Sustainable Transportation and Grounds in UIC - University of ...

Sustainable Transportation and 

Grounds in UIC 

Report prepared by 

Transportation and Grounds Subcommittee 

Chancellor’s Committee on Sustainability and Energy

Report to UIC Chancellor’s Committee on Sustainability and Energy 

Sustainable Transportation and 

Grounds in UIC 

Report prepared by 

Transportation and Grounds Subcommittee 

Chancellor’s Committee on Sustainability and Energy 

April 2009 

Committee Chair: Piyushimita Thakuriah 

Subcommittee Members: 

Pablo Acevedo 

Karin Allen 

Sayaka Araki 

Joseph Dijohn 

Darlene Ebel 

Daniel Fredman 

Cynthia Klein-Banai 

Danielle Inendino 

Kevin Monahan 

Wanda Perry 

Beth Sholtis 

ii


Executive Summary 

The Transportation and Grounds Subcommittee, as part of the Chancellor’s Committee 

on Sustainability and Energy, undertook the task of reviewing transportation and 

landscape and grounds practices on campus in terms of sustainability, efficiency and 

best practices. Following the recommendations of the Chancellor’s Task Force on 

Campus Sustainability and driven by UIC’s pledges to the American College and 

University Presidents Climate Commitment, and the Illinois Sustainable University 

Compact, the subcommittee identified issues, opportunities and concerns regarding 

transportation and landscape and grounds keeping on campus. The subcommittee’s 

comprehensive study has resulted in a set of short and long term recommendations to 

improve sustainability and achieve the goal of climate neutrality adopted by UIC. 

The policy statement and vision developed for this report dovetail with the UIC Master 

Plan Vision Statement and the strategies outlined in the UIC Climate Action Plan. The 

standards and reports which guided the subcommittee’s deliberation and analysis 

included university sustainability commitments, the Sustainability Tracking, Rating & 

Assessment Standards (STARS), Transportation Demand Management strategies and 

policies, Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) standards and Urban Forestry 

and Arboriculture practices. These standards define current best practices and shape 

the pragmatic and wide-ranging collection of techniques and procedures recommended 

for UIC, maximizing the university’s advantageous location and access to services and 

programs. 

The objectives of the analysis undertaken as a part of this report are twofold; first, to 

understand travel and transportation use patterns by UIC students, staff and faculty and 

to identify areas where travel alternatives may exist; and second, to examine where 

opportunities may exist to incorporate sustainable grounds practices. The findings 

reported are based on analysis of existing data as well as a primary data collection: 

Sources of Data 

Analysis undertaken by the Urban Transportation Center: 

Analysis of the UTC’s Spatial Decision Support System, a market analysis of faculty and 

staff potential use of alternative modes of transportation. 

Survey of UIC U-PASS users to understand student travel behavior and incentives and 

programs that can be developed to encourage more transit usage by students. 

Information provided by UIC Facilities Management. Data on parking, vehicles and other 

amenities were provided. 

UIC Campus Commuter Survey, conducted by the Office of Sustainability looks at 

primary modes of transportation used to commute to UIC. 

iii


Summary of Findings 

Assets and Services 

• UIC has a total of 41 parking lots with 11,944 parking spaces in the East and 

West campuses combined. 

• UIC offers a variety of transportation services, including Intercampus shuttle 

buses, the Red Car/Off-Hour Paratransit Service, a Chauffeur service is also 

available and commuter buses which operate between the campus and major 

commuter train stations. 

• The campus is strategically located with several city bus routes and train services 

that operate through the heart of campus. 

• Campus fleet vehicles include those used for Campus Auto Rental Service, the 

campus police and vehicles used for on-site operations and maintenance. 

• Currently, the institution’s motorized fleet emits 0.2 carbon dioxide equivalent 

(CO 2 e) per passenger mile traveled. 

• UIC draws hundreds of thousands of business and academic visitors, special 

events attendees and patients annually, to various facilities across campus. 

Demand Patterns 

• Overall, less than 25% of UIC faculty, students and staff who responded to the 

UIC Office of Sustainability Commuter Survey, reported that they drive the entire 

commute to campus. The remainder of the campus community uses multiple 

modes to travel an average of 15 miles each way per trip. 

• Close to 38 percent of faculty and staff reside in zip codes where the transit 

availability is generally excellent to good. Close to 40 percent reside in areas 

within the six counties that have excellent pedestrian amenities; another 25 

percent or so reside in areas with “Good” values of pedestrian accessibility. 

Employees residing in such areas, who are currently solo drivers to campus, may 

be considered for incentives, information and marketing to occasionally use 

transit to campus. 

• Mode use has changed since 2001 due to the availability of the U-PASS and 

transit benefit. This has impacted intercampus shuttle ridership, decreasing 

usage by over 50%. 

• Overall, there are enough “spatially clustered’ groups of faculty and staff to whom 

transit is not available. Employees in these spatially clustered groups may be 

better served with express buses, vanpools, carpools and other high occupancy 

modes. 

• Almost 20 percent of UIC students live within 2 miles of campus and about 35 

percent live within 5 miles. In FY2007, 3,109 students resided in campus housing 

in the east, south or west sides. Beginning in FY2008, 3,700 students resident on 

campus. 

• Close to 90 percent of UIC students have a valid driver’s license and about 72 

percent have a private vehicle available to them. 

• More than 60 percent of UIC U-PASS users are “moderate intensity users” who 

ride the transit system between 32 and 106 times per semester. About 18 

percent are “high intensity users” who ride the system 106 times per semester. 

Only 5 percent of U-PASS holders are non-users (never used the transit system 

at all during a semester). 

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Policy Statement 

Consistent with our mission of creating a sustainable urban campus, we recommend 

adopting a cost-effective, opportunistic and equitable short-term strategy towards the 

achieving the university’s sustainability goals and a long term strategy that incorporates 

modern, efficient and technologically innovative transportation and grounds systems 

and programs, enabling the University to respond to increasing demands while 

maximizing options and benefits and minimizing the negative impact on individuals, 

human health, and the environment. 

Recommendations 

This list consolidates the subcommittee’s recommendations by topic. Please refer to the 

expanded list of recommendations found on page 34. 

Recommendations for Transportation 

Transportation Demand 

There are numerous strategies that can be utilized to increase sustainable mode use in 

the UIC campus. 

• Boosting bicycle usage e.g. expanding the bike lane network, provide secure 

parking. 

• Promote and expand UIC Transportation Benefit Program. 

• Improve transit stop security and amenities. 

• Adopt alternatives to air travel such as the use of videoconferencing, Hybrid 

rental vehicles or AMTRAK. 

• Education and outreach. 

• Ridesharing. 

• Guaranteed ride home programs for emergency situations. 

• Relieving Parking Services of the management of the Transit Benefit program. 

• Travel training to faculty/students and students. 

• Aggressively seek federal/state grant money. 

• Specialized bus service such as express or subscription services. 

• Analyze Shuttle Bus and Red Car services to improve efficiency. 

• Review price of on-campus parking. 

• An Ozone Action Day. 

• Telecommuting and Compressed Work Week 

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Energy and Vehicles 

• Based on analyses made by the Campus Master Planning consultants, more 

direct routing of buses should be implemented. 

• Engage the CTA in discussions as to whether there are opportunities to provide 

services to the entire campus community in more economical ways by utilizing 

and expanding on their existing bus routes. 

• Continue to phase in hybrids and vehicles with higher fuel economy for the 

campus fleet. 

• Evaluate whether car-sharing options such as I-Go or Zipcar could be utilized for 

campus travel purposes. 

Recommendations for Grounds 

• Establishment of a Grounds Advisory Committee to assist in implementing listed 

tree and landscape guidelines (as in full report). 

• Urban Forestry: adoption of an urban forestry program, such as Tree Campus 

USA that provides essential tools in supporting and recognizing grounds 

managers’ efforts, addresses long-term environmental sustainability and commits 

annual expenditures for tree care on campus. 

• Utilization of the campus grounds as a resource for research, education and 

outreach at all levels. 

• Sponsor outreach and educational events that engage community and support 

long term strategies. 

• UIC should explore the possibility of obtaining funds for activities such as; 

quarterly information sessions to educate employees and hiring a grounds 

coordinator to manage sustainable landscape initiatives. 

• Capture stormwater onsite 

• Composting 

• Reduce/eliminate irrigation 

vi


Table of Contents 

Executive Summary .......................................................................................................... iii 

Summary of Findings ................................................................................................... iv 

Recommendations ............................................................................................................ v 

Recommendations for Transportation ........................................................................... v 

Recommendations for Grounds ................................................................................... vi 

Table of Contents ............................................................................................................. vii 

Table of Figures .............................................................................................................. viii 

Table of Tables ............................................................................................................... viii 

Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 1 

Report Guidance ............................................................................................................... 3 

Objectives of Analysis and Data ....................................................................................... 5 

Existing Sources of Data ............................................................................................... 6 

Primary Data Collection Effort ....................................................................................... 6 

Major Findings ........................................................................................................... 7 

Parking and Transit Benefit Use ................................................................................. 19 

Campus Fleet .................................................................................................................. 24 

Grounds Data .................................................................................................................. 27 

Primary Data Collection Effort ..................................................................................... 28 

Performance on STARS Standards ................................................................................ 28 

UIC Campus Master Plan Initial Findings ....................................................................... 30 

Summary of Major Findings ............................................................................................ 32 

Recommendations .......................................................................................................... 34 

Recommendations for Transportation ......................................................................... 34 

Recommendations for Grounds .................................................................................. 44 

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Table of Figures 

Figure 1: Residential Locations of Faculty and Staff ......................................................... 9 

Figure 2: Transit Availability to Faculty and Staff ............................................................ 10 

Figure 3: Pedestrian Amenities available to Faculty and Staff ........................................ 11 

Figure 4: Distribution of UIC Students Residence from Campus .................................... 12 

Figure 5: Mode Split for UIC Commuters using one mode of Transportation ................. 13 

Figure 6: Diurnal pattern of rides by U-PASS holders ..................................................... 15 

Figure 7: Reasons for using U-PASS .............................................................................. 18 

Figure 8: Reasons for not using U-PASS ........................................................................ 18 

Figure 9: Total Parking Assignments by User Type ........................................................ 22 

Figure 10: Parking Assignment by Location, East Side .................................................. 23 

Figure 11: Parking Assignments by Location, West Side ............................................... 23 

Figure 12: Transit Benefit Participation ........................................................................... 24 

Figure 13: UIC Fleet Fuel Consumption .......................................................................... 25 

Table of Tables 

Table 1: Mode Shares by commuter type for those using one mode* ............................ 14 

Table 2: Mode Choice by Percentage of Use for those using three modes .................... 15 

Table 3: Frequency distribution of respondent:rides taken per semester using U-PASS 17 

Table 4: Parking Facility Information East Campus ........................................................ 20 

Table 5: Parking Facility Information West Campus ....................................................... 21 

Table 6: Daytime Intercampus, Total Passengers .......................................................... 26 

Table 7: Evening Intercampus, Total Passengers .......................................................... 26 

Table 8: Commuter Shuttle, Total Passengers ............................................................... 27 

Table 9: Weekend and Holiday Intercampus, Total Passengers .................................... 27 

viii


Introduction 

The Transportation and Grounds (T & G) Subcommittee of the UIC 

Chancellor’s Committee on Sustainability and Energy has been 

assigned the task of reviewing transportation and landscape and 

grounds practices on campus and to develop recommendations to 

improve sustainability and environmentally friendly strategies in these 

areas. Towards this end, the subcommittee undertook a strategy of 

identifying the major issues and concerns in these areas, to collect 

relevant data and to develop a set of short-term that are practical, 

cost-effective and equitable and take advantage of available services 

and programs. The committee also recommends several long-term 

strategies that are the innovative and makes use of cutting-edge 

technology to improve sustainability practices. 

