Tomi Milos
Features Editor
Although cycling has long been hailed as a formidable mode of transportation for city-dwellers, most Hamiltonians can be reluctant to hop on a bicycle for fear of their safety. But the threat of grievous injury does not seem to be deterring McMaster students from gravitating towards such an affordable means of transportation, as a 2010 poll of faculty, staff, and students conducted by University Sustainability discovered. Results showed that 34% of respondents biked to campus everyday.
Maclean’s recently recognized this cycling quassi-renaissance and dubbed McMaster one of Canada’s top-five cycling schools in its annual university rankings issue. In its summation of why the school deserved the recognition, the national weekly news magazine rather vaguely said, “The school’s Sustainability Office monitors and improves biking infrastructure, bolstered by Hamilton’s increasing municipal efforts on alternative transportation.”
Seeking to understand just how McMaster has garnered such acclaim, I spoke to Kate Whalen, senior manager of University Sustainability. The Strathacona resident undertook the role in 2009 and practices what she preaches; she does not own a car and cycling is her main mode of transportation.
Whalen praised the work that the city has done saying, “McMaster is surrounded by incredible cycling infrastructure; [Hamilton was] one of, if not the very first city to have our buses outfitted with bike racks.”
She also acknowledged that certain areas of the city aren’t incredibly bike-friendly: “There are many areas of the lower city that have substantial opportunity for improvement in both road infrastructure and bicycle parking space. With its high population density and variety of land uses, the downtown area also presents some of the biggest opportunity within the city to increase walking and cycling through these improvements.”
But it remains to be said that some improvements could also be made within McMaster itself, where the bike parking options fail to meet increasing student demand. One only has to take a stroll by Gilmour Hall at noon to notice how many students have been forced to lock their bikes to the steel banisters on the stairs for lack of a free spot on a nearby rack.
Whalen maintained that University Sustainability is aware of and working to rectify the problem, indicating that the 2009 installation of a secure bike storage facility opposite Chester New Hall with the financial assistance of Metrolinx Bikelinx program as well as Cyclesafe lockers display McMaster’s “committment to providing many and various types of bicycle parking and storage.”
She highlighted the fact that University Sustainability runs an annual poll of students, faculty, and staff to determine which areas need bike racks and then pass along the information to Security and Parking Services who invest into expanding bike infrastructure.
“Through the feedback obtained through community consultation, we have been able to place new racks in all requested locations each year since 2009.”
Whalen has high hopes for the future and pointed to exciting developments for cyclists, “Most recently, investment into campus bike racks was also included in the McMaster Climate Action Plan including the addition of 600 new bike parking spaces over the next three years.”
The document indicates that 20 bike racks will be added across campus this year, with a special focus on the intramural sports facilities by the David Braley Athletic Centre.
Even with the addition of more racks, one issue that Macleans skated around is theft. 84 bikes were stolen from McMaster in the last calendar year, and 36 have already been pilfered this school year.
Ian Holley says Security Services is working on cutting down that number. The special constable investigator is a staunch promoter of cycling culture, having served as the auctioneer for MACycle’s annual bike auction. If Security Services can pinpoint a pattern occurring at a location — or better yet — a specific culprit, Holley says they’ll set up one of their own bikes to be stolen and monitor the area.
Holley asserted that the thieves might not always be students, noting that many would-be perpetrators can be drawn to the campus because, “McMaster has the biggest collection of bikes in Hamilton, and they’re generally nice ones.”
What irks Holley is that many owners of these high-end bikes are using shoddy cable-locks that are all too easy to cut.
“We see almost no theft involving good U-locks, even at our regular racks. We’ve made a big push towards educating people and saying, ‘Please use U-locks or make use of our secure storage facility.’”
The secure storage facility Holley is referring to is situated beside Chester New Hall, which he admits is not the best location for everyone. But $5 per term to lock your bike within a fenced-off structure that’s monitored by camera doesn’t seem like a hefty price to pay. When asked why there aren’t more of these facilities around campus, Holley said it’s hard to justify building more in better locations when they’re not seeing use in the one they do have.
While the cycling infrastructure at McMaster and in its immediate area seems to be on the right track, things don’t happen to be as rosy in the city’s core where cyclists aren’t afforded the same privileges.
The new bus-only lane on King Street that stretches from Mary to Dundurn Street may ensure a speedy commute for the approximately 1,500 HSR riders who traverse the corridor each hour, but the poorly planned initiative has thrown bike safety under the rug. The lane poses a problem to cyclists who risk a $65 fine for entering it, which leaves them with the choice of taking an inconvenient route, or facing the danger of becoming a part of a car-bus sandwich.
