Campus Cycling Plan

Purpose

This Campus Cycling Plan is a key outcome of the UVic Campus Plan, which was completed in 2016. For more information on the Campus Plan, visit the Campus Plan webpage. 

Through the Campus Plan process, several concerns regarding cycling were identified. These have been grouped into the following four broad areas of improvement:

• Cycling connections leading to and from the campus core;
• Ring Road (cycling infrastructure and safety);
• End-of-trip facilities (bike parking facilities, change rooms, storage lockers, etc.); and
• Cycling and pedestrian congestion and interaction points.

The Campus Cycling Plan was initiated to address concerns and identify key policies and network improvements that would enhance the functionality and safety of cycling on campus. 

This plan outlines a 10-year strategy for improving cycling on the UVic campus and reaching this target through key policy and network improvements

Objectives

• A key objective of this plan is to increase the cycling mode share from 7.7% of all trips in 2016 to 10% of all trips in the future.

The Campus Cycling Plan was developed based on extensive input from students, faculty, staff and visitors to the campus. The planning process was launched in the fall of 2017 and was developed in three phases:

Phase 1 – Consult and Idea Generation

• Involved initial engagement activities, an online survey, establishing advisory committees and stakeholder groups, and collecting and reviewing background data.

Phase 2 – Plan Development

• Involved ongoing engagement and meetings with advisory committees and stakeholder groups, a review of initial findings, developing bicycle network improvement options, and establishing policy options and recommendations.

Phase 3 – Finalizing Campus Cycling Plan

• Involved preparing the draft plan and implementation strategy,
  conducting final meetings and engagement events, and preparing the final plan.

Based on input from the campus community, five bicycle planning principles were developed to guide Plan:

1. Create a campus where students, staff, faculty, and visitors can safely ride their bicycles no matter where they are headed on campus
2. Create a bicycle-friendly campus that will help achieve the transportation goals set out in the Campus Plan and the Sustainability Action Plan - working towards increasing the use of transit, cycling, walking, and carpooling to 70% of all trips to campus by increasing the cycling mode share to 10%
3. Work towards the development of an All Ages and Abilities (AAA) cycling network by creating new and enhanced cycling infrastructure on campus, including bicycle connections, bicycle parking, and end-of-trip facilities
4. Plan cycling network and facility improvements in a way that supports a balanced and connected multi-modal transportation system
5. Improve levels of safety and comfort for pedestrians and cyclists on shared pathways across campus

Based on the five bicycle planning principles, four key strategies were identified to guide the implementation of the plan’s policy recommendations and cycling network improvements. These four strategies represent key considerations for the implementation of the plan, including:

Phase 1

• Launched in fall 2017 and was designed to build awareness and interest for the Campus Cycling Plan, as well as to better understand current travel patterns, bicycle use, and challenges and opportunities for cycling.
• Through the first round of engagement, there were approximately 2,000 interactions with members of the campus community through campus engagement activities and an online survey
• With the findings from Phase 1, the project team developed concepts to improve the safety and connectivity of the cycling network. Feedback was also used to identify locations with high demand for improved end-of-trip facilities.

Phase 2

• Took place in the winter of 2018 and was designed to obtain input on preliminary content for the Campus Cycling Plan.
• Focused on gathering feedback on proposed bicycle network improvements, campus cycling policies, and end-of-trip facility recommendations.
• The second round of engagement saw interactions with approximately 1,200 members of the campus community
• The feedback collected was used to refine cycling network improvements, campus cycling policies, and approaches for improving end-of-trip facilities.

Phase 3

• The third phase of the engagement process took place on October 10, 2018.
• The draft Campus Cycling Plan was presented in an open house format in the University Centre lobby and feedback was collected on the four key strategies provided in the plan
• The public open house attracted approximately 100 attendees representing UVic students, staff and faculty.
• The plan was also available on the UVic Campus Planning website during October 2018 to encourage feedback from the greater campus and neighbouring communities.
• Stakeholder meetings were also held with the Internal and Technical Advisory Teams, as well as the Campus Planning Committee and Cycling Advisory Committee to confirm final plan directions
• This round of engagement provided comprehensive feedback on the plan, which allowed the project team to refine policies and concepts for the final
  plan’s adoption

UVic's Community Engagement Framework report provides for a consistent methodology to be used to determine the overall approach to an engagement program for campus land use planning and development plans and projects. For more information visit the Community engagement framework page.

An engagement approach, primarily in the 'involve' category has been determined for this plan based on its scale, potential and future improvements to the transportation network, nature relative to the criteria listed and its review of the likely improvements.