1. Activating SunRail in
Winter Park, Florida
SUSTAINABLE
ENTERPRISE
2 0 1 4
SUNRAIL
TRAIL
Designing a
rail trail
for better
bikeway
access and
connectivity
in the city.
BIKE SHARE
IN WINTER PARK
Researching
effectiveness
of bike
share for
Rollins and
Winter Park
mobility.
DENNING
DRIVE
Proposing a
complete
street to
add safety
and promote
health on
Denning.
NEW
GATEWAY
Implementing
new Rollins
entrance to
strengthen
connection
to Winter
Park.
SUSTAINABLE
SYNERGY
Suggestions
to keep
focus on
sustainable
character &
environment
by SunRail.
3. Introduction 4-5
Bruce Stephenson
Richard Foglesong
SunRail Trail 6-9
Kathleen Shannon
Geovanna Torres
W.P. Bike Share 10-11
Hana Feldman
Caitlyn Glatting
Jenny Salchunas
Kathleen Shannon
Denning Drive 12-15
Nadine Avola
Kathleen Shannon
Interlachen Gateway 16-19
Taylor Brock
Trevor Fraser
Suggestions 20-25
Erin Josephitis
Courtney Banker
Sources 27
CONTENTS
Rollins’
newest
entrance from
Interlachen
Ave.
4. SUSTAINABLE ENTERPRISE:
Activating SunRail in Winter Park, Florida
Introduction
Over the past 60 years, Central
Florida has been one of the fastest
growing regions in the nation, with
population accelerating from less than
300,000 in 1950 to nearly 3.2 million in
2010 (U.S. Census Bureau). The
region accommodated the
unprecedented population growth over
the last half of the 20th century by
developing in a sprawling, low-density
pattern. The costs of this pattern are
evident: rapid conversion of open
space to build more houses, loss of
agricultural land, encroachment on
sensitive environmental areas,
significant increases in water and
energy use, and over-reliance on cars
for transportation. Fewer than half of
the region’s residents lived within cities
in 2007, a share that has declined
since 2000. The region’s transportation
investments have reinforced this
sprawling pattern but have not been
kept pace with the growth in demand.
Vehicle-miles traveled more than
Rollins Graduation
down Interlachen
[4]
Rollins ColllegeWinterPark, FL
5. doubled between 1990 and 2008,
while total road mileage has increased
about 25 percent. The public
transportation alternative today usually
means spending hours on a bus and
making connections to use the transit
system. This is particularly true for
low-income populations making trips
between affordable housing
opportunities and lower-wage jobs.
Over 90 percent of regional trips use
automobiles, with public transit
accounting for 1.4 percent in 2008.
The result has been a continued
degrading of travel time and safety. In
fact, the Orlando-Kissimmee
metropolitan statistical area has been
ranked as the nation’s most dangerous
area for pedestrians. Using SunRail
will require a rethinking of the region’s
auto-oriented culture. It is essential to
develop a strategy to utilize SunRail
and set a foundation for sustainable
growth, and Winter Park, a historic
transit-oriented community, will serve
as a model for such efforts.
Projects
Under the direction of Dr. Richard
Foglesong, Professor of Political
Science, Rollins students concluded a
preliminary study on the rail passenger
systems built in Salt Lake
City, Charlotte, Minneapolis,
Nashville, Austin and
Phoenix. Central to each
city was developing
strategies to (1) activate the
potential for transit-oriented
development; 2) improve
connectivity to other
(alternative) transportation
modes; and 3) attract ridership.
The key to these strategies was
aligning stakeholders to foster the
utilization of rail systems. From this
research, Dr. Foglesong organized a
working group drawn from
representatives of the Winter Park
Chamber of Commerce, Winter Park
Health Foundation, the City of Winter
Park, and Re-Think, an affiliate of the
Florida Department of Transportation
to activate SunRail. Their efforts to
identify the barriers to ridership and
actionable “next steps” will be
presented January 30, 2014 in a
Campus-Community Conversation at
The Alfond Inn.
Dr. Bruce Stephenson has helped
coordinate a series of projects to
activate SunRail and spark a
sustainable synergy between Rollins
and Winter Park.
“Over 90 percent of regional trips use automobiles, with
public transit accounting for 1.4 percent in 2008.”
Dr.
Bruce
Stephenson,
Director of
MPCU
ROLLINS
COLLEGE
1000 Holt Ave.
Winter Park, FL 32789
bstephenson@rollins.edu
407-646-1587
PROJECTS
The SunRail Bike Trail
Bike Share Programs for Winter
Park
A Gateway Connection
Making Denning Drive a Model
Complete Street
15 Suggestions to Accelerate
Sustainability at Rollins by
Accessing SunRail
[5]
6. [6]
A SISTER LOGO
A logo concept to help market
the SunRail Trail to show
partnership between the bikeway
and SunRail tracks.
