Date of Defense
12-17-2011
Date of Graduation
12-2011
Department
Geography
First Advisor
Matthew F. Hollander, Office of Sustainability
Second Advisor
Benjamin Ofori-Amoah, Geography
Keywords
Non-Motorized Transportation
Abstract
Commuter and recreational bicycling brings many benefits to our society, community, and personal wellbeing. Bicycling can reduce traffic, improve personal health, reduce automobile crash rates, is healthier for our environment, and can even stimulate economic growth. Despite the multiple benefits of bicycling, Western Michigan University (WMU) does not have a lively bicycling community or atmosphere.
Bike Friendly America, the leading bike advocacy organization, promotes using enforcement, engineering, education, encouragement, and evaluation to create a truly cohesive bicycling atmosphere. Campuses that excel in these categories can get a coveted Bike Friendly University (BFU) designation in bronze, silver, gold, or platinum. In order to have a bike friendly university we need an interconnected web of bicycling infrastructure in tandem with pathways on our walking campus.
Further discussion focuses on the various changes that can make our campus bike friendly. Examples of infrastructural concern on campus are noted and can be found on figures 1 and 2. These areas contain factors that may cause bike crashes or collisions with pedestrians and should be looked into for future safety improvements. Universities that have received BFU designations are recognized and analyzed to discover their best bicycling practices so that WMU may implement these ideas on our campus as well, (table attached at end of document). Together, these are the first steps in creating a master plan that would fully develop non-motorized transportation on our campus.
Recommended Citation
Goodman, Leah J., "Non-Motorized Transportation and It's Application at Western Michigan University" (2011). Honors Theses. 744.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/honors_theses/744
Access Setting
Honors Thesis-Campus Only