pays $5.00 to purchase a towel which then has unlimited laundry service.
Long-term bike parking/storage is available for Resident students, as provided by University Residences, in storage rooms. Campus Residences also have outdoor bike parking available for students.
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)?:
A brief description of the bicycle parking and storage facilities:
As of Fall 2017, there are a total of 839 bike parking spaces outside academic buildings, 588 (70%) are sheltered from rain and weather, either as built, or installed under a building overhang. Every building on campus, including residence halls, has short-term bike parking adjacent to it.
Some residence halls offer long-term secure bike parking in the form of secure indoor bicycle rooms.
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?:
A brief description of the bicycle and pedestrian plan or policy:
Western's Institutional Master Plan states:
All circulation principles and patterns support the goal of prioritizing modes
of transportation in the following order: 1) pedestrian, 2) bicycles, 3) transit, and 4) vehicles.
The following general principles and patterns relate to
circulation:
• Provide convenient, safe, and accessible access on
campus for students, staff, faculty and visitors.
• Work with the City to ensure that all on-campus
and off-campus circulation plans are complementary
and reinforce circulation connections between
Western and adjacent neighborhoods.
Separate pedestrian, bicycle, and transit circulation
from private and service vehicles where feasible and
appropriate.
• Provide multiple “front doors” to campus.
• Discourage cross campus through-traffic, promote
traffic calming devices, and minimize adverse circulation
effects on neighborhoods.
To promote priority of pedestrian access, the plan
should:
• Locate future academic zones within a 10-minute
walk from central campus to support a pedestrian
oriented campus.
• Increase the number of students, staff, and faculty
who walk to campus.
• Maximize convenient, well-lighted and safe pedestrian
access and circulation on campus; keep pedestrians
separate from bicycles and vehicles whenever
possible.
• Relocate the majority of parking to the periphery of
campus.
• Design pedestrian paths so they are accessible to the
disabled and sufficient to carry required volumes of
pedestrian traffic.
• Support the City’s efforts to provide convenient and
safe pedestrian access to campus.
• Convert High Street to a pedestrian/transit mall
between West Campus Way and Oak Street to improve
pedestrian and transit accessibility and reduce
current conflicts between pedestrians and vehicles.
Limit single occupancy vehicle circulation consistent
with relevant City ordinances and regulations
regarding the use of High Street.
• Maximize a pedestrian campus and minimize the
use of limited campus land for roads.
In accordance with “Recommendation #9” from the
WWU Neighborhood Plan, work with city staff “to
ensure that city pedestrian improvement plans
complement on-campus facilities.”
To promote bicycle commuting and access:
• Improve bicycle security and bicycle facilities on
campus.
• Provide safe, convenient bicycle pathways on campus
separate from pedestrians and vehicles whenever
possible.
• Consider development of continuous north/south
bicycle routes to create safer circulation conditions
on both edge of campus.
• In accordance with “Recommendation #12” from
the WWU Neighborhood Plan, continue to work with
city staff “to ensure that city bicycle improvement
plans complement on-campus facilities.”
Does the institution have a bicycle-sharing program or participate in a local bicycle-sharing program?:
A brief description of the bicycle sharing program:
Does the institution offer free or reduced price transit passes and/or operate a free campus shuttle for commuters?:
A brief description of the mass transit programs:
Student transit passes are embedded in their student ID card. They are provided through a partnership with the Whatcom Transit Authority that is funded by the $26.25 transportation fee required each quarter for students taking 6 credits or more. The WWU quarterly bus pass costs less than any equivalent bus pass sold to the Bellingham public community by the Whatcom Transit Authority. Students taking less than 6 credits can opt-in to pay the fee receive a bus pass. The student transportation fee also funds a late night student shuttle that operates seven days a week. Service begins when the public transportation ends and goes until 3:00 am. Employee bus passes are subsidized by WWU, with the employee paying a discounted rate of $23 per quarter.
More infor: http://www.wwu.edu/transportation/
Does the institution offer a guaranteed return trip program to regular users of alternative modes of transportation?:
A brief description of the guaranteed return trip program:
Through the Smart Trips program, registered Smart Trip makers are eligible for a free ride home - via taxi - in the event of illness, emergency or unexpected overtime.
Does the institution participate in a car/vanpool or ride sharing program and/or offer reduced parking fees or preferential parking for car/vanpoolers?:
A brief description of the carpool/vanpool program:
For staff and faculty, the transportation office has a map and spreadsheet of employee addresses and provides carpool matching services upon request. This service is not provided to students, due to the larger number of students and lack of a reliable student address database. However, students are encouraged to use the Viking Village online student forum which has a topic dedicated to ride sharing.
Carpools are given preferred parking places and pay a reduced fee for a parking permit.
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?:
A brief description of the car sharing program:
Western Washington University has partnered with Zipcar to bring self-service, on-demand car sharing to the area. WWU has three Zipcars available, in three campus locations:
7G parking lot on High Street adjacent to Higginson Hall
15R parking lot on the north side of Ridgeway Commons
12A parking lot adjacent to Fairhaven College
Students 18 and older, Staff and faculty employees, and members of the community are eligible for Zipcar membership. Students and employees receive discounted membership, and a credit for joining. Departmental memberships are available, supporting car share for work-related trips.
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:
Students completed an infrastructure and community assessment, and determined that the University required six (6) Electric Vehicle Charging Stations in order to address the growing demand for non-fossil fuel-powered transportation. The research was presented in the form of a grant proposal, which was approved by a committee that then awarded the funding to purchase and install the charging stations. The six stations are now installed, active, and used on a daily basis by community members at no cost, thus promoting EV use as a means of combating the climate-changing effect of fossil fuels
Does the institution offer a telecommuting program for employees as a matter of policy or as standard practice?:
A brief description of the telecommuting program:
Telecommuting is allowed for FLSA non-exempt employees who have permission approved in writing by their supervisor using the Telework Request Assessment and Telework Agreement forms provided on WWU's Human Resources web page.
Does the institution offer a condensed work week option that reduces employee commuting (as a matter of policy or standard practice)?:
A brief description of the condensed work week option:
The University allows alternative work week schedules for permanent classified and professional staff. Schedules can be condensed into less than 5 days a week as long as they add up to the numbers of hours required by that job appointment and don’t conflict with department requirements.
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:
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)?:
A brief description of other strategies to reduce the impact of commuting:
Western cooperates with the local transportation authority to encourage sustainable ways of commuting for students and employees. Smart trips is a program where one can log their daily commute modes and be entered for a prize drawing each month.
We also provide full information on commute within town and the region by means of public transportation.
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.