UIC has 25,000 students and over 12,000 faculty and staff. The 

campus is located west of the Chicago loop on approximately 240 

acres. The campus has the nation’s largest medical school and over 

100 buildings. Northeastern Illinois is a moderate non-attainment area 

for the 8-hour ozone standard and a non-attainment area for the 

annual fine particulate matter standard (PM2.5) (Chicago Metropolitan 

Agency for Planning, 2009). Cook County, in which UIC is located, 

has been ranked the county with the third highest level of carbon 

emissions in the U.S. (with 13,209,000 tons of carbon per year), after 

Harris County, TX and Los Angeles County, CA. (CleanBeta, 2009). 

Crain’s Chicago Business ranked UIC the 17th largest employer in the 

City of Chicago in 2003. The adoption of sustainable transportation 

and grounds policies and operations not only has the potential to 

harvest benefits that accrue to “early adopters”, but also to bring 

about benefits to the region as a whole. 

Sustainable Transportation and Grounds 

Sustainable transportation or sustainable mobility practices commonly 

address the environmental and ecological impacts of travel, including 

the influence of the transportation sector on energy consumption, 

greenhouse gases, air quality emissions, air and water quality and 

habitats. There are several definitions of sustainable transportation, 

many of which are restricted to the physical and environmental 

aspects of transportation; for example, the Organization for Economic 

Cooperation and Development (OECD) defined sustainable 

transportation as: "Transportation that does not endanger public 

health or ecosystems and meets mobility needs consistent with (a) 

use of renewable resources at below their rates of regeneration and 

(b) use of non-renewable resources at below the rates of development 

of renewable substitutes” (OECD, 1994). 

However, over time, sustainable transportation has also emphasized 

the concepts of social equity and economic effectiveness. For 

example, the World Bank (1996) emphasized on three components: 

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the economic and financial component (which includes issues of 

adequacy of transportation infrastructure funding, organization and 

scale), the social component (which emphasizes on adequate access 

to transportation by all segments of society) and finally, the 

environmental and ecological component (with an emphasis similar to 

what was described earlier). 

Sustainable grounds emphasize the use of sustainable design 

principles in the planning, design, and maintenance of outdoor space. 

Design techniques include planting trees to shade buildings from the 

sun or protect them from wind, minimizing building heat and cooling 

requirements with vegetation, emphasizing plant longevity and health, 

reducing the need for potable water for irrigation, using local materials 

and buying stock from local growers, or within reasonable distances to 

avoid energy use in transportation. 

As in the case of sustainable transportation, sustainable grounds and 

landscapes consist of an environmental and ecological component, an 

economic component and a social justice and equity component. 

However, many times, definitions place greater emphasis on the 

environmental component, as in the case of the Sustainable Site 

Initiative (2008) report, the primary focus of which is the environment, 

including those aspects of economic feasibility and social equity that 

intersect with the environment. 

Vision of UIC Transportation and Grounds 

The vision of the UIC Sustainable Transportation and Grounds 

Subcommittee is to have transportation and grounds investments, 

planning and operations be driven by eco-friendly principles that 

target reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. The Subcommittee 

has put forward a series of benchmarks that are based on desirable 

outcomes rather than prescriptive measures, with the aspiration of 

enabling UIC to leverage advances in technology and educational 

practices and to inspire a change in thinking among administration, 

faculty, students and staff. 

The goal in doing so is not only to initiate economically feasible and 

equitable reductions in greenhouse gases but also to position the 

campus in the frontier of leadership among university campuses 

nationally in pioneering sustainable transportation and grounds 

practices. 

Policy Statement 

Consistent with our mission of creating a sustainable urban campus, 

we recommend adopting a balanced, cost-effective and equitable 

short-term strategy towards achieving the university’s sustainable 

transportation and grounds goals and a long term strategy that 

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incorporates modern, efficient and technologically innovative 

transportation and grounds systems and programs, thereby enabling 

the University to respond to increasing demands while maximizing 

options and benefits and minimizing the negative impact on 

individuals, human health, and the environment. 

Report Guidance 

The Subcommittee’s deliberations and analysis were guided by a set 

of commitments, standards and policies: firstly, the American College 

& University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) and the 

Illinois Sustainable University Compact, secondly, the Sustainability 

Tracking and Rating Assessment (STARS) standards, which were 

developed through a collaborative effort by the Association for 

Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) and 

secondly, strategies and policies that have developed over time in the 

transportation and landscape sectors, including Transportation 

Demand Management, Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality 

(CMAQ), Urban Forestry and Arboriculture practices. 

ACUPCC & Illinois Sustainable University Compact 

On September 14, 2007, UIC became an inaugural signatory to the 

American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment that 

recognizes that colleges and universities must provide leadership in 

their communities by modeling ways to minimize global warming 

emissions and by providing the knowledge and skills to students to 

address the critical challenges and develop solutions to the issues we 

face today. The first part of the commitment was to initiate two or 

more tangible actions to reduce greenhouse gases while the more 

comprehensive plan is being developed. One of UIC’s tangible actions 

is to encourage the use of and provide access to public transportation 

for all faculty, staff, students and visitors at our institution. 

In cooperation with the Illinois Green Government Coordinating 

Council, chaired by then Lieutenant Governor Pat Quinn, and 

universities and community colleges across Illinois, UIC joined the 

Illinois Sustainable University Compact on February 7, 2008. Among 

UIC’s six goals, pledged to be accomplish by December 31, 2010 is to 

promote more sustainable transportation options, such as purchasing 

hybrid and flex-fuel vehicles whenever practical, using renewable 

fuels for our campus fleet and establishing successful car-sharing and 

carpooling programs on campus. 

3


STARS Standards 

The STARS standards are comprised of a credit system for 

sustainable operations. STARS is comprised of two types of credits: 

Tier One credits are worth one or more points and, where possible, 

are based on sustainability outcomes; Tier Two credits are worth less 

than one point and, in general, recognize strategies institutions can 

adopt to move toward sustainability. 

STARS points can be earned in three main areas: education and 

research, operations and administration and finance. Details may be 

found in AASHE (2008). Transportation and grounds are included 

under the operations category. 

Transportation credits can be obtained based on UIC’s performance 

on criteria relating to GHG emissions from UIC’s motorized fleet; 

Commute Modal Split (or the percentage of the institution’s faculty, 

students and staff who travel to campus by means other than Single 

Occupant Vehicles (SOV’s)); Commuter Options or the tools, 

incentives or programs available in UIC to encourage the use of 

alternative modes of transportation such as transit subsidies, bicycle 

facilities, awards programs and parking incentives for carpoolers; and 

air travel or the extent to which creative solutions have been instituted 

to reduce air travel emissions. 

STARS credits for grounds can be obtained under the Organic 

Campus category, which applies to institutions where only those 

pesticides and fertilizers that are allowable under the U.S. Department 

of Agriculture’s standards for organic crop production are used and 

the extent to which non-potable water (or water that is not fit to drink 

but may be safely used for other purposes such as reclaimed water, 

gray water or rainwater) is used for irrigation. 

The Subcommittee’s findings regarding UIC’s performance in the 

STARS Transportation and Grounds components are given under the 

section on Findings. 

Other Policies and Strategies 

A variety of other policies and programs informed the Subcommittee 

about strategies to improve the sustainability of UIC’s transportation 

and grounds. Approaches that were mined from the variety of policies 

considered on the basis of feasibility, cost-effectiveness, possibility of 

innovation and level of match with UIC faculty and staff interest and 

equity. 

Transportation Demand Management (TDM) are a set of sustainable 

mobility practices, the objective of which are to reduce SOV car use or 

to otherwise distribute transportation demand over time and space. 

4


The CMAQ program was instituted by the Intermodal Surface 

Transportation Act and supports a variety of strategies targeted 

towards improving air quality. Other transportation programs that 

informed this report include transit practices, fleet management 

practices, employee commute options and community transportation 

concepts, employment transportation programs, bicycle and 

pedestrian programs, Intelligent Transportation Systems, 

Computational Transportation Science and a variety of other 

approaches. 

Urban forestry is the care, management and protection of urban 

forests and tree populations in urban areas, with the specific goal of 

raising public awareness of the importance of trees and protecting the 

urban environment. Arboriculture is the cultivation and management 

of trees and shrubs within the landscape. This includes the study of 

how trees grow and respond to cultural practices and the 

environment, as well as application of cultural techniques such as 

selection, planting, care, surgery and removal. Educational programs 

such as Project Learning Tree and Nature Explore Classroom served 

as the basis for the education and outreach aspects of the Grounds 

component. 

It is also recognized the current UIC Campus Master Planning 

process, will also provide short-term and long-term recommendations 

to improve campus transportation systems and grounds. Relevant 

principles in developing the plan include: 

• Enhance the inter-relationship between the campus and the 

community by ensuring that physical improvements promote 

way-finding, social interaction, pedestrian traffic and active use 

of outdoor spaces. 

• Improve the practical and symbolic bonds unifying the east 

and west sides of campus, reducing impediments to the flow of 

people and implementing way-finding, landscape features and 

edge treatments that highlight an urban campus identity. 

• Identify opportunities to make physical improvements to 

enhance campus sustainability and thereby reduce its carbon 

footprint and conserve natural resources. 

Objectives of Analysis and Data 

The objectives of the analysis undertaken as a part of this report are: 

• To understand travel and transportation use patterns by UIC 

and students, staff and faculty and to identify areas where 

travel alternatives may exist; 

• To examine where opportunities may exist to incorporate 

sustainable grounds practices. 

5


The findings reported in this section are based on analysis of existing 

data as well as a primary data collection: 

Existing Sources of Data 

. 

• Analysis undertaken by the Urban Transportation Center: 

- Analysis of the UTC’s Spatial Decision Support System, a 

geospatial database of indicators on the Chicago metro 

area’s economic, social and physical aspects: This 

analysis allowed us to obtain aggregate-level 

understanding of where UIC faculty and staff reside, the 

characteristics of their neighborhoods, their possibility of 

using transit and other higher occupancy modes of 

transportation – in other words, a market analysis of faculty 

and staff potential use of alternative modes of 

transportation. 

- Survey of UIC U-PASS users conducted as part of the 

Center’s grant funded by the Chicago Transit Authority, in 

fall 2008 and summarized in a master’s thesis by Swarup 

(2009). U-PASS is a program administered by the CTA, 

under which students have to pay a certain fee each 

semester for unlimited usage in CTA trains and buses for 

that semester. The same service is offered in Pace 

suburban bus service. The survey was administered to 

those full-time students at UIC who received (or were 

eligible to receive) U-Passes during 2003-2007. A total of 

3,327 completed surveys were received. The purpose of 

using data from this survey is to understand student travel 

behavior and incentives and programs that can be 

developed to encourage more transit usage by students. 