Christine Lee-Morrison, media contact for the pilot project, said, “Certainly a reserved vehicle lane is typically a safer place for a bicycle to operate; however, bicycles typically travel slower than a bus. A mixed usage situation would not allow the City fully test the acceptance and impacts of a future rapid transit scenario.”
Rather than encouraging bike riders to take parallel routes, Hamilton City Council could take a cue from London, England where the bus lanes are made available for use by both cyclists and motorcycle riders. The decision was brought about by a 2008 study conducted by Transport for London which segregated powered two-wheelers and bikes from the main traffic flow and found that bike usage actually increased.
The further trouble with the parallel bike routes is that many of them end abruptly. Although the city has spent approximately $1 million a year since 2010 on adding 35 km of bike routes as part of their master cycling plan — Shifting Gears —building a safe continuous route across the top of the North end has been neglected.
Some web-savvy Hamiltonians recognized this error and organized an online petition called Yes We Cannon whose aim it was to establish a bidirectional bike lane on Cannon Street in time for the impending 2015 Pan Am games when many would be commuting from the James North Go Station to Tim Hortons Field. The petition has amassed 2172 online signatures and was a determining factor in city councillors dedicating $600,000 in September to the instalment of a two-way bike lane between Sherman Avenue and Bay Street.
Cannon Street was the best setting for the venture since it doesn’t experience high traffic volumes, moving only 2300-2600 vehicles per lane, per day as opposed to Mohawk and Garth Streets carrying 6600-9850 vehicles per lane, per day.
Daryl Bender, project manager of Alternative Transportation for the City of Hamilton, is optimistic about the city’s efforts to revitalize the bike scene. Citing a Portland, Oregon study that suggested that better cycling infrastructure and an increase in cyclists reduces the collision rate rather than collisions themselves, Bender said,“We are not certain if the same will be the experience here in Hamilton as our cycling infrastructure increases, but it would be ideal to see the number of collisions also be reduced.”
Despite poor downtown framework and a campus plagued by bike theft, cycling culture in Hamilton and at McMaster seems to be surging forward with the persistence of a Tour
de France peloton.
By: Tara Walker & Beau Frigault
The McMaster Residence Life Office engages with 3,619 McMaster students on a daily basis. Within each of McMaster’s 12 Residence Halls, there are highly motivated student leaders that drive our goals of encouraging growth, educating character and enhancing the university experience.
Beginning in 2011, the McMaster Residence Green Team (MRGT) has been promoting green education and sustainability driven programs for students living in residence.
This group, consisting primarily of McMaster residence students, is driven to educate their peers on sustainability issues and keys to living a sustainable lifestyle, in hopes of changing our local environmental impact. Kim Loi, a member of McMaster Residence Green Team stated, “I joined to have a positive impact on the environment by engaging students in residence.”
In the past year and a half the students have taken part in McMaster wide campaigns such as Sustainability Day on Oct. 18, 2012, as well as several other Residence based programs to encourage students in their communities to engage themselves and become more aware of sustainable concerns.
Among many other initiatives this year, the MRGT has offered a 2 week Docuseries entitled “Is it too late?” during the month of November for Residence students, showcasing The 11th Hour (2007), Food, Inc. (2008), Food Matters (2008), The Age of Stupid (2009) and Forks Over Knives (2011). These films highlight a variety of key issues including health concerns regarding the quality of food provided to the overall population and the challenges currently facing our environment. This series offered students an opportunity to engage themselves in the overarching issues of sustainability and think critically about how their individual actions can impact the greater community.
Student Warren Lyn attended Food Matters and stated, “The documentary was really informative and made me think twice about the food I’m eating and ways to eat healthier.” Reda Sangay also attended Food Matters and said, “The movie was an excellent example of the balance we, as students, need to obtain between what is right for us versus what is easy for us.”
In terms of the future of MRGT, the Residence Wide Energy Challenge will be starting January 2013, in partnership with the Sustainability Office and the Inter-Residence Council. For the month of January, residence students across campus will be doing their best to conserve energy in their residences through friendly competition to further educate students on sustainability and encourage them to make more socially, economically, and environmentally responsible choices.
To help keep sustainability alive on campus you can follow the few tips below and do your part for our environment.
Stewart pursues sustainability initiative based on student feedback
For most students, November brings the thought of the semester finishing, exams starting, and the winter break setting in.
But MSU President Siobhan Stewart has her sights set on the spring.
Stewart’s green roof initiative, a project designed to convert the third-floor balcony of the McMaster University Student Centre into an eco-friendly sitting area and garden, is on track to be completed for next summer. The project was a key platform point of her 2012 presidential campaign.
Green roofs have been growing in popularity at universities and other institutions across Canada. Stewart explained that the inspiration for the green roof at Mac came from two students who were involved with OPIRG, who proposed the project three years ago.
