Transportation Proposals for January 2008

From Common Energy UVic

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Contents 1 Goal 1.1 Objectives 1.2 Objective 1: Reduce emissions due to commuting by students, staff, and faculty 1.3 Objective 2 - Reduce the University’s direct and indirect transportation emissions. 1.4 Objective 3 - Increase the use and efficiency of high occupancy vehicles.

[edit] Goal

To become a regional leader in sustainable transportation through policy and internal operations, and influence on the surrounding community.

[edit] Objectives

Objective 1: Reduce emissions due to commuting by students, staff, and faculty.
Objective 2: Reduce the University’s direct and indirect transportation emissions.
Objective 3: Increase the use and efficiency of high occupancy vehicles.

[edit] Objective 1: Reduce emissions due to commuting by students, staff, and faculty

To achieve this objective we need to control the number of people commuting and encourage the use of climate friendly transportation options by those who do. Encouraging commuting via active transportation (e.g., bicycling and walking), while reducing single occupancy vehicle use is part of this. Caps on enrollment and development of a distance education capability to accomodate limited growth without the direct impact of physical enrollment is another part of the strategy.

• Set a physical enrollment cap. This will require changes in the way the provincial government sets education enrollment targets.
• Create and institute a tele-commuting policy, to increase the feasibility of working from home, and not having to commute to work everyday.
• Develop capabilities in distance education. These can be based on other successful programs (e.g., those used at Royal Roads or several US and Canadian universities). The Pacific Rim market is huge and a natural one for UVic given its strength in ESL education.
• Develop a plan to become the first university in North America to eliminate carbon-emitting vehicles from its campus. Steps in this plan will see the gradual phasing out of on-campus parking, fleet conversion (see objective 2 below), a universal transit pass, and improved facilities and access for cyclists, pedestrians, and other users of active transportation.
  • Develop a phased plan with yearly targets incorporating the ideas below and other initiatives
  • Institute higher parking fees for higher emission vehicles and provide incentives for hybrids, electrics, small cars (e.g., favoured parking)
  • Plan and run a regular (e.g., quarterly) university-specific walk/bike to work day
  • Install flexible charging stations for electric bikes and other vehicles
  • Put on regular volunteer-run workshops on safe riding at the university, similar to the one day ones put on twice a year
  • Institute a regular car-free period (e.g., a day or a week) on campus coordinated with free public transport and bike/walk to work incentives.
  • Institute rewards for bicycling or other human-powered commuting.
  • Work directly with the CRD and other municipalities to ensure the CRD's 550kms of cycle routes include arteries to UVic from all major university population hubs.
  • Put on regular volunteer-run workshops on safe riding at the university, similar to the one day ones put on twice a year.
  • Organize regular bike to work guided tours from population hubs

[edit] Objective 2 - Reduce the University’s direct and indirect transportation emissions.

• Convert the institutional transportation fleet to zero GHG-emission vehicles.
  • Create a timeline, with annual targets and a final stead-state emissions target effectively, and for the elimination of institutional barriers to their use.
• Promote and fund video teleconferencing use through a revolving green fund
  • Create and run campaign to raise awareness of air travel impact
  • Travel offsets and unused travel budget placed in revolving green fund
  • Work through the appropriate channels for the installation of more tele- and video-conferencing facilities, for the training of staff and students to use theses facilities *Set target dates for percentage reductions of university air travel.
  • Create a timeline for the long-term reduction of university air travel, with annual or bi-annual percentage reductions.

[edit] Objective 3 - Increase the use and efficiency of high occupancy vehicles.

• Create a university-subsidized program of guaranteed rides home for faculty, students and staff in cases of emergency, if they use public transit.

• Implement a Campus-wide U-Pass by 2010.
  • Engage the faculty and unions now in anticipation of union contract renewal in 2010

• Support and help fund transportation alternatives for staff, faculty and students (e.g. with promotional alternatives, bus-to-work for free days).