University of Illinois Springfield named Bronze Bicycle Friendly University

The University of Illinois Springfield has been awarded the Bronze Bicycle Friendly University award by the League of American Bicyclists, joining more than 160 visionary colleges and universities across the country with this distinction.

The Bicycle Friendly University program recognizes institutions of higher education for promoting and providing a more bikeable campus for students, staff and visitors.

Over the past year, the UIS Bicycle Advisory Committee has developed relationships with the Springfield community to improve bicycling resources for students, faculty and staff. UIS encourages bicycling as an easy option for transportation and provides incentives such as the free STAR Bike Share program for students.

“We have accomplished quite a bit in our first year as a committee,” said Nancy Barrett, UIS Bicycle Advisory Committee secretary and assessment and accreditation coordinator for the College of Education. “We have sponsored organized rides and participated in health and safety fairs on campus.”

“The UIS Bicycle Advisory Committee is working with the Springfield Bicycle Club and other local partners to make our city more bicycle-friendly,” said Committee Chair, Megan Styles, assistant professor of Environmental Studies. “This will allow us to provide our students with better access to bicycles, better bicycle-related programming, and better infrastructure.”

Moving forward, UIS will have access to a variety of free tools and technical assistance from the League to become even more bicycle-friendly. The committee’s three goals for the coming year include connecting with local businesses to increase bicycle availability on campus, setting up a bicycle repair station on campus and expanding the number of free bicycles available to students through a relationship with the Midwest Mission Distribution Center’s bicycle repair program.