Team 4 - Biking Devils

A re-imagined Duke bike-share program

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Problem Statement:

Transportation now accounts for over one-third of all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in North Carolina, the biggest percent of emissions per sector (NC Department of Environmental Quality, 2018). This high rate can be attributed to the US South's lack of transportation options compared to other regions, particularly cities in the North that were planned before the introduction of the car. There are few widely used biking lanes and routes on Duke’s campus and in Durham, perpetuating this car-centric planning and culture: biking is unsafe without these measures, but without demand for biking, these projects continue to not be built. How can we feasibly change the culture towards biking at Duke and in Durham, and how might this be able to be replicated in other college communities that lack biking infrastructure? (It should be noted that this proposal does not aim to completely replace other modes of transportation, such as cars and buses, but instead hopes to add another option for students, potentially freeing up demands of traffic, parking, and buses.)

Proposed Solution:

We propose piloting a bike share program on Duke’s campus, which may later be more widely implemented throughout the Durham community through partnership between Duke and Durham. Bike shares are a relatively easy and affordable way to provide more accessible green transportation to Duke’s student population. The increased demand and use of bikes on Duke’s campus will encourage the building and maintenance of bike-friendly infrastructure, such as protected bike lanes, and will be supplemented by an awareness campaign to connect bike shares with existing bike and green transportation programs in the Durham community.

Key Benefits:

In addition to reducing GHG emissions from cars and rideshare programs, the Duke community would directly benefit from this program. Health: In the Covid-19 pandemic environment, alternatives such as rideshares and buses can get crowded and lack good airflow, which are known to foster spread of disease (Center for Disease Control, 2021). Biking, in comparison, allows for a faster commute because bike riders do not have to stop along routes, and are supplemented with fresh air. Studies show that time spent out in nature additionally has added benefits to physical and mental health (Sellhub and Logan, 2012): incentivizing bike ridership could certainly be an easy way for the Duke community to expand time outside. Connection with Durham: Biking provides another option for Duke students to access Durham more easily. By getting students out of Duke’s campus into nearby Durham, and partnering with local businesses, this would strengthen connections with the Durham community and provide economic benefits to local businesses. Activity: Biking can serve as a great social opportunity and new hobby for students! The introduction of a low-cost biking program, with additional advertising, might foster a culture that enjoys and values outdoor activity, connecting students with the natural environment.

Awareness Campaign:

Duke and Durham have many biking and public transportation options that have never been publicized. The GoPass is underused by most students, even though it provides free bus transportation into Durham, Raleigh, and the general Research Triangle Park area. The lack of awareness and immediate dependence on expensive Ubers and Lyfts has become the default for most students, whether that is to Target or a restaurant two and a half miles away in downtown Durham. Students use pricey Spin scooters for entertainment or to get to class when they have some time, but the unavailability of free bikes erases even impromptu group bike rides as an option for students to consider.

The History of the Failed Duke Bike-Share:

Duke received bronze recognition as a ‘Bicycle Friendly University’ from the League of American Cyclists in 2012. In August 2013, Duke disbanded their Bike Loan program, ​​not due to lack of student interest, but due to “expense, inaccessibility and difficulty in managing the program.” The 65 loaner bikes had been hosted in the basement of the old West Union (Spears, 2013). However, Duke Student Government quickly rebounded by introducing a bike share program as a partnership with Zagster. Zagster is a bike sharing company that often partners with universities, and under this new initiative students could get free access to bikes in four centrally located racks on campus (Roth, 2014). In 2015, Duke reported that the Zagster bike-sharing program had resulted in around 2000 rides and 200 active users (Roth, 2015). Then in 2017, the DSG Senate voted to discontinue funding for the bike-share, effectively ending the program. For three years, DSG had been working with Parking and Transportation Services to subsidize the Zagster partnership, with DSG contributing $5k and PTS contributing $30k. Advocates of extending funding cited that the Zagster program had more than 1000 active users and 7000 total rides since 2014. The senator for social culture at the time rebuked these statistics, saying that there was no data concerning individual users and anecdotal evidence disputed the reported 1000 active users number (Gayed, 2017). Since then, no bike-share program has been reintroduced to campus.

Map:

The following 10 locations are recommended locations for Biking Devils bike share stations:

Station 1: This station would be close to East Campus and the already existing Gilbert-Addoms Westbound C1 bus stop. It would be separated from the main East Campus Quad bus stop, therefore reducing bus stop crowding during peak hours.

Station 2: This station would be next to the intersection of Perry and Broad St., as it is a popular route for students going from East Campus to 9th St. It is across the street from Whole Foods, where students from both campuses tend to buy groceries and pick up Amazon packages.