• Data provided by UIC Facilities Management. Information on 

parking, vehicles, ridership, fuel consumption, program costs, and 

other amenities was provided. 

Primary Data Collection Effort 

• UIC Campus Commuter Survey, conducted by the Office of 

Sustainability. This survey was conducted as part of the active 

transportation program that UIC participates in with the Chicago 

Department of Transportation and was partially funded by a 

National Wildlife Federation Campus Ecology Fellowship to refine 

UIC’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory. The Office of Sustainability 

surveyed the UIC campus community in November and December 

2008 regarding the primary modes of transportation used to 

commute to UIC. Responses from 2785 UIC campus community 

members were used to prepare this analysis. Respondents 

identified themselves as faculty, staff, full-time students, or parttime 

students. 

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Major Findings 

UIC has a total of 41 parking lots with 11,944 parking spaces in the 

East and West campuses combined. Intercampus shuttle buses 

provide service between East, West and South campuses. Oncampus 

paratransit service is available with appropriate authorization 

for UIC faculty, students and staff with disabilities. The Red Car/Off- 

Hour Paratransit Service is an escort service that provides 

transportation to university employees, students, visitors, and other 

authorized individuals between university facilities and from university 

facilities to points of public transportation, or to private residences 

within a designated area and a Chauffeur service is also available. 

Commuter buses operate between the campus and the Union and 

Northwestern Metra train stations. The Chicago Transit Authority 

operates several bus routes through the campus area and the Blue 

line “El” goes through the north and west side of campus. 

Campus fleet vehicles include those used for Campus Auto Rental 

Service, the campus police, departmental use, and vehicles used for 

on-site operations and maintenance. 

UIC has 25,000 students and over 12,000 faculty and staff. Visitors, 

hospital patients and special event attendees also add to the demand 

for transportation and use of grounds facilities. In FY2007, meetings 

and conferences on campus hosted 397,572 guests at 10,268 

meetings in the UIC Student Centers. A total of 331,757 visits were 

made to the Student Recreation Facility and 155,395 were made to 

the Sport and Fitness Center. This included 17,264 unique individuals. 

The UIC Pavilion attracted 296,044 people to 125 events. Attendance 

at events sponsored by Campus Programs was 176,991. UIC Flames 

home basketball games drew 74,254 sports fans. 

Residential Locations and Commuting Distances 

Figure 1 shows a map of zipcodes where UIC faculty and staff reside. 

While faculty and staff reside in neighborhoods that are scattered all 

over the six-county Northeastern Illinois region (comprising Cook, 

DuPage, Lake, Will, McHenry and Kane counties), there are clusters 

of areas within 10-15 miles with high concentrations of faculty and 

staff. 

Commuters typically decide on the mode of transportation to use not 

only on the basis of convenience and cost of different options, but 

also on the basis of the availability of the options to them. For this 

reason, we have analyzed the extent to which taking transit or walking 

are options to UIC faculty and staff. Figure 2 shows the level of transit 

availability in the Chicago metro area, with the intensity of UIC 

faculty/staff superimposed by graduated dots, which are indicative of 

the number of faculty/staff. The Transit Availability Index (TAI) is a 

7


composite index giving the extent to which residents have access to 

transit (bus and rail). The TAI measure is based on three input 

measures – frequency (person-minutes served), hours of service 

(number of hours) and service coverage (percentage of the area 

covered). Close to 38% of faculty and staff reside in zipcodes where 

the TAI values are excellent to good. 

Another indicator of the ability of faculty and staff to use alternative 

modes of transportation is the extent to which their neighborhoods are 

pedestrian friendly. Figure 3 shows the extent to which faculty and 

staff resides in areas that are pedestrian friendly as measured by a 

Pedestrian Friendliness Index (PFI). The PFI is a composite index 

ranking tract suitability for non-motorized travel including pedestrian 

and bike travel. The PFI is calculated with input values of population, 

income, number of households, amount of commercial and residential 

land uses as a percentage of census tracts, weighted pedestrian trip 

origins and destinations from the census journey to work data, and 

Pedestrian Environment Factor (PEF) values, where PEF’s are the 

average number of blocks for the quarter section within each census 

tract and the eight adjacent quarter sections. Close to 40% of UIC 

faculty and staff reside in areas within the six counties that have 

excellent PFI levels; another 25% or so reside in areas with “Good” 

values of PFI. These patterns are indicative of the necessary 

infrastructure being there for a large number of faculty staff to be able 

to access transit, express bus and other higher occupancy modes of 

travel. 

Figures 2 and 3 also show that there are enough “spatially clustered’ 

groups of faculty and staff to whom transit is not available or who do 

not reside in areas which are conducive to biking or walking. 

Employees in these spatially clustered groups may be better served 

with express buses, vanpools, carpools and other high occupancy 

modes. 

The distribution of distances at which students live from campus is 

shown in Figure 4. Almost 20% of UIC students live within 2 miles of 

campus and about 35% live within 5 miles. In FY2007, 3,109 students 

resided in campus housing in the east, south or west sides. Students 

also share apartments or have other types of shared housing in the 

Taylor Street, Pilsen and Tri-Taylor areas. Many students also live in 

neighborhoods along the CTA Blue line. However, a large number of 

students appear to be commuting more than 25 miles to come to 

school. Close to 90% of UIC students have a valid driver’s license and 

about 72% have a private vehicle available to them. 

8


Figure 1: Residential Locations of Faculty and Staff 

9


Figure 2: Transit Availability to Faculty and Staff 

10


Figure 3: Pedestrian Amenities available to Faculty and Staff 

11


Figure 4: Distribution of UIC Students Residence from Campus 

25 

Percent of Students 

20 

15 

10 

5 

0 

0-1 1-2 3-5 6-8 9-11 12-15 16-18 19-21 22-25 > 25 

Miles from Campus 

Note: Not all students’ campus addresses were provided in the source data, therefore 

there are a large number of students with addresses > 25 miles. 

Commute Mode Split 

A little over half (55.4%) of the UIC Office of Sustainability Commute 

survey respondents, use one mode of transportation to commute to 

UIC. The average distance traveled by those using one mode of 

transportation is 11 miles. 

The mode split of commuters who use one mode from their trip from 

home to UIC is given in Figure 5. Approximately 43% of these 

commuters drive alone, 18% use the CTA “El” and 11% use CTA or 

Pace bus. About 7% reported biking and another 8% reported walking 

to campus. 

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Mode Split by Percentage 

One travel mode only 

Figure 5: Mode Split for UIC Commuters using one mode of Transportation 

7% 

3% 2% 

8% 

Drive Alone 

8% 

11% 

43% 

"El" 

CTA or PACE Bus 

Carpool 

Walk 

Bike 

MetraRail 

Intercampus or Semester 

Express Shuttle 

18% 

The mode shares by type of commuter who reported using only one 

mode is given in Table 1. Across all types of commuters, the percent 

of individuals driving alone is the highest for all types of modes. Staff 

are most likely to drive, followed by part-time students and then 

faculty. Staff are also most likely to carpool. Full-time students are the 

most likely to use public transportation (CTA el, CTA or Pace bus or 

Metra Commuter Rail). Reflecting the close proximity in which 

students reside to campus, full-time students are also the most likely 

to use non-motorized transportation (bike and walk) to campus. 

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Table 1: Mode Shares by commuter type for those using one mode* 

T 

Full-time Part-time Faculty 

Staff 

h 

Student Students 

Drive Alone 22.5 51.2 45.7 56.1 

CTA “El” 24.9 23.8 17.6 12.3 

Bus 18.8 4.8 4.5 7.6 

Carpool 2.7 7.1 10.4 11.5 

Walk 

T 

13.0 2.4 5.0 4.6 

h 

Bike 12.2 9.5 10.0 3.5 

e 

Metra Rail 1.7 1.2 4.1 3.3 

Intercampus 

4.1 0 2.7 1.1 

or Express 

Shuttle 

T 

*Short-distance walking may be involved in accessing transit stops and stations 

The number of modes used tends to increase with the distance 

traveled from home to campus. The average distance traveled for 

those using two modes is 20 miles; for those using three modes, 28 

miles. Approximately 44.6% of the survey respondents use two or 

more transportation modes to get to UIC. Metra users lead the group 

of commuters who use two modes of transportation to UIC. Of those 

who drive for the first segment of the commute to UIC, 55% drive to 

the “El” and 24% drive to Metra. Those who take Metra for the first 

segment of the commute to UIC, about 94% travel more than 10 miles 

on Metra and 67% travel 20 miles or farther 

Those who walk or bike for the first segment of the commute to UIC, 

about 80% walk and 20% ride a bicycle. About 65% of these nonmotorized 

trips are 1 mile or less, 13% are 2 miles and 14% are 

reported to be between 3 and 5 miles. 

The average distance traveled by those who use three modes of 

transportation to get to UIC is 28 miles. Table 2 gives the distribution 

of respondents with first, second or third mode choices. About 18% of 

survey respondents use three modes of transportation to get to UIC. 

Close to 40% of this group identifies as full-time students and all use 

the U-Pass. The first segment of the commute for this group is mixed; 

almost 37% drive to transit and 22% walk. Transit is the mode of 

choice for the second segment of the commute; 89% of this group use 

Metra, the “El” or a bus for the second part of their commute. The last 

segment of the commute to UIC tends to be a shorter distance, but 

the mode varies. 32% take a bus, 30% walk and 24% take the “El.” 

The overall commute pattern for this group consists of a trip of short 

distance (less than five miles) followed by a long distance trip, ending 

with a short distance. 

14


Table 2: Mode Choice by Percentage of Use for those using three modes 

First Mode 

Share 

%of 

Use 

Second Mode 

Share 

%of Use Third Mode 

Share 

% of 

Use 

Drive Alone 37% Metra 57% CTA or PACE 32% 

Bus 

Walk 22% “El” 20% Walk 30% 

CTA (or PACE) 13% CTA (or PACE) 12% “El” 24% 

Bus 

Bus 

Metra 11% Walk 4% Intercampus 8% 

Shuttle 

Carpool 8% Bike 2% Commuter 3% 

Shuttle 

Bike 6% Intercampus or 2% Bike 2% 

Commuter 

Shuttle 

“El” 4% Drive Alone 2% Metra 2% 

Schedules and Arrival Times 

Work schedules are an important component of travel demand. 

Academic institutions are likely to have a greater percentage of 

workers who are on variable schedules, compared to private 

businesses and government agencies, which are more likely to 

operate during the usual “9 to 5” times. 

In UIC, staff and part-time students have the most predictable 

schedules. Faculty members tend to be on campus during the 

business day with a somewhat varied schedule, while full-time 

students have the greatest schedule variety, with more than 25% 

stating that their schedules vary considerably. 

The distribution of rides made by U-PASS holders is given, by type of 

day (weekday or weekend day) in Figure 6. For weekday rides, it can 

be seen that the peak time period is the midday period (9AM-3PM). 

