24 May 2011 l International Parking Institute

BOISE STATEUNIVERSITY’S

BIKE FARM: A CREATIVE WAYOF ACCOMMODATING BICYCLES

ON CAMPUS

JC Porter

Bike Barn in Boise State University’s Brady Garage Prior to Grand Opening

HOME TO APPROXIMATELY

20,000 STUDENTS, Boise State

University is a metropolitan

campus located in the heart of the

state capital of Idaho. The campus’140-acre urban

footprint continues to evolve and change to meet

the needs on an ever-growing student population.

Bound by the river to the north and major road-

ways in the other three directions, access to

campus can be hampered by limited available

parking. At Boise State, automobiles directly

compete for space with the need for academic

centers. As the campus grows, surface parking

lots will slowly be replaced with multi-story

parking garages that offer additional parking in

the same physical footprint. The plan for future

parking garages will mirror the mixed-use

parking/office design of the existing Lincoln

Garage. The garages help to ease some parking

issues but are not viewed as the sole solution to

expected future parking problems. The 1997

Campus Master Plan and recent updates high-

light a need to enhance safety for cyclists and

pedestrians. Improvements to Campus Lane,

University Drive — the main roadway through

campus — and the cross-campus bicycle and

pedestrian routes will help to reduce modal conflict.

It is recognized that each regular cyclist and transit

user decreases the number of structured parking

spaces that need to be built, thereby representing

substantial savings to the university. In sum,

accommodating bicycling and pedestrians is

increasingly important to Boise State University

as it is to most other universities and colleges.

So, what specific steps has Boise State

University taken to accommodate current bicycle

usage and plan for the future? At the strategic

level, the need for a comprehensive bicycle

master plan is a given and Boise State has been

investing in such a plan. In addition to having a

good strategy to support bicycling, there are

creative tactics that can be pursued that support

the bigger picture of making bicycling more

attractive and safer. Let’s look at three specific

projects — the Bike Barn, Bike Corral and Bike

Pen — that comprise what is affectionately

becoming known as the Boise State Bike Farm.

The Boise State Bike Farm consists of three

programs to increase ridership on campus. The

Bike Barn is a secured parking area installed

inside an auto parking garage; the Bike Corral

is a valet parking program for on-campus

events; and Bike Pens are on-street bike parking

areas made to increase bike parking and

enhance pedestrian safety.

the parking professional l www.parking.org/tpp l May 2011 25

Boise State University Student Kat Noss and the Bike CorralVISIT US AT BOOTH 107

Bike Barn

The Bike Barn is a fenced-in facility installed

inside one of the university’s two parking

garages. Its purpose is to provide long-term,

secure bike storage for the campus community.

To make room for the facility, underutilized car

parking spaces underneath one of the garage’s

ramps were converted to accommodate bike

parking. Vertical mounted bike racks were

installed inside the fenced in area. Access to the

facility is provided via key card access. In an

area that used to accommodate four car parking

spaces, 65 bicycles can now be parked and there

is room to push the number to more than 100.

This area not only secures the bikes from theft

and vandalism, but offers protection against

inclement weather. The Bike Barn can be

accessed only by those who have purchased a

$15/semester permit. Users enter by touching

their student ID card to the card reader on the

door and security cameras monitor the area at all

times. Riders can choose from floor-mounted

inverted-U racks or wall mounted hanging

racks. The fencing and card reader cost $5,300

and the bike racks cost $7,400 for a total initial

investment of $12,700, or roughly $195 per bike

parking space.

Initial reaction to the Bike Barn has been

positive. After opening in the fall of 2010, about

half the available space has been sold. And the pop-

ularity of the facility is great enough that a second

Bike Barn will be added to the university’s second

parking structure in August of 2011 when that

garage doubles in size. To create additional incen-

tives to use the facility, the Transportation Depart-

ment provides up to five daily scratch-off coupons

per semester to Bike Barn permit holders. This

helps accommodate bicyclists on days where they

may have an appointment not easily accessed on

bike or when the weather makes for unsafe cycling.

Bike Corral

The second member of the Bike Farm is the

Bike Corral. Inspiration for the Bike Corral

came from a staff member who was also a

triathlete. While many variations of the sport

exist, triathlon, in its most popular form,

involves swimming, cycling and running in

immediate succession over various distances.

Competitors need a place to pick up and store

their bicycles that is easy to negotiate so as to

not waste valuable time transitioning from one

sport to another during a race.

Adapted for the campus environment, the

Bike Corral is essentially a valet bicycle parking

facility used during major special events held

on campus. The parking area is staffed at all

times and when cyclists enter the Corral, they

are given tickets with a unique number on it.

Another ticket with a corresponding number is

attached to the bike. Bikes are then placed on

collapsible triathlon-style racks and retrieved

when the riders return with their tickets. The

service is free, but donations are accepted. At

Boise State, student organizations provide

volunteer valet in exchange for whatever dona-

tions that are generated by users. The special

bike racks were built in-house for $350 and

can accommodate about 200 bikes, or $1.75

per bike. The Corrals were unveiled during the

Boise State vs. Oregon State football game in

the fall of 2010 and accommodated more than

300 bicycles. The Corrals were deployed three

more times during that football season.

