Fall 2015: Green Fee bikes now available at Gorsuch Commons
by Michelle Saport |
The Green Fee Board is excited to announce the launch of a new collaboration with University Housing, Dining and Conference Services to expand the Green and Gold Bike Share program to students living in the UAA residence halls. As part of the pilot, ten bikes will now be available to be checked out at the Gorsuch Commons front desk beginning Sept. 1. Current UAA students can rent a bike for up to one month.
"This is a great opportunity to be more sustainable," said Demry Mebane, UAA ombudsman and a resident of MAC 6. "Why drive to class when you can ride a bike for free?"
The Green and Gold Bike Share was one of the first project proposals supported by the UAA student Green Fee grants. Bikes were unveiled during Sustainability Week 2014 in hopes of encouraging a more eco-friendly and green campus. About forty bicycles have been in service across campus since then. Prior to the On-Camus Living partnership, bikes were only available to rent at the UAA/APU Consortium Library. All bikes are the same style: yellow single-speed cruisers manufactured by Torker.
There certainly is demand for intra-campus transportation and making the Bike Share easier for students to use is just the first step toward meeting that need. "Ultimately, the goal is to get more UAA students using the bike share. We hope the pilot will work well and that housing will be able to host more bikes next year," said Stacey Lucason, chair of the Green Fee Board.
Over the next year, the Green Fee Board hopes to centralize administration of the Green and Gold Bike Share within the Student Union to improve access for the campus community. The board also plans to install new bike racks across campus to facilitate easier checkout and return.
If you are interested in checking out a bike, simply bring your UAA WolfCard and a helmet to the Gorsuch Commons. The Green & Gold Bike Share program is currently scheduled to operate from May to the end of September each year.
For more information on the Green & Gold Bike Share, visit uaa.alaska.edu/greenfee.
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