Thus, student U-PASS holders do not have the typical travel profiles 

of commuters in general – for general commuters, there is a morning 

peak of transit rides (6AM-10AM) and an evening peak (3PM-7PM). 

Looking at the time distribution of trips over the weekend (which are in 

all likelihood, discretionary or recreational trips), the peak hours for U- 

Pass trips are the midday time period (9AM to 3PM) and the evening 

time period (6PM-9PM). One implication of this pattern is that the U- 

PASS program is helping boost transit ridership during time periods 

when it does not typically have high volumes of riders. 

15


50.00% 

Figure 6: Diurnal pattern of rides by U-PASS holders 

Rides per Semester 

40.00% 

30.00% 

20.00% 

10.00% 

22.22% 

40.08% 

28.71% 

24.87% 

19.40% 

27.71% 

9.47% 

20.28% 

0.00% 

3.90% 

6 AM-9 AM 9 AM-3 PM 3 PM-6 PM 6 PM-9 PM 9 PM-6 AM 

Time of Day 

3.37% 

♦ Weekday ■ Weekend 

U-PASS Use Patterns 

The U-PASS first came to UIC in the fall of 2001 for undergraduate 

students. The addition of the graduate students from the Graduate 

College, College of Pharmacy, and School of Public Health started in 

fall 2002. On August 5th 2004, the Regional Transit Authority Board 

approved an agreement for Pace buses to accept all CTA fare cards, 

including the U-PASS. This was discontinued January 1, 2009. The 

renewal of the U-PASS program and nonrefundable CTA 

transportation fee included undergraduate students and graduate 

students from the Graduate College, College of Pharmacy, School of 

Public Health, and Doctorate of Physical Therapy program, as well as 

the addition of College of Dentistry students and the M1 and M2 

students from the College of Medicine beginning fall 2005. College of 

Medicine students voted 72% in favor of having the U-PASS available 

to all classes beginning summer 2007. Every year the students must 

vote on a referendum each April to approve the U-PASS for the 

following year. It continues to have strong support. 

The student U-PASS program has been a successful application of a 

transit program to assist in student mobility. Table 3 shows the 

frequency distribution of rides taken per semester using U-PASS. 

More than 60 percent of UIC U-PASS users are “moderate intensity 

users” who ride the transit system between 32 and 106 times per 

semester. About 18% are “high intensity users” who ride the system 

106 times per semester. Only 5% of U-PASS holders are non-users 

(never used the transit system at all during a semester). 

16

Report to UIC 17 Chancellor’s Committee on Sustainability and Energy 

Table 3: Frequency distribution of respondents by rides taken per semester using U-PASS 

Frequency Percent Cumulative Percent 

Non-Users (0 rides per semester) 164 5.30 5.30 

Low Intensity Users (0


Figure 7: Reasons for using U-PASS 

I 

6.10 

H 

5.76 

Reason for Using the U-Pass 

G 

F 

E 

D 

C 

6.79 

7.01 

8.16 

8.27 

8.51 

B 

7.43 

A 

8.50 

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 

Average Rating 

A: Overall convenience 

B: To avoid traffic and congestion 

C: Reduction in expenditure on parking/ 

high parking costs 

D: Ease of use 

E: Fast and reliable transit service 

F: No need to carry change 

G: Environmental reasons 

H: It provides health benefits 

I: Lack of any other options 

Figure 8: Reasons for not using U-PASS 

J 

5.69 

I 

4.88 

Reason for Not Using the U-Pass 

H 

G 

F 

E 

D 

C 

3.71 

4.76 

4.78 

4.84 

6.08 

6.32 

B 

5.09 

A 

6.20 

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 

A: A private vehicle is available for me all the 

time 

B: I require a private vehicle for the various 

trips that I take during the day 

C: Transit is too crowded 

D: Transit is too slow 

E: I need to transfer too many times 

Mean Rating 

F: Waiting time for buses/ trains is excessive 

G: Transit service is not available in my area 

H: Safety concerns 

I: CTA stations and buses are not clean 

J: Service at night is very limited 

18


Parking and Transit Benefit Use 

UIC has a total of 41 parking lots with 11,944 parking spaces in the 

East and West campuses combined, with a foot print of 43.7 acres. 

UIC Parking Services is a self-supporting entity that uses its revenue 

solely to plan, design, construct, operate, and maintain parking 

facilities at the University. The parking program also absorbs the 

displacement costs for surface lots used for academic buildings. 

State funds made available to the University are not used to subsidize 

departmental operations nor pay the fees for its users. Daily parking 

utilization is approximately 64% (81% west campus, 50% east 

campus). The medical community parking needs affords the university 

opportunity to allocate parking space more efficiently. 

UIC Parking costs for Keycard parking for FY09: 

$67.74/month for an unreserved stall 

$109.64/month for a reserved stall 

$45.42/month for nights only 

The daily rate in a parking facility is $10 and Pavilion event parking is 

$10-13 per event. Coupons are available in packages of 100 and 10 

at that provide a small discount to the daily rate. Units will often 

purchase a reciprocal parking pass for employees that need to work 

frequently on the “other” side of campus. On an annual basis this 

comes to $156. The cost of parking is much lower than in downtown 

Chicago. The Chicago Tribune, in August of 2007, identified the 

average monthly parking rate in the city of Chicago as $350, with a 

median daily rate of $28.00. Parking prices have since increased. 

Special events on campus can generate 100% parking lot utilization in 

the parking areas close to the venue. Parking utilization per lot is 

shown in the following tables. 

19


Table 4: Parking Facility Information East Campus 

UIC Parking Facility Information East (& South) Campus 

Lot Name Address Lot Type 

Total 

Stalls #Assigned 

Utilization 

Percentage 

1A 1109 W. Harrison Card Access 456 426 93.42% 

1B 1139 W. Harrison Card Access, Visitor 414 316 76.33% 

4 Polk 761 W. Polk 

Card Access, Visitor,Pay per 

Space- 60, (inc. in space count) 93 0 

5 1135 S. Morgan 

Card Access, Visitor, Meter- 35, 

Motorcycle- 13 846 740 87.47% 

6 1135 S. Halsted Card Access 364 167 45.88% 

8 401 S. Peoria Reserved 18 16 88.89% 

9/9A 501 S. Morgan Card Access, Visitor 353 184 52.12% 

10 900 W. Taylor Reserved 67 45 67.16% 

11 1055 W. Congress Pkwy. Card Access 139 118 84.89% 

12 808 S. Clinton Card Access 22 10 45.45% 

14 1245 S. Newberry Card Access, Visitor 127 0 

14 729 W. Rochford Visitor 153 0 

18A 1215 W. Congress Pkwy. Card Access, Meter- 36 68 0 

20 1101 W. Taylor Card Access 10 8 80.00% 

HRPS 1100 W. Harrison Card Access, Visitor 1237 764 61.76% 

HTPS 760 W. Taylor Card Access, Visitor 1513 1,394 92.13% 

MSPS 701 W. Maxwell Card Access, Visitor 647 262 40.49% 

20


Table 5: Parking Facility Information West Campus 

UIC Parking Facility Information West Campus 

Lot Name Address Lot Type 

Total 

Stalls 

# 

Assigned 

Parking 

Utilization 

Percentage 

A3 1934 W. Taylor Card Access 60 66 110.00% 

A4 1937 W. Taylor Card Access 75 61 81.33% 

AOB 860 S. Paulina Card Access 9 0.00% 

Card Access- 

B2 

900 S. Wolcott 

Disabled, Visitors 54 0.00% 

B4 1836 W. Grenshaw Card Access 65 65 100.00% 

C1 805 S. Wolcott Reserved 29 22 75.86% 

C4 

1119 S. Wolcott 

Card Access, 

Visitor,Dialysis- 25 

(included in space 118 142 120.34% 

E 

820 S. Paulina 

Reserved, Card 

Access, Visitor 314 248 78.98% 

E4 1121 S. Hermitage Card Access 29 22 75.86% 

F 901 S. Paulina Card Access 94 77 81.91% 

F4 1135 S. Paulina Card Access 66 71 107.58% 

G 921 S. Marshfield Card Access 191 216 113.09% 

G4 1138 S. Ashland Card Access 31 27 87.10% 

H 1101 S. Paulina Card Access 95 91 95.79% 

J 

1637 W. Taylor 

Card Access,Meters- 

10 110 103 93.64% 

K 1617 W. Taylor Card Access 80 93 116.25% 

L 1818 W. Taylor Visitors 6 0.00% 

Card Access, Meters= 

M 

1728 W. Washburne 

17: 9 on Washburne, 8 

in lot 229 247 107.86% 

N1 713 S. Wood Card Access 25 21 84.00% 

O 1210 S. Wood Card Access 116 131 112.93% 

W3 2030 W. Polk Card Access 52 50 96.15% 

W4 1007 S. Hoyne Card Access 33 37 112.12% 

W5 1022 S. Hoyne Card Access 118 142 120.34% 

PSPS 915 S. Paulina 

Card Access, 

Visitor 1,124 1,577 140.30% 

WSPS 1100 S. Wood 

Card Access, 

Visitor 2,310 2,442 105.71% 

Wood St. Mtr 1019 S. Wood 

Meters (inc. in 

space count) 58 0 N/A 

21


Data provided by Parking Services is displayed in Figures 9, 10 and 

11. Parking permits charts show the change in the number of permit 

holders by certain classifications for the years FY01-09. There has 

been a 33% overall decrease in permit holders. This decrease is 

particularly evident for students (230%) and aligns with the 

implementation of the U-PASS program in 2001 on campus. 

Residents also show a significant reduction in parking use (25%), 

although they do not have access to the U-PASS. The other 

categories have remained fairly constant, given change in population. 

During the years 2004 to 2008, the overall population of students 

increased 8.7% and the population of faculty and staff increased 5%. 

An interesting comparison can be made between the east and west 

side data. There has been a 38% decrease among non-academic 

employee parking permits on the east side, whereas there has been a 

slight increase on the west side. This may be partially due to the 

reduction in non-academic employees of the years. 

Figure 9: Total Parking Assignments by User Type 

7000 

Total Parking Assignments 

by User Type 

Number of Parking 

Assignments 

6000 

5000 

4000 

3000 

2000 

1000 

Students 

Residents 

Academic 

Non-Academic 

Nurses 

0 

2001 

2002 

2003 

2004 

2005 

2006 

2007 

2008 

2009 

Fiscal Year 

22


Figure 10: Parking Assignment by Location, East Side 

Parking Assignment by Location 

EAST SIDE 

Number of Parking 

Assignments 

6000 

5000 

4000 

3000 

2000 

1000 

0 

2001 

2002 

2003 

2004 

2005 

Fiscal Year 

2006 

2007 

2008 

2009 

Students 

Academic 

Non-Academic 

Figure 11: Parking Assignments by Location, West Side 

Parking Assignments by Location 

WEST SIDE 

Number of 

Assignments 

2500 

2000 

1500 

1000 

500 

0 

2001 

2002 

2003 

2004 

2005 

Fiscal Year 

2006 

2007 

2008 

2009 

Students 

Residents 

Academic 

Non-Academic 

Nurses 

The Pre-Tax Qualified Transportation Program is based on a revision 

in the Internal Revenue Service Code that allows benefits eligible 

employees to realize income tax savings by paying for commuting 

expenses with pre-tax dollars. There is no direct benefit to the 

university since employees that participate in the program do not pay 

FICA. The Transit Benefit is managed through Parking Services. The 

23


estimated annual administrative cost for the Transit Benefit Program 

is $60,786. The transit benefit chart (Figure 12) describes the change 

in number of subscribers to the program for years FY02-09. The 

Academic designation includes faculty and academic professionals. 

