The Martlet

UVic is getting ready to roll out its long awaited Bike Kitchen, attempting to make biking a more attractive option for staff and students travelling to campus — starting this March.

“It will be like a self-service repair shop,” said UVic’s Sustainability Co-ordinator Rita Fromholt. “It’s a way to promote cycling on campus and make it more user-friendly.”

The facility, which will be located outside Cinacenta where the covered bike racks are now, will include air hoses, manual air pumps, clamps and stands for tool boxes. The air hoses have already been installed and toolboxes will be available free of charge at SUBtext, though students will have to leave their student card when borrowing the tools. SUBtext will have replacement parts for sale.

Fromholt says that there has also been interest in using the kitchen to teach bike repair.

The Bicycle Kitchen is part broader plan to help make the university more sustainable. According to the university’s 2008 traffic audit, about 4,000 bike trips are made to campus on an average weekday. This represents just seven per cent of the total trips made to campus by commuters. About 37 per cent still make their way to campus in single occupancy vehicles, while 31 per cent use public transit, 13 per cent carpool, 11 per cent walk and 0.3 per cent skateboard or rollerblade.

“UVic has a large effect on local traffic so whatever we do is going to have an effect on traffic throughout the area,” said John Holland, chair of the Bicycle User Committee. “With all the bike lockers, bike racks and showers, UVic has been fairly supportive of cyclists.”

The Bike Kitchen is expected to cost $17,500 and will be paid for out of UVic’s capital projects budget.

To further support cyclists, UVic is also looking at expanding the bike locker system, providing more sheltered bike racks, making shower facilities available in all buildings and partnering with local bike shops to provide interest-free loans for people cycling to campus to buy new bikes.

“We’re trying to get people out of their cars,” said Fromholt. “This sends a message that we’re willing to support cyclists through infrastructure which is very important.”