T R A I L
S U N R A I L Project Goals:
• Create a well-
vetted and safe
network
• Connect to schools,
culture, commerce,
& parks
• Provide bike access
for all ages.
ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP
According to The City of Winter
Park Green Resolution, it recognizes
the importance of environmental
stewardship that enhances local and
national energy and protection of
natural resources. Florida Green
Building Coalition’s “Green Local
Government Standard,” focuses on
municipal performance improvements
through cleaner energy and
environment as steps towards
improving and advancing
environmental quality and energy
security.
The City of Winter Park and The
Green Resolution affirm the
implementation of complete streets
that are designed to operate and
assure safety, comfort and
accessibility for all users of roads,
trails, and transit systems.
Pedestrians, bicyclists, transit riders,
motorists, commercial and
emergency vehicles included. In the
development of these
accommodations, the best standards
and design will be used.
In August 2011, Public Works
Director implemented “Complete
Streets Policy” in the city’s
transportation plan. Assessing the
impact of complete streets including:
linear feet of sidewalks, pedestrian
accommodation through mid-block
crossing and refuge islands, crosswalks,
curb extensions, miles of street bike
lanes, routes and off-road multi-use trails.
Implementing these actions will
enable the City of Winter Park to
become a complete street leader in
Florida and the nation.
An
efficient,
healthy bike
network expanding
the length of
SunRail
7. [7]
1 2 3 4 5
Covered
Bike Parking
Bike Locker
Facilities &
Concessions
Morse
Complete
Street
Bike Share
Facilities
SunRail
Station
1
2
3
4
5
TRAIL · TRACKS · TERMINALS
1 COVERED
BIKE PARKING
Sheltered racks provide an
even higher quality of short-
term parking. Shelters offer
weather protection and can
help protect bicycles from
accidental damage by
providing greater separation
from a sidewalk or parking
area.
8. [8]
Convenient bike facilities will offer cyclists a place to rest, reboot, and revitalize.
Bike locker facilities and concessions at the Winter Park
SunRail Station would offer cyclists an array of
conveniences. Trek Stop centers provide on-the-go
vending products; information, maps, and advertising; and
light maintenance capabilities with compressed air, water,
and shelter. The facilities would also include lockers,
restrooms, and shower stalls that would be available with
membership. Other aspects of these rest stops encompass
secure bicycle parking, bicycle repairs, rentals, bicycle and
segway sharing programs, guided tours, education and
encouragement programs, and commuter retail products
such as water bottles, helmets, and ponchos.
2 LOCKER
FACILITIES
Bicycle lockers are weather-
protected, enclosed and
operated by a controlled
access system. On average,
two standard car parking
spaces can accommodate 10
individual bicycle lockers.
LOCKERSTREKSTOPCONVENIENCECENTER
3 MORSE
COMPLETE
STREET
A road diet on Morse will
create a more communal
atmosphere, encouraging
pedestrian activity.
9. [9]
4 BIKE SHARE
Bicycle sharing system is a service in which
bicycles are made available for shared use
to individuals on a very short-term basis.
The main purpose is transportation: bike
share allows people to depart from point "A"
and arrive at point "B" free from the worries of
bike ownership. Bike-share has seen explosive,
global growth over recent years. In May 2011 there
were around 375 bike share programs. As of April
2013 there were around 535. These figures show a
doubling in bike share programs in just two years.
Many bike-share systems offer inexpensive short-
term subscriptions, encouraging casual riding over
several hours or days. The reasons people use
bike-share vary considerably. (See Sources)
5 SUNRAIL STATION
Below are renderings of the Winter Park SunRail Station
with Orlando Bike Share implemented into its site plan.
The proximity of Bike Share would promote ridership.
SunRail
coming May
2014!
10. [10]
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Purus in consectetuer Proin in
sapien. Fusce urna magna,neque
eget lacus. Maecenas felis nunc
aliquam ac consequat vitae.
BIKE SHARE
W I N T E R P A R K Project Goals:
Determine the
feasibility of
implementing a
bike share program
within the Winter
Park neighborhood.
FEASIBILITY:RECOMMENDATIONSFORTHEFUTURE
Could a bike share program in Winter Park be possible? With the growing health- and environmentally-
conscious population in the area, it seems that such a program would likely be a hit.
Bike Sharing Programs stimulate cycling culture as
they are designed for low cost, short term use. The
feasibility of this sustainable means of transportation has
been proven, seen in the rise of accessible docking
stations throughout the region--a prospect which is
transforming cities around the nation. The feasibility of
implementing a bike share program in the City of Winter
Park is dependent upon an examination of the successful
practices implemented in other programs, as well as a
survey of the local population.