Station 3: 8 Alley is just steps from the center of 9th St, while still being located away from the busy main road so that cyclists won’t interfere with the traffic. 9th street is narrow and generally unsafe because it’s narrow and cars pull in and out all the time.

Station 4: A 300 Swift station would give students living here an alternative source of transportation to their dorms.

Station 5: A station on Flowers Drive, near Allen Building, would bring students closest to the West campus Chapel. It is also a quiet spot in front of Duke Gardens, and was selected to be away from the main bus stop in order to not crowd Chapel Drive.

Station 6: The towerview side of hollows was selected because it would afford students living there to get to class on science drive and Right next to a road with a bike lane

Station 7: A bike station in front of Ambler Tennis Stadium would be a convenient spot for students going to Wilson Recreation Center and other sports facilities. The road right next to it also has an existing bike lane.

Station 8: Placing a bike lane near the bryan center parking garage would give people a place to park their bikes near Gross Hall, Biological Sciences, and the Bryan Center.

Station 9: Also, placing a bike bank behind Rubenstein hall would be close to the wellness center and the broadhead center. There’s already a bike rack and bike repair station in this location.

Station 10: Students use the Ruby for dance and VMS classes regularly. Providing a stop at the Ruby and the Nasher could potentially increase turnout at student events and reduce crowding on the C1. Also, there is already a bike rack at the Ruby.

Infrastructure In order to maximize ridership, it is highly recommended to add a bike lane on Campus Drive separated from the actual road. Students often get cut off from the existing lane by the C1 buses, therefore making it unsafe and discourages students from using the bike lane.

Mobile App:

The mobile Biking Devils application would require Duke students to register using their net ID in order to check out a bike. Within the app, a scanner is available to scan the selected bike, as well as a time tracker (limited to one hour) and a bike station locator map.

Partnerships:

The goal of this program is to pilot a centralized bike share network on Duke’s Campus with future plans to expand into the wider Durham community. The first step in this expansion process is to develop partnerships with local businesses frequently visited by Duke students and employees. This includes establishments immediately surrounding Duke’s campus, including shops and businesses on 9th street and on the portion of Main Street immediately adjacent to East Campus. These businesses could host bike banks, which would benefit both patrons and businesses. Another opportunity to engage with local businesses is through sponsorship deals. Local businesses could pay to have their logo placed on the side of the bikes in the bikeshare fleet, offering prime advertising to one of the largest consumer markets in Durham. This sponsorship program could also help to offset some of the cost associated with implementing and maintaining the program.

Further Extension:

To create a suitable environment for long-term sustainability, Duke should create a bike-share program extending throughout Durham (downtown & Southpoint) that encourages more bicycling city-wide. Currently, dedicated bike lanes are rare and disconnected, mostly interspersed with sidewalks that only exist on one side of the street, making biking an inefficient and inconvenient mode of transportation. Students and Durhamites should be able to go to Target or downtown without having to Uber or drive given the relatively close proximity to suburban areas and campus. As shown in the Durham Bike & Hike map above, there is a clear lack of integrated bike routes (blue) that students can use within and outside of Duke boundaries.

Campus Drive should have wide, protected bike lanes that encourage East-West bike commutes, especially due to overcrowding on the C1 and the high bikeability between the two campuses. Additionally, students will be surveyed for which locations they would like bike banks to be.

Duke also does not currently have an official university architect, which has created a lack of proactive measures to encourage walkability and bikeability across the two campuses. We propose the hiring of a new university architect who can identify weaknesses and advocate in the short and long term for more sustainable campus-planning initiatives.

Works Cited

Gayed, Matthew. “DSG discontinues funding Zagster, debates alcohol amnesty policy in Wednesday meeting,” (January 19, 2017). The Duke Chronicle. https://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2013/11/dsg-prepares-reintroduce-bike-sharing-program.

“How Covid-19 Spreads,” (July 14, 2021). Center for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/how-covid-spreads.html

“Quick Facts 2005-2018.” North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality. https://deq.nc.gov/media/27044/download?attachment

Selhub, E.M. & Logan, A.C. (2012). Vis medicatrix naturae: the healing power of nature and ecotherapy. https://bpsmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1751-0759-6-11 Spears, Patricia. “DSG prepares to reintroduce bike sharing program,” (November 13, 2013). The Duke Chronicle. https://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2013/11/dsg-prepares-reintroduce-bike-sharing-progr am

Roth, Bryan. “Bike-share program comes to Duke,” (September 14, 2014). Duke Today. https://today.duke.edu/2014/09/zagster

Roth, Bryan. “Bike-share program rolls to 2000 rides,” (March 10, 2015). Duke Today.
https://today.duke.edu/2015/03/zagsterupdate

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