The idea of converting an already existing space into a more workable and sustainable place was an appealing choice for McMaster for a number of reasons, among them the concern of an overpopulated campus with too little public space.
“Students are always talking about the need for space on campus,” said Stewart. “And as many can imagine, new buildings don’t sprout up every day.”
She noted that part of McMaster’s unique situation is that campus is “landlocked,” bordered by residential neighbourhoods on three sides and Cootes Paradise on the other.
Mac student Melanie Fox-Chen is also passionate about the green roof project. The fourth-year biology student was an intern at McMaster’s Office of Sustainability this summer, and spent her term investigating the best practices of green roofs. The advantages of such a project are numerous, she found.
“It maximizes the usable amount of space on campus, which is really good,” Fox-Chen explained. “It just provides a green space where students can seek to relax and unwind from a stressful day.”
Her research, which looked into a range of issues, including food production, plant life, rainwater collection, and community involvement, was used to create a survey that was given to students this summer.
The feedback from the survey, which drew 600 responses, was used in drawing up further plans for the project. The responses showed that the majority of people would appreciate a “calm, soothing environment,” while they also indicated support for edible plants to be grown, as well as species native to Southern Ontario.
Stewart stressed this element of student feedback as a means of making decisions.
“I’ve been trying to consult a lot with students. From an efficiency standpoint [it’s not ideal]… I could have just put everything together, but that’s not my style.”
Only so much progress can be made on the roof at this point, however. The organizers may have a sense of what people want, but before any construction happens, the MSU must wait while the project is out to tender.
“It’s not like the MSU can just get a shovel and go to town. It doesn’t work like that,” Stewart said in explaining the process of getting university approval.
The next phase is choosing a plan for the space. The MSU, in partnership with Facility Services, invited eight architects to submit proposals for their services in October. The team chose a firm to contract out for the work, and will now see three more specific sets of plans drawn up. Before a final design is chosen, Stewart will seek further student feedback.
It is not clear whether or not the roof will be completed by the end of the academic year, Stewart said.
“My goal is at least for it have been started before the end of my term, or for all of the logistics to be done…so all it would take would be a green light.”
By: Paulina Prazmo
Who doesn’t like the idea of cheap clothes? How about the idea of trading in your used clothes and getting more clothes in return. That is exactly what Threadwork McMaster believes in. Using and reusing clothes in a sustainable matter is the motto that this group lives by. They focus on reducing waste and support the use of materials that are earth-friendly.
This OPIRG working group was founded in 2010 by a group of Mac students. Threadwork encourages other Mac students to “think critically about clothing and its implications on the environment, social justice, and the community.” Their latest project is the 5th annual clothing swap that will be taking place on Thursday, October 25 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the MUSC atrium. They will be collecting your used clothes on October 18, 19, 22, 23 and 24 between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
A member from the group, Christina Vietinghoff said, “The main purpose of the swap is to give the McMaster community a chance to refresh their wardrobe for free without creating waste. A lot of second hand stores in Hamilton are not very accessible to McMaster students - so we're bringing the thrift store here!”
So how does this process really work? How do you get those free clothes you want? Bring in your old used clothes on the collecting days and in turn you will accumulate points that you will be able to spend on the actual clothing swap day. Threadwork will be accepting only clean, un-torn clothes, no undergarments or socks will be accepted. They are asking to wash your clothes before you drop them off, and are also accepting jewellery, accessories, shoes, bags and coats. Changerooms will be provided on the day of the swap to try on those newfound-free-treasures!
Vietinghoff said, “Our Threadwork clothing swaps promote reusing clothing and reducing waste. Our clothing swaps engage students and the McMaster community in changing the perception of second hand clothing and celebrating re-using and finding value in it. We plan to have an ‘Alteration Station’ to promote renewing clothing rather than contributing to waste at the upcoming swap.”
Shopping for second-hand clothes might not necessarily be your style, but if you think of the money you could be saving for a Friday night instead of that must-have bag, it suddenly starts making sense! Alice Cavanagh, another member of Threadwork added, “Despite the recent 'trendiness' of shopping second-hand, I've noticed that buying used clothing has a real stigma for a lot of people. At our swaps, we get participants who don't usually shop vintage or at Value Village. I really like the idea that our events make people feel more comfortable with the idea of wearing used clothing.”
In addition to Vietinghoff and Cavanagh, Clothing Swap's organizers include Isabelle Dobronyi, Sophie Roher, Alexandra Epp and Ariel Bader-Shamai.
So if you have some old clothes just sitting around in your closet, and want to be a part of something unique, mark your calendars and don’t forget: B.Y.O.C. (Bring Your Old Clothes).
