All Student Vote Autumn 2018

Wheely Good Bike Facilities

Wheely Good Bike Facilities

This Union Notes:

1. That the university provide 3,500 cycle spaces on campus. The university describe these as not secure, non-covered and located closer to accommodation blocks than academic sites.[1]

2. The University travel survey in 2012 identified 16% of off-campus students as driving to university, compared to 7.8% cycling. It identified “Improved cycle parking” and “Improved changing facilities” as high priority targets to encourage cycling.[2]

3. That the University has spent approximately £12.23M[3] constructing the Lynchgate & Kirby Corner car parks. A further construction programme of additional car-parking is planned.[4]

4. That the University has committed to becoming the most active campus by 2020.[5]

5. “The government wants cycling and walking to become the norm by 2040”.[6]

6. That 55 bicycle thefts were reported to police in the University postcode[7] between September 2017 and August 2018.

This Union Believes:

1. That Warwick can only become the most active campus by encouraging bicycling as an alternative mode of transport, and that far better bicycle facilities would encourage such choices.

2. That bicycle theft remains a blight for students and staff alike, and that preventing such loss is of both economic and wellbeing value.

3. That the University has never demonstrated a commitment to 21st century bicycle facilities, preferring to invest in car parking.

4. That the University provision of cycle storage is poor in comparison to many similar campus universities, especially in Scandinavia and Holland.

5. The current provision makes for an inaccessible campus. Specifically at the Library where cyclists lock their bikes to accessibility railings due to a lack of space.

This Union Resolves:

1. For the Democracy & Development and Environment & Ethics officer to lobby the University Estates department to provide futureproofed cycle storage which is fully secure, protected from the elements and costing no more than a £30 deposit for a space per year.

2. For the Democracy & Development officer to ensure that any Estates plan work with the Disabled Students’ Officer and Warwick Enable Society, and where appropriate, other Liberation and Diversity Officers and Societies, to ensure that active-travel onto campus is accessible to all students.

3. For the Democracy & Development and Environment & Ethics officer to ensure that staff and students can voice their opinions through the Bicycle User Group.

4. For the Democracy & Development, International (EU/Non-EU) and Environment & Ethics officer to promote the upcoming travel survey from the University to ensure an accurate picture of Warwick’s diverse student body’s travel habits is recorded.

5. To work with the University to create a fair and sensible cycle removal policy.