Non-academic includes civil service staff. The number of academic 

participants has increased 233% while the number of non-academic 

participants has increased only 26%. During the years 2004 to 2008 

the faculty and staff population has increased 5%. 

Figure 12: Transit Benefit Participation 

Transit Benefit Participation 

Total Participation 

1000 

800 

600 

400 

200 

0 

Academic 

Participants 

Non-Academic 

Participants 

2002 

2003 

2004 

2005 

2006 

2007 

2008 

2009 

Fiscal Year 

Campus Fleet 

The Department of Transportation and Grounds under Facilities 

Management operates the campus fleet. It participates in the Illinois 

Green Fleets Program. The Illinois Green Fleets Program is a 

voluntary program where businesses, government units, and other 

organizations in Illinois gain recognition and additional marketing 

opportunities for having clean, green, domestic, renewable, American 

fuel vehicles in their fleet. It is a program to recognize a fleet 

manager's progressive efforts in using environmentally friendly 

vehicles and fuels to improve air quality while promoting our domestic 

fuels for greater national energy security. 

(http://www.illinoisgreenfleets.org/fact-sheet.html#1). In addition, there 

is a Federal requirement that 70% of new vehicle acquisitions must be 

flex-fuel vehicles so the department has been purchasing a 

combination of hybrids and E-85 flex-fuel vehicles. UIC has been 

meeting that requirement. 

In Fall 2008, the campus fleet was comprised of 233 vehicles 

including 4 biofuel (CNG) grounds trucks, 10 CNG buses, 2 CNG 

24


vans, 3 diesel buses, 24 other diesel vehicles, 26 E-85 vehicles, 4 

hybrid Ford Escapes, 1 hybrid Malibu, 5 hybrid Priuses, and the 

remainder are gasoline powered vehicles. UIC operates its own 

garage and fueling station that supplies gasoline, diesel, and 

compressed natural gas (CNG). There is no E-85 tank so gasoline is 

utilized in the E-85 vehicles. Some of the buses operate on natural 

gas. However, due to high maintenance costs, more recently 

purchased buses have used diesel. Fleet fuel consumption is 

displayed in Figure 13. Since FY2006 there has been a slight 

decrease in fuel consumption. The sharp increase is natural gas 

consumption between 2005 and 2006 is due to differing sources in 

data, as the meter on the natural gas tank was not functioning 

properly. 

Figure 13: UIC Fleet Fuel Consumption 

UIC Fleet Fuel Consumption 

140,000 

7,000 

120,000 

100,000 

6,000 

5,000 

MMBtu 

Gallons 

80,000 

60,000 

4,000 

3,000 

Gasoline Fleet 

Diesel Fleet 

Natural Gas Fleet 

40,000 

2,000 

20,000 

1,000 

- 

2005 2006 2007 2008 

Fiscal Year 

- 

The campus shuttle system is comprised of several routes that are 

funded through various mechanisms: 

• The intercampus shuttle system runs a circuitous route, 7-days 

a week between the east and west sides of campus and 

surrounding neighborhoods. It is serves faculty, staff and 

students at no charge and is funded by Facilities Management. 

The frequency and routing various slightly depending on the 

time of day and whether it is a weekday or weekend and 

whether classes are in session. 

• The semester express primarily serves the students living in 

the south campus residence halls and has limited stops, 

running twice an hour during peak travel times during the week 

when classes are in session. This route is funded by Campus 

Auxiliary Services. 

• The UIC Commuter Buses operate between the UIC campus, 

Union and Northwestern Train Stations at scheduled times 

25


during the work week. Riders pay a $2.00 per trip fare that 

must be purchased in packets of 10 tickets. This route 

designed to be self-supporting. 

• The Red Car/Off-Hour Paratransit Service is an escort service 

that provides transportation to university employees, students, 

visitors, and other authorized individuals between university 

facilities and from university facilities to points of public 

transportation, or to private residences within a designated 

area. This route is funded by Facilities Management. 

• On-campus Paratransit Service is available seven days a 

week for students, faculty and staff with disabilities. This route 

is funded by Facilities Management. 

Records of ridership for all the routes were reviewed for the years 

FY01 to FY07. With the exception of the Red Car and the Paratransit 

services, there has been a steady decrease in ridership on these 

services (See Tables 6 to 9). This is most likely attributed to the 

introduction of the U-Pass on campus making multiple routes 

available to students. Also, the availability of the Metra Link pass with 

routes from campus to the Metra stations, decreased frequency of 

service, and the increased cost of the Commuter Shuttle has probably 

contributed to the reduction in passengers. 

Table 6: Daytime Intercampus, Total Passengers 

DAYTIME INTERCAMPUS TOTAL PASSENGERS 

FY07 

FISCAL YEAR 

FY05 

FY03 

FY01 

0 200000 400000 600000 800000 1000000 1200000 

Table 7: Evening Intercampus, Total Passengers 

EVENING INTERCAMPUS TOTAL PASSENGERS 

FY07 

FISCAL YEAR 

FY05 

FY03 

FY01 

0 20000 40000 60000 80000 100000 120000 140000 160000 180000 200000 

26


Table 8: Commuter Shuttle, Total Passengers 

COMMUTER SHUTTLE TOTAL PASSENGERS 

FY07 

FISCAL YEAR 

FY05 

FY03 

FY01 

0 50000 100000 150000 200000 250000 

Table 9: Weekend and Holiday Intercampus, Total Passengers 

WEEKEND AND HOLIDAY INTERCAMPUS TOTAL PASSENGERS 

FY07 

FY06 

FISCAL YEAR 

FY05 

FY04 

FY03 

FY02 

FY01 

0 10000 20000 30000 40000 50000 60000 

Grounds Data 

Implementation of environmentally sustainable grounds operation 

practices is predicated on the campuses ability to measure and 

quantify the cost benefits. Collection of baseline data and ongoing 

analysis of this data will facilitate accountability, identify ‘hot spots’ in 

grounds operations and provide a method for identifying and 

prioritizing future projects. 

UIC has over 5100 trees and 90.7 acres of green space. UIC has 

begun to utilize some sustainable grounds and landscaping 

practices. UIC has installed a cistern to capture run-off from the roof 

on the UIC Forum and the water will be utilized to irrigate the 

plantings in the area. In 2008, a green roof was installed on the 

Architecture and Arts Building and another green roof is planned for 

the Behavioral Sciences Building in summer 2009. UIC collects all 

landscaping waste for off-site composting. Typically, 150-200 tons of 

landscape material is composted. Irrigation has been reduced over 

the years, primarily due to budget cuts that don’t allow proper 

27


maintenance of irrigation systems. Native species and plants that are 

suitable for Illinois climate without irrigation are being used near 

recent and new construction such as the east Recreation Center and 

Lincoln Hall. 

Evaluation and benchmarking improvements in environmental quality 

include the following: 

1) Inventory grounds equipment owned and contracted, fuel 

consumption, supplies such as fertilizer, snow-melt, pesticides, 

2) Identify equipment replacement options and guidelines for future 

purchase 

3) Perform air, water, soil testing 

4) Calculate costs for mowing, trimming, labor, equipment and 

supplies for tree planting, maintenance and removal, value of 

volunteer labor (# of hours × $18), contributions from student or 

civic organizations; maintenance of campus tree inventory, tree 

management and public education related to the campus tree 

care plan, professional training, and dues for related association 

memberships 

5) Amount of water for used for irrigation or frequency and location 

of irrigation sites 

Primary Data Collection Effort 

• Tree Campus USA and Tree Care Plan 

Performance on STARS Standards 

The Sustainability Tracking and Rating Assessment (STARS) 

developed through a collaborative effort by the Association for 

Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) is 

comprised of a credit system for sustainable operations. In the 

category of transportation UIC meets some of the criteria but could 

achieve more points. 

• Currently, the institution’s motorized fleet emits 0.2 carbon dioxide 

equivalent (CO 2 e) per passenger mile traveled, achieving one 

point. We could achieve 2 points by having no CO 2 e per 

passenger mile traveled (carbon neutral fleet). 

• Another credit is given for having a specified percentage of the 

institution's faculty, staff and students getting to and from campus 

by a means other than single occupancy vehicle for the majority of 

their daily trips. Alternatives to single-occupancy vehicle 

transportation include walking, bicycling, van or carpooling, taking 

public transportation, or riding a campus shuttle. Currently, 76% of 

28


the campus community gets to and from campus by alternate 

means, giving us two points which is given to an institution that 

has more than 50% of the institution’s population primarily using 

preferable modes of transportation. We could achieve 3 points if 

more than 95% of institution’s population primarily would use 

preferable modes of transportation. 

We have not achieved credits for commuter options by meeting the 

criteria for being recognized by the Best Workplaces for Commuters 

program. This credit recognizes institutions with strong programs in 

place to encourage employees to use preferable modes of 

transportation. The National Standard of Excellence in commuter 

benefits, developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is 

used to determine whether employers qualify for designation under 

the Best Workplaces for Commuters program. To encourage their 

employees to bike, walk, carpool, or take mass transit to and from 

campus, institutions can implement a variety of programs, incentives, 

and facilities. Examples of such tools include transit subsidies, bicycle 

facilities, awards programs, and parking incentives for carpoolers. UIC 

has some of these programs in place but would need more incentives 

to meet these criteria. 

We also have not achieved the credit for an Organic Campus which 

requires the institution to apply to its grounds only pesticides and 

fertilizers that are allowable under the U.S. Department of 

Agriculture’s standards for organic crop production. We would be 

more likely to utilize Integrated Pest Management in the near term (a 

Tier 2 credit). 

Another STARS criterion relates to the percentage of irrigation water 

needs met with non-potable water. An institution that gets 50% of its 

needs met gets one point and 100% non-potable water for irrigation 

gives 2 points. UIC does not currently use any non-potable water for 

irrigation but will use some at the Forum from the cistern that will be 

installed as soon as the plaza is completed. UIC does meet the 

criteria for several Tier 2 credits including landscaping with native 

species, inventorying and mapping all campus trees and other 

landscape assets, and composting yard waste. UIC does not meet the 

criteria for the following: 

• Develop and implement a rainwater management plan to filter 

and mitigate rainwater runoff 

• Use permeable pavement 

• Follow best management practices for snow and ice removal 

• Is recognized by the Arbor Day Foundation’s Tree Campus 

USA program 

• Grass-cycles grass trimmings 

Excerpts from UIC Campus Master Plan Phase I Draft report (4-14- 

09) 

29


UIC Campus Master Plan Initial Findings 

The UIC Campus Master Planning process began in the fall of 2008 

and will continue for about 18 months. The Vision Statement for the 

plan (dated November 26, 2008) states that: 

The UIC Campus of the Future will be a public destination that 

integrates the learning environment for scholarship with the urban 

vitality of a global Chicago. At UIC, students, faculty, staff, alumni, 

collaborators, visitors, neighbors, donors, friends, and potential 

development partners and other stakeholders will experience a vibrant 

campus – featuring sustainable buildings and landscapes – that 

engages the learner, satisfies the curious, inspires the creative and 

attracts the passerby. 

