Bicycle Friendly University

Stanford University| Platinum Level

University Highlights: Bicycling is ideally suited to Stanford's mild climate, flat terrain and gentle, rolling hills. It's also an antidote to the South Bay's growing traffic congestion, noise and air pollution. Bicycling is also gaining more momentum as it is the “greenest way” to get around. Stanford’s award winning Transportation Demand Management program is committed to promoting and supporting bicycling as an important alternative transportation option. In 2002, the Parking & Transportation Services Department launched the Commute Club and other incentives designed to get people out of their cars and reward them for commuting to Stanford by carpool, vanpool, bicycle, foot, or public transit. Close to 8,000 members of the Commute Club are rewarded with Clean Air Cash and incentives for not driving.

Stanford’s extensive investment in bike infrastructure over the past 10 years and adoption of campus facility guidelines to specifically address bikes has resulted in a solid foundation of well-designed bike facilities to meet the demand of its ever-growing bicycle population. Its generous inventory of bike rack compounds, bike lockers, clothing lockers and showers are reviewed and evaluated annually to assure the needs of cyclists on campus are met. In addition, programs and resources have been developed and tailored to meet the needs of riders on all levels - from new students to first-time commuters.

The University’s comprehensive bicycle safety education, promotion and enforcement is focused on motivating bicyclists to be responsible and respectful riders, understand the importance of following the rules of the road and to wear bike helmets for every ride.

Most Compelling Recent Bike Related Accomplishment:
There is plenty of free bicycle parking on campus - an estimated 13,000 bike rack spaces. Still, Stanford added over 800 new bike racks and 87 new covered and secure bike lockers in 4 different locations on campus to meet increasing demand. The university also installed 2 new DERO self-serve bike repair stands on the campus to provide 24/7 access to tools and air pumps - with funding to install 10-15 more at strategic locations.

Most Compelling Fact: The 2010 spring bike count indicates that there are over 13,000 bicyclists on campus on a daily basis. The percentage of university employees, off-campus students, and postdocs who are bicycle commuting is over 22 percent.