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

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