Initial findings from the Phase I work that are relevant to this report 

are as follows: 

• Pedestrian Connection - A viable pedestrian corridor between 

the east and west sides of UIC would improve the sense of 

campus unity. However, as many reading this document will 

know, walking from the center of one side of campus to the 

other can take as long as thirty minutes. Hence, while a 

pedestrian connection might still be sought, other means of 

transportation will need to be re-established to make the 

everyday trek between east and west work efficiently. 

• Bike Lanes - The connections between the two sides of the 

campus and between the campus and city could be enabled 

through bike lanes. 

• Bus Routes - UIC provides shuttle buses for students and 

faculty to connect the east Side of campus to the west. 

Presently, the routes of these buses are too circuitous to 

provide an efficient connection and the buses are commonly 

slow and late. Further, this diagram shows that the buses don’t 

connect the centers of the two sides of campus; rather, the 

buses concentrate on peripheral roads such as Harrison Street 

and provide too many stops at “front doors” of buildings. 

Opportunities for more efficient routes will be considered. 

• CTA Bus Routes - CTA buses have routes that are far more 

direct and efficient than those of the UIC busses. There could 

be an opportunity to eliminate or reduce the UIC routes and 

provide all UIC people with CTA passes for transport between 

the two sides of campus. Additionally, the CTA routes prove 

that bus transit is possible on direct roads between east and 

west campus, such as Taylor Street. 

30


• CTA Trains - CTA trains are providing an efficient means of 

transportation to campus from off-campus residential areas. 

However, while CTA Trains offer a good opportunity to 

connect each side of campus to the city through existing 

infrastructure, they unfortunately do not provide a direct 

connection between the east and west sides of campus 

without first being routed through the Loop. Without some CTA 

changes, this mode of public transportation is not viable for 

connecting all sides of campus. 

• Pedestrian Use of Open Space - West Side pedestrian 

circulation is primarily along street sidewalks and 

perpendicular mid-block alleys. Diagonal walkways occur in 

interior courtyards at the center of the west Side. The heaviest 

concentration of pedestrian circulation occurs along the Taylor 

St sidewalk, between Wolcott and Paulina, corresponding with 

the entrance to the UIC Medical Center. On the east side, 

pedestrian routes weave through the campus from north to 

south. The Blue Line “El” station at Peoria and the large 

surface parking lots to the north and south are the origin of 

most foot traffic. These patterns roughly align with the 

removed Netsch ‘walkways’. Concentrated diagonal foot traffic 

occurs between the BSB and the Quad, before merging with 

north-south pedestrians heading further south to the Physical 

Education building on Roosevelt Road. The east side 

perimeter is bound by arterial streets that discourage 

pedestrians from using sidewalks and consolidate foot traffic to 

the campus interior. 

• Open Space Opportunities- Initial analysis of the open space 

issues suggested preliminary opportunities for improving the 

campus landscape. These bulleted opportunities vary from 

replacing pavement with lawn to adding or subtracting 

buildings. The itemized opportunities may contradict one 

another for a particular area with the objective of considering 

widely divergent scenarios for improvement. These scenarios 

will be explored in greater detail in future phases of the master 

plan. 

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Summary of Major Findings 

Assets and Services 

• UIC has a total of 41 parking lots with 11,944 parking spaces 

in the east and west campuses combined. 

• UIC offers a variety of transportation services, including 

Intercampus shuttle buses between the east, west and south 

campuses, on-campus paratransit service for persons with 

disabilities, the Red Car/Off-Hour Paratransit Service, a 

Chauffeur service is also available and commuter buses which 

operate between the campus and major commuter train 

stations. 

• The campus is strategically located with several city bus 

routes and train services that operate through the heart of 

campus. 

• Campus fleet vehicles include those used for Campus Auto 

Rental Service, the campus police, and vehicles used for onsite 

operations and maintenance. 

• Currently, the institution’s motorized fleet emits 0.2 carbon 

dioxide equivalent (CO 2 e) per passenger mile traveled, 

achieving one point. 

• UIC draws hundreds of thousands of business and academic 

visitors, special events attendees and patients annually, to 

various facilities across campus. 

Demand Patterns 

• Overall, less than 25% of UIC faculty, students and staff who 

responded to the UIC Office of Sustainability Commute 

Survey, reported that they drive the entire commute to 

campus. 

• A little over half (55.4%) of the survey respondents use one 

mode of transportation to commute to UIC and the average 

distance traveled is 11 miles. 

• Approximately 44.6% of the survey respondents use two or 

more transportation modes to get to UIC. The average 

distance traveled for those using two modes is 20 miles; for 

those using three modes, 28 miles. 

• Close to 38% of faculty and staff reside in zipcodes where the 

transit availability is generally ‘excellent’ to ‘good’. Close to 

40% reside in areas within the six counties that have 

‘excellent’ pedestrian amenities; another 25% or so reside in 

areas with ‘good’ values of pedestrian accessibility. 

Employees residing in such areas, who are currently solo 

drivers to campus, may be considered for incentives, 

information and marketing to occasionally use transit to 

campus. 

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• Overall, there are enough ‘spatially clustered’ groups of faculty 

and staff to whom transit is not available. Employees in these 

spatially clustered groups may be better served with express 

buses, vanpools, carpools and other high occupancy modes. 

• Almost 20% of UIC students live within 2 miles of campus and 

about 35% live within 5 miles. In FY2007, 3,109 students 

resided in campus housing in the east, south or west sides. 

• Close to 90% of UIC students have a valid driver’s license and 

about 72% have a private vehicle available to them. 

• More than 60% of UIC U-PASS users are ‘moderate intensity 

users’ who ride the transit system between 32 and 106 times 

per semester. About 18% are ‘high intensity users’ who ride 

the system 106 times per semester. Only 5% of U-PASS 

holders are non-users (never used the transit system at all 

during a semester). 

• There has been a 230% decrease in parking permits issued to 

students since the implementation of the U-PASS. There has 

been a 38% decrease among non-academic employee parking 

permits on the east side, whereas on the while there has been 

a slight increase on the west side. 

• Daily parking utilization is approximately 64% (81% west 

campus, 50% east campus). The medical community parking 

needs affords the university opportunity to allocate parking 

space more efficiently. Special events on campus can 

generate 100% parking lot utilization in the parking areas close 

to the venue. 

• The number of academic participants in the transit benefit 

program has increased 233% while the number of nonacademic 

participants has increased only 26%. 

• In terms of schedules, staff and part-time students have the 

most predictable schedules. Faculty members tend to be on 

campus during the business day with a somewhat varied 

schedule, while full-time students have the greatest schedule 

variety, with more than 25% stating that their schedules vary 

considerably. 

STARS Standards 

• Currently, the institution’s motorized fleet emits 0.2 carbon 

dioxide equivalent (CO 2 e) per passenger mile traveled, 

achieving one point. We could achieve 2 points by having no 

CO 2 e per passenger mile traveled (carbon neutral fleet). 

• Another credit is given for having a specified percentage of the 

institution's faculty, staff, and students getting to and from 

campus by a means other than single occupancy vehicle for 

the majority of their daily trips. Alternatives to singleoccupancy 

vehicle transportation include walking, bicycling, 

van or carpooling, taking public transportation, or riding a 

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campus shuttle. Currently, 76% of the campus community gets 

to and from campus by alternate means, giving us two points 

which is given to an institution that has more than 50% of the 

institution’s population primarily using preferable modes of 

transportation. We could achieve 3 points if more than 95% of 

institution’s population primarily would use preferable modes 

of transportation. 

• UIC does not meet any Tier 1 STARS credits in the grounds 

area however it does meet the criteria for several Tier 2 credits 

including landscaping with native species, inventorying and 

mapping all campus trees and other landscape assets, and 

composting yard waste. UIC could achieve more points by 

having an Organic Campus and using non-potable water for 

irrigation. 

Recommendations 

On the basis of the findings, the subcommittee makes the following 

recommendations: 

Recommendations for Transportation 

Transportation Demand 

There are numerous strategies that can be utilized to increase 

sustainable mode use in the UIC campus. 

1. Boosting bicycle usage: Given that a large number of 

students and many faculty and staff live less than 5 miles from 

campus, the possibility of boosting bicycle usage should be 

explored. We recommend the following: 

• Encourage and support a campus Bicycle Advisory 

Council to inform and guide bicycle infrastructure and 

programs on campus. 

• Disseminate bicycle-related information more widely: 

Like the UIC parking maps, electronic maps of where 

bike facilities are located throughout campus are 

available. This resource should be made known to UIC 

students and staff via the Internet and should be included 

in all orientation programs. 

• Make the federal Bike Benefit program available to the 

campus community. 

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• Expand bicycle programs and amenities: UIC should 

investigate the possibility of expanding bike racks at 

strategic locations throughout campus, implementing a 

bicycle rental/sharing program and increasing lockers 

and showers. The Chicago Department of 

Transportation’s Bike Program should be leveraged for 

this purpose. 

• Expand bike lane network: UIC should consider 

expanding the number of bike lanes near campus. 

CMAP’s CMAQ program and the CDOT programs can 

be leveraged for this purpose. 

• Develop and adopt a Bicycle Plan for campus, 

integrating it with the City of Chicago Bike Plan and the 

UIC Master Plan. 

• Develop secure, destination-oriented bicycle parking 

areas on campus to mitigate theft. Opportunities for grant 

funding should be pursued. 

• Experiment with advanced technologies to boost user 

confidence with the bike mode: The work being 

conducted by the CTS IGERT and UTC on advanced 

technologies for non-motorized transportation, including 

routing based on the user’s safety and security 

preferences may be undertaken as a demonstration 

project to boost bicycle usage and to encourage a far 

greater number of individuals to use these modes of 

transportation to and around campus. 

2. Promote and expand UIC Transportation Benefit Program: 

The Transportation Benefit Program is a valuable resource 

offered to employees of the UIC. Under the Internal Revenue 

Service Code, it allows benefits eligible employees to realize 

income tax saving by paying for commuting expenses with pretax 

dollars. 

Currently, the program operates by deducting monthly a preselected 

amount from the employee’s paycheck for “qualified 

transportation expenses.” This resource also serves the 

University by saving on payroll taxes. 

In 2003, the ‘UIC Transit Check User Survey’ was conducted, 

which outlined the positives and negatives which enrolled 

employees who completed the survey perceived to be 

associated with the program. 

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As of 2009, the Transportation Benefit Program reports 1005 

University employees listed as enrolled in the program. 

As of March 2009, the new federal stimulus package has 

increased the maximum benefit for the program from $120 to 

$230 per employee. There is also a bicycle transit benefit 

available for up to $20 per employee. We recommend: 

• Expanding the program to the new limit of $230. 

• Expanding the program by increasing the number of 

price points (currently $30, $50, $65, $75 or $120). 

