DOT recommending grant for University of Iowa bike share program

IOWA CITY - State officials are recommending University of Iowa for a grant to help launch a bike share program on campus, which school officials say will help cut down its carbon footprint.

If approved, the $135,300 grant would pay for 76 percent of the cost for a bike share, which is a community bike exchange. UI's proposal calls for 30 bikes parked at three different rack stations on the east side of campus that users could take out with a credit card or by paying an annual fee, depending on the vendor selected.

The recommended grant is part of the Iowa Department of Transportation plans for distributing eight grants worth $3.9 million through the Iowa Clean Air Attainment program. The money comes from the federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program. The Iowa Transportation Commission is expected to vote on the recommendations at its next meeting on Jan. 13, although funds would not be released until October 2015. 

Bike shares have become increasingly popular in urban areas and college towns, such as Des Moines, Madison, Wis., and New Haven, Conn., as a convenient and healthy way to keep people mobile. The effort fits into UI's goal of a 10 percent reduction in carbon emission from university transportation and travel by 2020, said Liz Christiansen, UI's sustainability director.

'We hope by encouraging more commuting by bicycle, we can get at that goal,” Christiansen said.

UI applied for a grant in 2013, but was not selected. Christiansen was pleased to see the UI project recommended this year, although mindful it hasn't been finalized.

If approved, this program would be launched in fall 2015, according to the grant application. Christiansen said the campus hopes this is just the first phase and the bike share program expands to more locations as it gains traction. 

In order to receive grant funds, the projects must improve air quality.

Hiawatha is recommended to receive $1 million to improve the Boyson Road interchange on Interstate 380. The total project cost is $2.5 million.

The project includes widening Boyson Road at the interchange, adding a westbound to southbound loop ramp, and realigning the I-380 northbound ramps further into the west to provide better signal spacing, according to DOT's note for the recommendation. The new traffic signals will be installed at both the northbound and southbound ramp intersections, according to the notes.

The improvements will improve traffic flow, which will in turn reduce vehicle emissions, said Craig Markley, director of Iowa DOT Office of System Planning.

Dubuque is recommended to receive $442,735 for Smart Transit. 

Cedar Rapids had requested two grants worth $1.9 million for Collins Road work. One project would improve the intersection of C Avenue North and Old Marion Road NE, and another would realign 51st Street at Council Street NE.

Those requests were passed over because the DOT has provided money for Collins Road work in the past, but work has been behind schedule, Markley said.

Markley said projects supported by the Clean Air Attainment Program will be increasingly important as the Environmental Protection Agency seeks to strengthen air quality regulations. A proposal calls to reduce pollutants in the air from 75 parts per billion to between 65 and 70 ppb, while the agency is taking comments on standards as low as 60 ppb, according to the EPA. 

The new standards will be finalized in October 2015, according to the EPA

The air quality condition for most of Iowa is listed as moderate, although Muscatine and the Quad Cities are listed as unhealthy for sensitive groups, according to the Air Quality Index on Friday afternoon. 

'The Muscatine-Quad Cities corridor is challenging,” said Markley. 'We try to continue to do projects in those areas to keep levels down.”

He said overall air quality has been improving in Iowa, and the Clean Air Attainment Program deserves some credit, although there are other factors such as cleaner running vehicles.