Proposed bike
share in
downtown
Orlando.
bungalower.com
11. [11]
Potential Use by the Rollins Community
To measure the potential use by the Rollins
community of a city wide bike share program,
100 students and faculty were surveyed.
Currently, Rollins supports the 1st generation
bike rental system available on campus at no
cost. Rollins students and faculty simply use
their ID to check out a bike for three days
through the library, much like one would
check out a book.
Residents Most Likely to Use the Program
A survey was conducted to understand the
likelihood of use of the bike share program by
community members in Winter
Park. These reactions were
compared with each of
the participant’s most
frequented form of
transportation, including
car, bike, and others.
FUTURE
STUDY AREAS
12. [12]
DENNINGD R I V E
Project Goals:
• Enhance safety
• Integrate a 2-way
cycle track
• Allow room for
buses and stops
• Calm traffic
• Think sustainable
Male suada Quis
Dolor set Ipsum
mauris sapien vitae
soldales erat
Current Conditions
An empty Denning Drive in the
middle of the day in April 2013.
A ROAD NOT TAKEN
Proposing a new cycle track along Denning Drive and amping up pedestrian safety could renew and revitalize the
surrounding neighborhood by encouraging healthy lifestyles and providing a secure route for multi-modal travel.
Denning Drive is currently a 60-
foot, four-lane road. It offers skinny
sidewalks, no shade, and no
protection from the speeding cars that
use Denning as a quick “shortcut” to
avoid rush hour traffic on the 17-92
thoroughfare. Moreover, this desolate
road borders the 23-acre Martin Luther
King, Jr. Park, which attracts
numerous children that live in the
adjacent neighborhood.
The only opportunities for cyclists
on this road are either riding along the
intermittent sidewalks or sharing the
lanes with aggressive drivers.
According to the Orlando Area
Bicyclist Crash Study (2004), 44% of
adult bicycle crashes occurred on the
sidewalk and 40% occurred in a
shared lane. That means 84% of
bicycle crashes that year occurred on
the street or on the sidewalk.
In order to protect our cyclists and
make it safe for children to cross this
road, we have created a complete
street on Denning that offers a
buffered two-way cycle track, on-
street parking, bus bump-outs, wide
sidewalks, street furniture, and plenty
of lighting.
From
dark to light:
envisioning a
complete
street.
13. [13]
A MEANS TO
AN END
A CYCLE TRACK
FOR TWO
Placing emphasis on people will calm traffic and increase safety. We
created a complete street by downsizing to two lanes while widening
sidewalks and adding buffer zones and a two-way cycle track.
EXISTINGPROPOSED
Intersection OptionRoundabout Option
Cycle Track at New England Ave.
14. [14]
Complete streets are created by fostering multi-modal uses and by implementing
pedestrian- and environmentally-friendly components into the streetscape.
BICYCLISTS
ACTIVE
PEDESTRIANS
PASSIVE
PEDESTRIANS
BUSES AUTOMOBILES
COMPLETE STREETS
LANDSCAPING STREET FURNITURE SIGNAGE CONVENIENCES LIGHTING
Existing
map of
Denning
15. [15]
BIOSWALES
Benefits
Bioswales have a vast
array of benefits for the
environment and create an
aesthetically pleasing
atmosphere. Bioswales
collect stormwater runoff,
pull water away from
critical infrastructure,
redirect pollutants from
gutters, start the
filtration process,
increase groundwater
recharge, and promote
biodiversity.
Envisioning
Denning from a
north view
Holistic Integration
In order for a renovation
on Denning to be
successful, many parts--
the cycle track,
bioswales, sidewalks, safe
streets, shade, and street
furniture--must act
together. This will ensure
activity and circulation.
CROSSWALKS
INTO MLK PARK
16. [16]
GATEWAY
I N T E R L A C H E N Project Goals:
• Create a safe
pedestrian
entrance
• Link Rollins to
the SunRail stop
• Reduce irrigation
and stormwater
runoff
A NEW ENTRANCE FOR ROLLINS
For the past 125 years, Rollins College has been at the heart of Winter Park. It serves as an institution of
learning, culture, and architectural beauty. As we look to the future, we see the need to connect Rollins to the
rapidly growing area of Winter Park.
Introduction
Rollins occupies a lush 70-acre
campus, characterized with brilliant
landscaping and traditional Spanish-
Mediterranean architecture. It
exemplifies the inspiration of its
natural environment and the best
work of human hands in creating
something of lasting value.
Now, as we look toward the
future, we see the need to connect
Rollins to the rapidly growing area of
Central Florida, which projects like
SunRail will soon be bringing into
Winter Park in record numbers. This
connection must be sustainable and
promote the highest values of Rollins
College and historic Winter Park.