• Allow pre-tax program participants to utilize the benefit 

for more than one transportation provider. (E.g. one 

voucher for CTA and one voucher for Metra). 

• Implementing the bicycle transit benefit program. 

• Updating and redistributing a Transit Check User Survey 

to assess current strengths and weaknesses of the 

program. 

• Promoting awareness of the program through print ads in 

the UIC Flame newspaper, flyers, listserv messages, etc. 

• Hosting information sessions at UIC 

orientations/independent transportation information 

sessions to increase education and enrollment 

3. Transit stops and amenities: The quality of transit stops can 

greatly improve or deter the propensity to use transit. We 

recommend: 

• The quality, surroundings, access paths, lighting and 

safety of transit amenities and stops should be improved, 

so that UIC faculty, staff and students are comfortable 

with transit at all times. 

• The UIC Halsted CTA station could be used as a 

demonstration of a Passenger Mobility Hub, with 

concessions, better waiting area conditions, bike 

rental/sharing possibilities, better lighting and as a hub 

for shuttle buses, CTA buses and taxis. 

• Security and patrolling of transit stops should be 

improved. 

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4. Alternatives to air travel: This is a market that has to be 

carefully segmented – most likely by trip distance. We 

recommend: 

• Faculty and staff should be encouraged to substitute 

driving their conventional vehicles or flying to short 

distance destinations, such as to Springfield, IL or other 

Midwest locations. Hybrid rental vehicles, AMTRAK, 

Greyhound or MegaBus, may substitute these trips. 

• A comprehensive review of the policies and practices 

that enable videoconferencing and promotion of 

videoconferencing to the campus community 

• Evaluate the costs of teleconferencing for participants 

(such as long distance toll charges) and explore 

opportunities to increase usage. Promote 

teleconferencing to the campus community. 

5. Education and Outreach: In providing an outlet for faculty and 

staff to become informed on transit benefits and alternatives, 

UIC can insure that its employees will be more inclined to 

choose a sustainable transportation mode in making their 

commute to work and in other parts of their daily lives. We 

recommend: 

• Host a table at the UIC Employee Benefits Fair, 

incorporating representatives from PACE, Metra, CTA 

and UIC. 

• Hold quarterly UIC-sponsored information sessions for 

employee education. 

• Institute regular mailings, flyers, posters to be posted and 

distributed on campus and to UIC employees homes. 

• Provide free trial transit passes to encourage ridership. 

• Create comprehensive transportation website with 

information regarding alternative transit resources (i.e., 

cost calculator, trip planner, rideshare info, etc.) 

6. Ride-sharing: Many UIC employees and students already 

informally carpool with neighbors also working in or near UIC or 

colleagues who live close by or along the way. This concept 

may be broadened to a wider group of UIC employees, who 

may not personally know anyone living nearby or along the 

37


way, who wishes to carpool to UIC. A more formal approach, 

using ridematching, is ridesharing. Ridematching is a 

computerized service that allows commuters find other 

commuters who want to start or join a carpool or vanpool. 

Ridematching programs have proven to be a successful 

method of reducing carbon footprints, as well as easing the 

stresses of commuting to work for employees in both 

educational institutions and other work environments. We 

recommend that the following services be explored for the UIC 

community: 

• Promote existing rideshare opportunities, such as the 

program provided by Pace, as an interim rideshare 

program. 

• Ridematching as an online service: By creating a 

comprehensive ridematching website and survey, UIC 

can offer consistency, flexibility and security to its 

employees. The system can connect UIC faculty/staff to 

carpooling possibilities in their communities. Ridematch 

21 is a Chicago-based system and GoLoCo is a national 

system that has been successful in generating carpools. 

A key reason why many individuals are hesitant to use 

ridematched carpools is that they may have to share a 

ride with complete strangers who they may not be 

comfortable with. A possibility to ensure confidence in 

the system is to have employees screen those with 

whom they would agree to share a ride. 

• Real-time, dynamic ridematching systems using wireless 

technologies: As a long-term strategy, a demonstration 

project should be attempted to operationalize real-time, 

dynamic Ridematching systems using Personal Digital 

Assistants, cell phones and other mobile devices, using 

Mobile Ad-Hoc Network Technology and other 

technologies using peer-to-peer systems and wireless 

communications methods. Such technologies are being 

experimented with as a part of the Computation 

Transportation Science IGERT Ph.D. program. Again the 

issue of having a trusted entity operating the system 

would entail that users are given an opportunity to opt-in 

and that potential ride-sharers are agreeable to the 

individual seeking a ride. Social networks may be utilized 

to fully implement such technologies. A full-scale 

demonstration project could position UIC in the lead as 

supporters of innovative technology that attempts to 

“make it easy” for commuters to use sustainable, higheroccupancy 

modes of transportation. 

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• Occasional Ride Program: The Occasional Ride Program 

is one that allows faculty, staff and students to 

occasionally have access to preferred parking on 

campus, in exchange that they agree to find alternative, 

sustainable options as their primary mode of 

transportation. This program allows flexibility for 

individuals and promotes mass transit ridership. 

For subscribers of the Occasional Ride program, we 

recommend: 

1. Create preferred parking for occasional 

users. 

2. Provide parking cashouts for members 

who use alternative transportation 

modes. 

3. Increase parking pass and daily user 

costs. 

4. Provide priority parking for car and van 

pools. 

7. Guaranteed Ride Home programs: In addition to security 

issues that deter individuals from using carpools and the like, 

the question of how employees would get back home in the 

event of an emergency is another major deterrent. Guaranteed 

Ride Home (otherwise known as GRH) provides commuters 

who regularly vanpool, carpool, bike, walk, or take transit with a 

reliable ride home when unexpected emergencies arises. We 

recommend the following: 

• Immediate Seek CMAQ funds: UIC should explore the 

possibility of obtaining funds for the GRH from the 

Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Program (CMAP), 

a federally funded program that is operated in 

Northeastern Illinois by the Chicago Metropolitan Agency 

(CMAP). 

• Terms of usage: UIC commuters should be able to use 

GRH for personal emergencies and unscheduled 

overtime up to four times per year or up to $100 per year. 

• Price and fee structure: The ride home by cab, rental car, 

bus or train is free (excluding gratuity, fuel and insurance 

charges). 

8. Evaluate the Role of UIC Parking Services. Since Parking 

Services is a self-supporting enterprise, any revenue it makes 

must be reinvested in the parking lot enterprise. Further, it 

39


cannot receive university support to manage other programs, 

such as the transit benefit program. Parking Services is in the 

process of reviewing agencies, including the Fringe Benefit 

Management company in order to outsource this program 

which costs more than $60,000/year to administer. We 

recommend: 

• Relieving Parking Services of the management of the 

Transit Benefit program. 

9. Travel training to faculty/staff and students: The above 

items provide passive and un-customized travel information to 

potential users. Transit agencies around the country have 

started programs by means of which prospective transit riders, 

who meet certain criteria, are given training and hands-on 

experience with the transit alternatives in a region. Such an 

approach should be undertaken in UIC, to provide incentives 

and to “break the ice” with respect to travel alternatives. We 

recommend: 

• Developing a travel training flyer for orientations and for 

use as campus resource. 

• New faculty, staff and students may be given a packet of 

information on transportation options in the region and on 

campus, as a part of orientation. This information should 

be disseminated at campus benefits fairs and other 

appropriate venues. 

• Interested employees and students may be imparted 

hands-on transit use training, from tickets options that 

may be availed of, to planning trips online and actually 

boarding and disembarking from transit vehicles. Similar 

programs may be provided about how car-sharing 

programs or bike rental works. Training may also be 

provided to use the proposed online resources, in order 

to maximize the use of alternative methods of 

transportation. 

10. Aggressively seek federal/state grant money: Numerous 

federal and state funds exist which can be used specifically and 

broadly to implement transportation initiatives for the university. 

With the new administration’s focus on the importance of 

sustainability, institutions like UIC can expect to see more mass 

transit-friendly initiatives, which the University can take 

advantage of to fund innovative and sustainable transportation 

alternatives. 

40


Additionally, monies that are in existence may currently be 

under-realized. In this respect, the University should seek to 

more diligently pursue funds that can offset the cost of 

implementing many of our prescribed recommendations. We 

recommend: 

• Actively and consistently seek out and apply for federal 

and regional (PACE/Metra/CTA/IDOT) funding 

assistance opportunities 

• Use grant monies to fund the hiring of a transportation 

coordinator to manage further transit alternative 

initiatives 

11. Specialized bus service: There are several neighborhoods 

where there are enough UIC faculty and staff residents who 

may be willing to commute to campus using specialized, 

limited-stop bus service. Coordination with CTA or Pace will be 

needed for this purpose. We recommend that the following 

services be investigated for UIC faculty, students and staff: 

• Express bus, with limited or no stops between the pickup 

point and drop off-point, is one such service. For UIC 

employees who reside in low-income neighborhoods, the 

Job Access and Reverse Commute (JARC) program 

administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s 

Federal Transit Administration (FTA) can be leveraged. 

This program requires a 50% match. Other governmental 

funding sources may also be used. 

• Another alternative is subscription bus service. 

Subscription bus services are developed when a special 

need arises. Most subscription service is organized by 

private groups, often in the face of restrictive regulatory, 

legal and institutional constraints. Subscription routes 

usually operate only during the morning and afternoon 

rush periods, and have limited, if any, stops. Pace 

Suburban Bus operates subscription services with 

subscription fares which are $3.00 one way, and a $110 

monthly pass. 

• Initiate or continue discussion with CTA regarding 

opportunities to increase service and/or reduce cost. 

12. Shuttle Bus and Red Car services: The CTA Bus Tracker 

system has improved the quality of the bus rider’s experience. 

41


Similar technologies may be attempted for the Shuttle Bus and 

Red Car service. We recommend: 

• Analysis of shuttle routing to maximize efficiency and 

service. 

• A system using GPS devices be used to track the 

locations of the UIC shuttle buses and red car services. 

• Information on arrival times may be disseminated via the 

internet, users’ PDAs, kiosks throughout campus and at 

Wi-Fi hotspots. 

13. Parking pricing: Subsidized employer parking is said to be 

one of the major reasons why Travel Demand Management 

strategies continue to fail. We define “subsidized” as the 

practice of charging below the market rate for parking. There is 

a great difference between the Chicago market rate for parking 

and UIC rate for parking; the lower cost of parking at UIC is 

interference in the market and the result is lost revenue; the 

artificially low parking prices are a subsidy for parking which is 

not extended to other transit modes. The discrepancy between 

the subsidy allotted to parking and transit use should be 

eliminated; “level the playing field” so to speak, for parity 

between transportation modes and to allow market forces to 

function. The subcommittee understands that increasing 

parking fees may be politically difficult and inequitable in some 

cases. We recommend that: 

• Credits should be given to hybrid vehicle users, other 

alternative fuel vehicle users and carpool users. 

• Increasing parking pricing should be considered a longterm, 

gradually-initiated policy. 

• The campus may experiment with a variable parking 

scheme. For prepaid parking users, an income-based 

approach may be considered. For visitors, a time-of-day 

scheme may be utilized. 

