University Park Alliance and UA tell residents and students to ‘Take a bike’
Symbols indicating shared bicycle-vehicle roadways, referred to as "sharrows," freshly label streets in Akron's University Park neighborhood. Soon, additional streets will be striped with bicycle lanes and still others, designated as bicycle boulevards. The bicycle-friendly streets, along with newly installed bike racks and corrals, bike route signage, educational programs on bike safety and new bicycles for neighborhood home buyers and elementary school children hint to a bicycle movement under way in this reawakening Akron neighborhood. University Park Alliance recently began a "Bicycling for Health and Wealth" campaign to complement its revitalization efforts in University Park, the 50-block area surrounding The University of Akron campus.
"What makes this initiative different and new is that it's the first effort in the city focused on promoting the bicycle as a mode of transportation rather than simply a source of recreation," says Ken Stapleton, executive director of the University Park Alliance and, senior economic development adviser to UA President Luis Proenza. "Designing thoroughfares that are more bicycle friendly creates a stronger sense of community in University Park. It quiets traffic, improves neighborhood air quality, helps to create street life and gives neighbors more chances to get to know one another. It also supports the vision of transforming University Park into a healthy, vibrant and unique neighborhood of choice for homebuyers, businesses and other investors."
A bicycle-friendly neighborhood
With funding provided by the JP Morgan Chase Foundation and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, UPA is promoting and accommodating bicycle use in the neighborhood. In May, for instance, UPA provided Mason and Leggett elementary schools with 52 bicycles as an incentive to improve student attendance and academic performance. A $15,000 matching investment from the City of Akron enabled UPA to make University Park the first neighborhood in the city to provide bicycle-friendly amenities such as designated bike routes and additional bike racks. UPA also focused on biking at its May awards luncheon where it gave away a bicycle and more than 500 free bike-and-ride coupons for the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad "Bike Aboard" program.
"University Park Alliance is actively encouraging and educating University Park residents and students venturing off campus about bicycling and is investing resources toward that end, " Stapleton says.
Bicycling on campus
UA has complemented UPA's efforts by making biking on and around campus more user-friendly, according to Laurie Madden, associate vice president, UA auxiliary enterprises. Madden says that the university has installed signage that defines bike paths across the campus and a covered bike hub at the west campus parking deck. She adds that, in addition to the university's existing bike racks, several new racks have been installed on campus and all 12 campus shuttle buses are equipped with bike racks.
"Our objective is to create a campus conducive to bicyclists while ensuring student safety," says Madden, noting that UA has already sent bicycling safety tips to students. For information about the UA biking initiative visit www.uakron.edu/parking.
Both University Park Alliance and UA have been active organizers of the first annual Akron Bike Week scheduled for Aug. 22-30. Many of the week's events will take place in University Park and on campus. UPA has organized a bicycle scavenger hunt on Aug. 24 and Bike Movie Night, sponsored by Summa Foundation, on Aug. 25 at Gardner Theater in the UA Student Union. UA has selected Aug. 28 as Bike to Campus Day and its cycling club is organizing special rides on Aug. 27 and 30. For more information about these and other Akron Bike Week events, visit www.akronbikeinfo.org.
University Park Alliance is a partnership between The University of Akron, the City of Akron, Summa Health System, Akron Beacon Journal, AMHA, Akron Public Schools, the Greater Akron Chamber, and the University Park Development Corporation to help revitalize the University Park neighborhood. Major funding for this effort is provided by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. For more information about UPA, visit www.upakron.com.