New bike lanes north-bound from Belknap campus: After two years of advocacy and community meetings organized by UofL, Louisville Metro government has just installed new bike lanes on Brook and First streets through Old Louisville, providing Belknap Campus with its first north-bound bike facility and providing improved connectivity with the Health Sciences Center. The lanes run from Cardinal Boulevard to College Street. The city plans to complete the connectivity to HSC, but even now it’s a fairly safe, low-traffic connection from there.
Expanded UofL Bikeshare Program: The Sustainability Council has worked with UofL Housing over the summer to expand its bikeshare program considerably. Nine newly restored bikes (with fenders, baskets and locks) have been added to our campus bikeshare fleet and are available for daily free checkout by any employee or student from the front desks of three residence halls along Fourth Street: Community Park, Kurz Hall and Bettie Johnson Hall. These bikes used to be available for residents only, but now are available to anyone at UofL. They can be of particular help to folks on the northwest side of Belknap Campus who want to get across campus, across town or just to pop over to the new Get Healthy Now Employee Wellness Center to the east of campus.
Suffering from flat tires? The Sustainability Council is stocking pre-glued tube patches at all five of its Bike Fix-It Stations. The stations offer 24-hour access to basic tools and a pump at Bingham Humanities Building, Student Activities Center/Red Barn Plaza, SAC Floyd Street entrance, University Tower Apartments and HSC Kornhauser plaza. For help with repairs, scan the QR code on the Fixit to see detailed instructions, or download the Bike Repair App for iPhone.
Find the facilities. Our interactive UofL Bike Parking Map has been updated to include the three new bike check-out locations and our new bike racks installed over the summer at several Belknap and HSC locations. The map also indicates the Fix-it Station locations. You also can find bike lanes, paths and safer routes throughout Louisville with the Louisville Bike Map (pdf) which now includes a UofL campus inset.
Foremen on two wheels: The Sustainability Council has recently equipped six Physical Plant foremen and two parking officers with work bikes for getting around campus instead of golf carts or other polluting, unhealthy, motorized vehicles.
Health Promoters on three wheels: Over the summer, the Sustainability Council equipped the Office of Health Promotion with an industrial tricycle for health advocates to use in hauling items across campus and raising awareness at campus events.
Notable fall dates:
Aug. 22 ‒ Car-Free Lunch Trip to Gray St. Farmers’ Market
11 a.m. meet up. Cyclists gather in front of the Red Barn. Bus riders bring UofL ID and meet at the TARC Route #18 stop across from the Floyd Street Garage Belknap Bus Station. Bring spending cash/debit card for local food/lunch items. Join UofL’s Sustainability Coordinator at 12:20 p.m. for a short presentation on urban homesteading (School of Public Health Room 103). All attendees receive a reusable UofL Sustainability shopping bag made in the USA of 100 percent recycled materials.
Aug. 28 – Free Bike Tune-ups at UofL Involvement Fair. 11 a.m. ‒ 1 p.m., Red Barn plaza. Stop by the UofL Sustainability table to find out how you can make a difference, take the Cards Go Green! Pledge and grab some green goodies, or get a free bike tune-up.
Aug. 29 – Pedal with the President!
Thursday, Aug. 29, at 7:30 a.m. Cyclist leave from Amelia Place (2515 Longest Ave.). Join President James Ramsey and others for a fun, easy 30-minute ride to campus for Welcome Week. Riders will leave together and then split into two groups—one headed to Belknap Campus and another to the Health Sciences Center. Both routes will be fairly flat and low-traffic. The route to Belknap is mapped out here. The route to HSC is mapped out here. This event is a collaboration between Get Healthy Now, the Sustainability Council and the Office of the President. By cycling to campus, Ramsey seeks to set a powerful example for the community, highlighting his support for a healthy, sustainable lifestyle.
Aug. 30 – Last day to apply for the 2013 Earn-A-Bike Program (for those willing to trade-in parking permits for a $400 bike shop voucher.)