It is critical to find the right location for valet

bike parking facilities. Parking areas must be

along major existing bicycle routes, they must

be clearly marked and identifiable and valet

parking staff must be present at all times,

26 May 2011 l International Parking Institute

Boise State Named One of 20 Bicycle-Friendly Universities

Boise State is among the first honorees in the League of American Bicyclists’ new BicycleFriendly Universities program. Announced at the League’s National Bike Summit inWashington D.C., the new awards program recognizes colleges and universities thatcreate exceptional environments where bicycling can thrive and provide a roadmap andtechnical assistance to create great campuses for bicycling.Universities received awards in platinum, gold, silver and bronze categories. Stanford

University took the only platinum-level award, with UC Davis and UC Santa Barbara takinggold. There also were nine silver winners and eight bronze, including Boise State, Cornell, Emory, Indiana University, Michigan State, UC Los Angeles, University of MarylandCollege Park and University of North Carolina Greensboro. Ten universities receivedhonorable mentions.“Universities have long served as incubators for developing bike-friendly cultures

and practices, and that has a big impact on the expectations that students bring to theworkplace and beyond,” said Bill Nesper, director of the League’s Bicycle FriendlyAmerica Program. “With the launch of the Bicycle Friendly Universities program, we’reable to highlight the crucial role that academic institutions play in shaping a more bike-friendly future.”

Among Boise State’s winning bike-friendly attributes are:• More than 1,000 official spaces to park bikes on campus and an online map for users.• A new Bike Barn in the Brady Parking Garage (another is planned for the Lincoln.Annex) with the capacity to store 65 bikes on special racks in a gated, weather-protected area.

• Bike Barn in the Kinesiology Annex with the capacity to store 50 bikes.• Bike Corral that encourages football fans to ride to Bronco Stadium and take advantage ofvalet and security services.

• Free compressed air station.• Cycle Learning Center resources ranging from workshops on basic mechanics toproducts such as tubes and slime.

• Showers, lockers and towels available post-ride in the Campus Recreation Center• Annual Community Bicycle Congress.

Boise State’s Community Bicycle Congress founder George Knight, who teaches inthe Department of Philosophy and commutes by bike, played a lead role in puttingtogether Boise State’s application for the Bicycle Friendly Universities program, alongwith Geoff Harrison in Campus Recreation and JC Porter, John Daurer and CaseyJones in the Transportation Department. Porter chairs a newly formed Bicycle AdvisoryCommittee helping the university implement its Bicycle/Pedestrian Safety Master Plan,adopted in 2010.The League of American Bicyclists (www. bikeleague.org) promotes bicycling for fun,

fitness and transportation, and works through advocacy and education for a bicycle-friendly America. The League represents the interests of America’s 57 million bicyclists,including its 300,000 members and affiliates.

helpful and efficient. Based on the popularity

of the program, Boise State plans to offer the

Bike Corral at all home games for the 2011

football season.

Like most college campuses, Boise State

offers short-term bicycle parking in many

areas of campus. Presently the campus

standard is the inverted U type rack. But Boise

State is also experimenting with other types of

short-term bicycle parking facilities including

the recently introduced Bike Pen.

Bike Pen

Bike Pens are three-sided bike racks that are

placed in the right of way of streets and against

the curb of those streets. Cyclists enter from the

open side of the Pen from the sidewalk thus

remaining protected against vehicular traffic.

The Bike Pen is a good option for areas without

adequate space to accommodate bicycle parking

on sidewalks or otherwise physically constrained

areas. And on the Boise State campus the Bike

Pens offer another important benefit.

There is considerable on-street parking on the

major roadway that bisects the university. There

are also many pedestrian crossings on that same

road and it is often difficult for pedestrians to see

around parked cars while entering a marked

crosswalk. When installed on the vehicular approach

to a crosswalk, the Bike Pen can improve

pedestrian sight lines and improve crosswalk

safety. Rather than venture into the street to see

around a parked car, pedestrians can see over the

Bike Pen from the sidewalk. One pen currently

accommodates 16 bicycles at a cost of $2,260 or

about $142 per bike. They are also custom made

locally and were installed in downtown Boise

prior to being introduced on campus.

Conclusion

Boise State University’s goal is to increase the

share of total trips to and from campus by bicycle.

Not only does this support the university’s

environmental objectives, but it provides for the

opportunity to save valuable resources in deferring

the construction of parking facilities and

perhaps reduce the overall demand for parking on

campus. What’s more, there is increasing demand

for bicycling and therefore more need for addi-

tional solutions to accommodating bicyclists.

Boise State has shown a willingness to approach

the challenge of encouraging the use of bicycles

on campus by applying creativity and seeking out

best practices elsewhere. The Boise State Bike

Farm is proof positive that creative solutions

don’t necessarily have to break the bank either. n

JC Porter is the assistant director for transportation

at Boise State University and a CAPP candidate.

He can be reached at jcporter@boisestate.edu

or 208.426.7275.

the parking professional l www.parking.org/tpp l May 2011 27

Bike Corral in downtown Boise