Portland State has been named a Platinum-level Bicycle Friendly University by the League of American Bicyclists, making it one of five universities in the United States with this ranking.
According to a Nov. 5 press release from PSU’s Office of University Communications, PSU’s emphasis on creating a bike-friendly campus has reduced congestion, improved air quality and lowered the demand for parking on campus.
“Portland State encourages bicycling as an affordable, efficient option for transportation and provides amenities such as indoor bicycle parking, low-cost bicycle rentals and an on-campus Bike Hub, where students can find everything they need to make bicycling a part of their commute options,” the league stated in the press release.
PSU encourages bike commuting in several ways, including its Vik Bike bicycle rental program—which has expanded its inventory in the past two years from 12 to 134 rentable bikes. Bike rentals include a lock and helmet, and provide access to bike commuter and maintenance resources for the Bike Hub.
The university has also increased its protected bike parking in the past two years to 300 spaces.
Ian Stude, PSU’s director of parking services, said in the press release that the university has about 2,200 indoor and outdoor bike parking spaces on campus, a six-fold increase over the last decade.
The additional bike spaces make for a 20-percent increase in bike parking over the past two years.
Meanwhile, the growth of car parking spaces on campus has remained relatively flat, Stude added.
Clint Culpepper, PSU’s bicycle program coordinator, said in the press release that 15 percent of employees and 10 percent of students regularly bike to campus.
He added that most never bring a car to campus. About 80 percent of PSU students and employees commute by taking mass transit, bicycling or walking, Culpepper said.
PSU shares its platinum-ranking status with Stanford University, University of California Davis, Colorado State University and University of Minnesota Twin Cities.
For more information on PSU’s Bike Hub, visit pdx.edu/bikehub.
