How do you envision Michigan State’s campus in the next 5-years? How about in the next ten years?
There is no question that MSU is undergoing a massive campus renovation, and one aspect of change is the campus transportation system. Going green is the new black, and campus planners are literally paving the way for more green transportation on MSU’s campus.
Nearly 15,000 students bike on campus daily, and the MSU Bike Service Center is where most of them come for all of their bike needs.
Tim Potter, manager of the Bike Service Center is a proud advocate of bike transportation on campus.
“I personally really enjoy bicycling. It’s great to keep traffic congestion and parking congestion to a minimum, and certainly the benefits to the environment are huge as well.” Potter said.
With the Master Plan, the increase in bikers on campus may increase. The Master Plan outlines different projects on campus, and is updated every 5-years. With open forums throughout the semester, the public is able to give input on the changes happening to MSU’s campus. And one of the initiatives through the plan is to condense the number of parking lots on campus, while increasing the amount of bike lanes and bike trails, and ultimately moving parking to the perimeter of campus.
“It really becomes a redistribution and emphasising the edges of campus as the place to put the most of the parking, and again to encourage people to use the mass transit, or to walk , or to bicycle into the center of campus.” said Steve Troost, MSU’s campus planner.
And the benefits of these changes are great according to Troost.
“If they’re not bringing their car, then there’s less traffic on campus, it’s safer for the pedestrian, we’re meeting our environmental stewardship requirements of less green house gas emissions. So we really are trying to find ways that we can do things in a different way that’s more environmentally friendly.” Troost said.
Funding for these projects are still underway, with an estimated completion by the year 2020.