Sustainability Initiatives

Transportation and Campus Services

Alternative Transportation | Fleet Services | Records Management Services
Parking Services and Site and Infrastructure Development

Alternative Transportation

Alternative Transportation promotes and encourages alternative modes of transportation (bicycling, walking, vanpooling, carpooling, riding transit, etc.) to get to, from, and around campus instead of a single occupancy vehicle (SOV). This will result in fewer cars on campus and on the roads, reduced demand for parking spaces, less traffic congestion, fewer vehicle/pedestrian conflicts, and less air pollution. Specific programs and initiatives include:

1. Bicycle Programs

   Hokie Bikeways encourages bicycle use for commuting to and getting around campus by enhancing connectivity between campus and Town of Blacksburg trails and bike lanes. By providing safe, attractive transportation facilities, the university encourages cycling as a transportation option. Bikeway projects include:

   • Phase 1: Bike lanes on West Campus Drive
   • Phase 2: Paving the Cranwell Connection bike trail -- behind Lane Stadium, from the Cranwell Center to Sterrett Facility (in progress)
   • Phase 3: Historic Smithfield Bike Trail -- links bike trails on Duckpond Drive to the Hethwood Trail near the horse barns on Smithfield Road (design underway)
   • Phase 4: Huckleberry/Hokie Trail Connector -- will connect the Huckleberry Trail to the Hokie Bikeways network in a joint effort between the university, the Town of Blacksburg, and the Friends of the Huckleberry

   The Bike Rack Project encourages the use of bikes by providing convenient and robust bike storage racks on campus by installing metal bike loops.

   • E & G Loops: 218 new bike loops
   • Recreational Sports: 42 new bike loops
   • Athletics Department: 3 new bike racks (in progress)
   • Residential and Dining Programs: 316 new bike loops, 4 new bike racks (in progress)
2. Pedestrian Programs

   These projects provide a safe and convenient network of pathways and crosswalks on campus to encourage walking to destinations.

   Washington St. Crosswalk Enhancements

   • Enhanced visibility crosswalk demonstration
   • 2 bi-colored (green/white) continental style crosswalks
   • 2 bi-colored (green/white) parallel style crosswalks
   • "LOOK" stenciled at highest use pedestrian area
   • In-road pedestrian warning sign

   Other Campus Locations

   • In-road pedestrian signs to increase visibility of crosswalks
   • Standardized the use of continental style crosswalks across campus
3. Transit Programs

   Blacksburg Transit (BT)

   Virginia Tech provides local funding for Blacksburg Transit for local transit service for commuters, as well as on-campus transportation.

   Smartway Bus

   Virginia Tech helps fund the transit service running between campus and the Corporate Research Center (CRC) and the cities of Roanoke, Salem, and the Roanoke Regional Airport.

   GoLoco

   Virginia Tech is one of the first universities to partner with GoLoco, a service that helps people quickly arrange ride sharing between friends, neighbors, and colleagues. GoLoco also handles online payments from passengers to drivers for their share of the trip costs.

   The Bus Shelter Amenities program encourage use of the BT service.

   • New trash cans at on-campus shelters
   • Maps in on-campus shelters
   • Shelter illumination (in progress)
   • Benches in on-campus shelters (in progress)
4. Commuter Alternatives Program (CAP)

   CAP is an incentive program for folks to consider not using their single occupancy vehicle (SOV) to commute to campus. CAP has two components: Bike, Bus and Walk (BB&W) and Carpool. In exchange for not bringing an SOV to campus, all CAP participants receive:

   • A limited number of free daily hangtags for days they need to bring a car to campus
   • Emergency ride back to their car or home in case of an unplanned emergency

   Carpoolers (both students and faculty & staff) receive a discounted permit and have reserved carpool parking areas. The university presently has over 500 participants in BB&W and over 200 participants in our carpool program.

Fleet Services

1. Fuel-efficient Vehicles

   Fleet Services purchases the most fuel efficient vehicles possible from the state contract. The Chevrolet Malibu, which comprises the majority of fleet vehicles, is rated at 32 miles per gallon (MPG).

2. Alternative Fuel Vehicle

   Fleet Services is currently testing a hybrid Ford Escape to compare fuel usage to a standard Escape in the same operating conditions. The Escapes are used mainly on campus, which should be ideal for the hybrids. The test results will determine if the hybrid's fuel efficiency justifies the higher purchase price. If the results are favorable then a portion of the 300-vehicle university fleet will be converted to hybrids in the future. As of February 2007 the hybrid Escape averages 10.3 MPG higher than the standard model.

3. Replacing lead wheel weights with steel

   One of the largest current uses of lead is in the form of wheel weights, which balance tires on vehicles. The Ecology Center, an environmental advocacy organization based in Michigan, has estimated that approximately 1,600 metric tons of lead from wheel weights finds its way onto roadways in the United States annually from tires making contact with curbs or sudden stopping or swerving. Traffic crushes wheel weights on roadways into fine lead particles, which contaminate ground and storm water and ground surfaces. Prolonged exposure to lead can result in a myriad of health issues including brain and kidney damage, hearing difficulties, and learning and behavioral problems with children. Consequently the Ecology Center is charging both automotive companies and tire retailers to use either zinc or steel weights.

   Virginia Tech has located a retailer in Roanoke to supply steel wheel weights for the university's fleet vehicles. Fleet Services is proud to do its part in making the university's fleet vehicles environmentally friendly.

Records Management Services

Each year Records Management Services sends tons of shredded records to Montgomery County recycling. In addition, dozens of three-ring binders, hundreds of used file folders, and thousands of paper clips are shipped to Surplus Property for reuse.

Parking Services

One of Site and Infrastructure Development (SID)'s responsibilities is managing stormwater runoff in the local watershed. Since Stroubles Creek is designated an "impaired stream" in accordance with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) regulations, Virginia Tech must be proactive in both reducing the total amount of runoff and improving the water quality of the remaining runoff that enter the creek.

Parking Services works with SID to reduce the amount of stormwater runoff from parking lots. Recently completed projects include:

1. 

   Smithfield Parking Lot Bio-retention Cell

   This lot is the first on-campus bio-retention cell, designed to improve water quality and reduce peak flows after storm events. The cell's sub-grade drainage network, layers of peat moss, sand and mulch, and plants capture and treat runoff through evapo-transpiration, microorganism activity, etc. The cell also promotes infiltration back into the ground to recharge the water table.

2. 

   Virginia Tech Electric Service Facility Parking Improvements

   An infiltration trench within an island to captures, treats, and reduces peak flows of storm water runoff. The trench, which is made of no. 57 stone, geotextile fabric, mulch, and plantings, promote infiltration back into the ground and treat excess runoff prior to downstream release.

3. Duck Pond Retrofit

   This project reduces of the amount of sediment entering the Duck Pond, which drains into Stroubles Creek. The Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) study found that excess sediment carried by stormwater runoff is a major contributor to the impairment of the creek. The retrofit included bank stabilization, improvement of the spillway between the upper and lower ponds, and channel dredging. Gator block, channel sedimentation removal, and channel filling were completed to control runoff velocities, reduce channel bank erosion, and provide additional pooling time in the Upper Duck Pond for sediments to drop out.