Shun the car
UW promotes alternate forms of transportation to campus
Leave the car or minivan at home.
Instead, UW–Madison transportation officials are encouraging faculty, staff and students to walk, bike, bus or car/van pool to campus from Monday through Oct. 2 as part of Try a Different Mode Week, formerly known as Bike to Campus Week.
 Employee Travel Modes – good weather |
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| 1997 | 1982 | |
| Walk | 7.1 | 6.8 |
| Bicycle | 10.6 | 15.4 |
| Drive alone | 52.7 | 42.5 |
| Passenger in car | 8.2 | 7.9 |
| Car/van pool | 11.6 | 13.9 |
| City bus | 6.4 | 8.6 |
| Other | 3.5 | 3.9 |
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Try a Different Mode Week Every day: Bike registration, free bike tune-ups and refreshments from 7 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday: Focus on bicycling, Murray Street Underpass. Grand opening ceremony for underpass is 9 a.m. Tuesday: Focus on mass transit, Vilas Hall near University Square. UW employees and students can ride Madison Metro buses for free in the city. Wednesday: Focus on walking, Engineering Mall. Thursday: Focus on car/van pool, WARF. Videos and information on how to participate in car/van pools. Friday: Focus on all modes, Library Mall. |
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“We are really trying to cut down on the number of employees and students who drive by themselves to campus,” says Renee Callaway, UW- Madison’s bicycle and pedestrian coordinator. “Not everyone can ride a bike, but there are so many other choices.”
Organizers stress that alternate forms of transportation are cheaper than driving, can lead to better physical health and help ease the university’s notorious parking crunch. There are approximately 11,000 campus parking spaces for 17,000 UW employees, students who commute and visitors.
Among university employees, 52.7 percent drove alone to campus during good weather in 1997, about a 10 percent increase over 1982, according to UW Transportation Services. In bad weather, the number of employees driving by themselves to campus rose to 55.6 percent last year, again about a 10 percent increase over 1982 figures.
Kicking off Try a Different Mode Week is a grand opening ceremony Monday for the Murray Street Underpass. City, state and UW officials say the underpass, near the Kohl Center, is an example of public and private cooperation to make Madison and the university more bike- and pedestrian- friendly.
For years, walkers and bikers crossed the Wisconsin and Southern Railroad tracks at Murray Street, a main artery to campus.
“The Murray Street Underpass provides an attractive and safe pedestrian and bicycle access to campus,” says Bruce Braun, assistant vice chancellor for Facilities Planning and Management. “It offers quick access to the Kohl Center and to the future Murray Street Mall outlined in our Campus Master Plan.”
The ceremony begins at 9 a.m. at the underpass, which was completed this summer. Speakers include Braun; Madison Mayor Sue J.M. Bauman; and Michael Rewey, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s District 1 planning manager.
The rest of the week, Transportation Services will highlight the benefits of bicycling, mass transit, walking, and car/van pooling. Incentives include free bike tune-ups each day by Trek Bicycle Store and Williamson Bicycle Works and free beverages from Victor Allen’s Coffee & Tea. A to Z Rentall & Sales will provide a tent, tables and chairs each day, and WMAD (92.1 FM) radio will broadcast live from campus on Monday and Friday.
Bicyclists must register their bikes with the City of Madison or already be registered to receive a free tune-up. Registration costs $8 for four years and will be available on-site.
On Tuesday, UW employees and students can ride Madison Metro buses for free in the city and on campus by showing their university ID cards to drivers. Thursday will feature videos and information on how to participate in car/van pools.
In particular, transportation officials want to educate employees about the university’s Emergency Ride Home pilot program. Eligible UW employees who don’t drive to work are provided rides home through the university’s fleet service or reimbursed for cab rides in emergency situations. And as if all these incentives weren’t enough to persuade UW- Madison employees and students to consider other modes of transportation to campus, here’s another from Callaway: “You get to park at your door if you ride a bike.”