• However, the above strategies are unlikely to lead to 

user acceptance unless many of the travel options 

recommended in this report are followed. 

• Revenues raised from increased parking price may be 

firewalled into a Transportation and Grounds Fund, to 

support a variety of activities that would initiate improved 

sustainability conditions. 

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• Evaluate Parking Operations for both scale and scope of 

practice and revenue sources, considering the 

opportunity to include and fund functions such as secure 

bike parking as well as the improved environmentally 

friendliness of parking lots and stormwater management 

techniques. 

14. An Ozone Action Day is declared when weather conditions 

are likely to combine with pollution emissions to form high 

levels of ozone near the ground that may cause harmful health 

effects. People and businesses should take action to reduce 

emissions of ozone-causing pollutants. We recommend that 

UIC participate in an Ozone Action Day awareness campaign 

for summer 2009 by: 

• Posting an e-mail alert of an Ozone Action Day via UIC 

announcements and/or on UIC's home page (usually the 

EPA releases the announcement the day before). 

• Incorporating a web page that discusses Ozone Action 

Days and what readers can do to reduce ground-level 

ozone (e.g., taking transit, combine errands, etc.) 

• Participating in and announcing Partners for Clean Air 

events around the region (e.g., every year PCA has had 

a campaign to win a Prius hybrid in their "Green Pays on 

Green Days" program). 

• Spearheading a campus campaign to reduce groundlevel 

ozone. This could incorporate all the 

recommendations put forth in Sustainable Transportation 

and Grounds report, but focused within a summer 

timeframe (when Ozone Action Days typically occur). 

15. Telecommuting and Compressed Work Week programs 

reduce traffic congestion and impact air quality while improving 

the productivity and morale of participating employees. These 

programs can also be harnessed to conserve space and 

reduce overhead costs. We recommend that UIC Human 

Resources adopt a telecommute/compressed work week/flextime 

program and assess the results: 

• Identify units or departments that can effectively and 

efficiently implement telecommuting or compressed work 

week programs. 

• Develop a policy that supports and encourages these 

strategies. 

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• Implement and monitor the program in terms of 

environmental impacts including trip reduction and 

survey program participants regarding morale. 

Energy and Vehicles 

By participating in the Illinois Clean Fleet Program, UIC has moved 

toward alternative, lower carbon emitting vehicles in the campus fleet. 

There are opportunities to improve the efficiency of shuttle and bus 

service on campus. We recommend: 

• Based on analyses made by the Campus Master 

Planning consultants, more direct routing of buses 

should be implemented. 

• Engage the CTA in discussions as to whether there are 

opportunities to provide services to the entire campus 

community in more economical ways by utilizing and 

expanding on their existing bus routes. 

• Continue to phase in hybrids and vehicles with higher 

fuel economy for the campus fleet. 

• Evaluate whether car-sharing options such as I-Go or 

Zipcar could be utilized for campus travel purposes. 

Recommendations for Grounds 

An important and often overlooked forest resource in Illinois is the 

State's urban and community forests. These are the trees and related 

natural resources found in the State's 2,000 plus communities and 

universities. These urban forests provide the environmental benefits 

of cooling, storm water and erosion control, and water quality 

protection while reducing water consumption in the communities 

where over 80 percent of our population lives, works, and plays. 

Urban forest are designed to stimulate the general structure and 

ecosystem functions of naturally occurring forest communities of the 

region, with a composition of species that may not necessarily 

replicate the original forest of the area. Urban forestry programs 

provide a foundation for enhancing urban forests through clearly 

stated policies, procedures, and practices necessary to establish, 

protect, maintain, and remove trees and plants on campus. 

By implementing an urban forestry program, UIC can educate the 

campus community on the benefits of trees, best practices in tree 

care, and how collaboration between campuses and their surrounding 

44


communities results in a healthier and more sustainable environment 

for everyone. 

Implementation of environmentally sustainable grounds operation 

practices is predicated on the campuses ability to measure and 

quantify the cost and environmental benefits. Collection of baseline 

data and ongoing analysis of this data will facilitate accountability, 

identify “hot spots” in grounds operations and provide a method for 

identifying and prioritizing future projects. 

The objective of the Grounds aspect is to develop an integrated, 

ecologically based landscape and open space system that achieves 

environmental sustainability by improving grounds operations through 

the adoption of an urban forestry program, completion of a campus 

tree care plan and tree inventory and educational and outreach 

activities. We recommend: 

1. Establishment of a Grounds Advisory Committee to assist in 

implementing the below listed tree and landscape guidelines. 

2. Urban Forestry: Adoption of an urban forestry program, such as 

Tree Campus USA that provides essential tools in supporting and 

recognizing grounds managers’ efforts, addresses long-term 

environmental sustainability and commits annual expenditures for 

tree care on campus. 

Development of a comprehensive campus tree program to include: 

• A tree planting and management program to increase the 

environmental benefits of cooling, enhanced storm water 

management, erosion control and water quality 

protection; increased species diversity, and reduced 

water consumption and energy expenditure for grounds 

maintenance. 

• Completion of a campus tree care plan and tree 

inventory to promote best tree management practices 

and educate the next generation of tree stewards. The 

completion of the plan will link to other green initiatives 

on campus as well as the surrounding community. 

Promote the plan to potential partners and funding 

sources such as grantors and alumni groups. The 

campus tree care plan will provide the framework for 

developing the policies, procedures, and practices to 

establish, protect, maintain, and remove trees on 

campus. 

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3. Utilization of the campus grounds as a resource for research, 

education and outreach at all levels. 

• Provide areas for research, education and passive 

recreation on campus, such as community gardens. 

• Create and sustain training and development programs 

for the grounds crew and volunteer groups. 

• Promote outreach and education that heightens public 

awareness of the relationship between society and the 

natural environment. 

• Identify and obtain buy-in from campus facilities and 

budget administrators for such major projects as storm 

water management, use of porous pavements, and 

LEED-certified building renovations, that, while beyond 

the immediate range of funding and implementation, are 

crucial to long-term environmental sustainability. 

• Implementation of arboriculture practices, such as plant 

selection, site preparation, planting and transplanting, 

fertilizing, composting, staking, pruning, landscaping, and 

tree maintenance and removal. 

• Implementation of tree protection and preservation 

policies, including procedures for new construction 

projects; snow removal and salt alternatives; requiring 

permeable and reflective surface alternatives in 

landscape design; specifying prohibited practices, and 

creating and disseminating a strategy to communicate 

these policies. 

• Establishment and maintenance of a digital campus tree 

inventory for use in tree management (species selection 

and diversity), campus planning, landscape guidelines 

and academic and general public events. 

• Establishment of an annual work plan that tracks and 

documents expenditures and evidence that sufficient 

funding has been dedicated to the work plan (UIC 

dedicates annual funding for full-time employees, 

contract labor, and the equipment and supplies used for 

tree care.) 

4. Sponsor outreach and educational events that engage 

community and support long term strategies. We recommend: 

46


• Campus events that celebrate the importance of 

environmental stewardship and engage faculty, staff, 

alumni, and student volunteer labor (worth an estimated 

$18 per hour) to plant trees, shrubs, groundcover, and 

flowers; apply mulch; pull weeds; pick up trash; teach, 

and reduce costs. 

• Workshops, lectures, classes, and other learning projects 

that generate revenue by charging admission or a 

registration fee while providing opportunities to engage 

the campus and community in activities that demonstrate 

the benefits of trees to the environment (Selling trees 

through the National Arbor Day Foundation is another 

opportunity to raise funds.) 

• Assist Project Learning Tree or other programs centered 

around trees in training teachers at schools near your 

campus or organize training for your school’s College of 

Education. 

• Other tree-related service learning or educational 

programs for students. 

• Partnership with State forestry departments on regional 

projects. 

• Educational projects such as a Nature Explore 

Classroom for young children at an early childhood 

development center on your campus or in your 

community. 

• Establish campus arboreta. 

• Create partnerships to manage community natural 

resource. 

• Implement long-term natural resource management in 

the State's cities and towns by coordinating internships 

with the urban forestry or parks department in your 

community. 

5. UIC should explore the possibility of obtaining funds for: 

• Incorporating the development of the quality, 

surroundings, access paths, lighting and safety of transit 

amenities and stops into a sustainable landscape plan. 

47


• Hold quarterly UIC-sponsored information sessions on 

progress of grounds initiatives and for employee 

education. 

• Institute regular mailings, flyers, posters to be posted and 

distributed on campus and to UIC employees homes on 

impact of landscape to the environment 

• Hiring of a grounds coordinator to manage sustainable 

landscape initiatives 

6. Capture stormwater onsite; capturing stormwater onsite is one 

way to reduce stormwater flow into Chicago’s combined 

stormwater and wastewater sewer system. This water flows to the 

Metropolitan Wastewater Reclamation District plants where the 

combined flow is treated as wastewater. However, when rainfall is 

high the plants cannot process all the wastewater at once and it is 

stored in the deep tunnel system. If the tunnel system capacity is 

exceeded, then the combined stormwater and wastewater is 

released untreated into Lake Michigan. We recommend: 

• Utilize rain barrels or cisterns to capture run-off from 

building roofs. 

• Direct stormwater run-off from low-lying areas, near 

driveways or in parking to bioswales and rain gardens. 

That also reduces the amount of stormwater that must be 

pumped and the energy required to pump it. 

• Utilize green roofs. The rooftop gardens capture the rain 

in their soil reducing the amount of run-off. In addition, 

green roofs reduce the heat island effect and insulate the 

buildings, reducing the energy needed to heat and cool 

them. 

• Install permeable pavement captures rain where it falls 

and should be considered for use in parking lots 

whenever feasible. 

7. Composting: If composting can be done on-site at UIC, this 

provides a rich source of organic material that can be used to 

fertilize plantings and flower beds throughout the campus. We 

recommend: 

• Seek opportunities to fund a pilot composting program. 

48


8. Reduce/eliminate irrigation: The reduction or elimination of 

irrigation, by planting species that are most suitable for UIC’s 

climate and, perhaps, changing our expectations for how green 

the grass needs to be can save both water and the energy 

required to pump it. We recommend: 

• If irrigation must be used, stormwater (or grey water) 

applications should be considered. 

9. Use native species: As mentioned above, planting species most 

suitable for UIC’s climate such as native species reduces the need 

for irrigation. It is becoming more and more common both in the 

city and on campuses to find plantings that were grown before the 

area was developed. In Illinois, these are generally prairie and 

woodland (for shaded sites) plants. If managed well, these areas 

can be quite beautiful and self-sustaining with very little 

maintenance required. We recommend: 

• Using native species 

10. Integrated pest management 

“Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is an effective and and 

environmentally sensitive approach to pest management that 

relies on a combination of common-sense practices. IPM 

programs use current, comprehensive information on the life 

cycles of pests and their interaction with the environment. This 

information, in combination with available pest control methods, is 

used to manage pest damage by the most economical means, 

and with the least possible hazard to people, property, and the 

environment. IPM takes advantage of all appropriate pest 

management options including, but not limited to, the judicious 

use of pesticides.” 

(Source: http://www.epa.gov/opp00001/factsheets/ipm.htm). We 

recommend: 

• UIC should implement an integrated pest management 

system: 

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