The Rollins Gateway Green Street
can serve not only as a new aesthetic
connection between Winter Park and
Rollins College, but as a beacon to
the area of how we can better
manage our resources, the beginning
of a solution. We should consider this
gesture both a link to Winter Park's
significant architecture and a moment
of victory going forward.
The plan is to take a single
section of Interlachen Avenue, located
between Lyman and Fairbanks
Avenues and leading to the campus,
close it off to traffic and make it a
pedestrian walkway. The walkway
itself would slope down gradually to
eventually cross under Fairbanks
Avenue and lead to the campus. The
edges of this walkway would be
planted with low-maintenance native
gardens that preserve and purify
water as well as preserving
indigenous species of plants.
17. [17]
This plan also includes aesthetic
elements of outdoor sculpture and
masonry. The idea is to create a feel
that both celebrates Winter Park's rich
architectural heritage and this
victorious move toward sustainability.
A Green Improvement
In the effort to become
sustainable, one of the first steps that
the world must take is to protect
water. Every square foot of impervious
space yields water runoff that needs to
be centrally treated. The Rollins
Gateway Green Street removes
pavement and replaces it with swales
and planters to capture water and
return it cleanly to the aquifer.
Models for this type of design are
springing up in urban areas across the
country. Notably, Portland, OR, has
provided a number of examples over
the last few years from which we can
extrapolate quality data moving
forward.
Several blocks in Portland have
adopted what are called "stormwater
planters." These use native grasses
and plants, thus making them tolerant
of the typical climactic conditions such
as periods of drought or of high
precipitation, low light or extended
photo period, etc. The planters allow
incoming water to be filtered by the
plants and then infiltrate the lower soil.
Their combination of stormwater
planters were able to reduce peak flow
runoff rates by an average of 96
percent for the year. For our site, this
means:
A plan view of the
green street down
Interlachen and its
connection into Rollins
College.
INTERLACHENThe
pedestrian
passage over
Fairbanks
Avenue
CURRENT
IMPERVIOUS
SPACE
CURRENT
RUNOFF
IMPERVIOUS
SPACE
REMOVED
WATER SAVINGS
10,636
square feet
288,495
gallons per
year
4,276
square feet
115,984
gallons per
year
18. [18]
The Gateway Green Street is a huge step toward a more earth-conscious campus.
One of the key factors in this design is the
use of native plants. Native plants are
adapted to local climactic and water
conditions. As such, and particularly
using the wetland plants of Central
Florida, xeriscaping reduces
maintenance costs and filters pollutants
from runoff before returning the water to the surrounding
soil, all while showcasing the natural beauty of Florida's
ecology.
Becoming green is necessary not only to protect our
own resources, but to keep Rollins as a competitive
national college. The U.S. Green Building Council is
currently in the process of giving their stamp of approval to
more than 1,600 college campuses. Here are just some of
the projects going on at higher learning institutions around
the U.S.:
• Oberlin College in Ohio offers students the
ability to check their power use in real time and
puts green lights on dorms using less than 50
percent average energy consumption.
• Since January 2010, University of New
Hampshire produces 85 percent of its power
from waste-created methane.
• University of Colorado at Boulder is working to
make its home football games "zero waste."
They compost 90 percent of all rubbish
produced in the stadium.
• Stanford University replaced all plastic utensils
on campus with ones made from potato starch,
which they compost in a garden that yields
organic produce for their cafeteria.
Innovative projects like these are a big draw for the
incoming generation of students. These students have
grown up with information about the environmental
challenges facing the globe and prefer to see themselves
as part of the solution.
1,600
college
campuses are
going green
STORMWATERCONTROLS
19. [19]
Connectivity
Another thing today's students
care about is auto independence.
Millenial students have traded in car
ownership for bikes and Zipcars.
Colleges like this trend too. A
reduction in personal automobiles
means fewer parking hassles on
campus. But for this to work at Rollins,
students need a safe pedestrian
connection between the college and
downtown Winter Park.
Central Florida has a number of
unfortunate statistics related to safety
and walkability.
• Orlando is #1 in the nation
for pedestrian fatalities.
• Winter Park has a walk
score of 50 of out 100.
• Orlando-Winter Park is rated
the #6 most stressful city in
America.
• Central Florida ranks high
above the national average
for time wasted in traffic.
The Rollins Gateway Green Street
here serves to create a safe
connection between Winter Park and
the campus by removing the need to
cross the high traffic of Fairbanks
Avenue. But it's also part of a broader
plan, coordinated with several near-
future events, to make Winter Park a
more attractive destination overall.
Central Park is currently building a
station for the coming high-speed
SunRail train, which will service
commuters throughout Central Florida.
This means Winter Park is going to
need to provide safe travel
to exiting passengers who
want to either explore the
city or get to work or school.
Imagine students able to
attend Rollins College and
live in Debary. Or on-
campus students who can
simply hop a train out to see
their parents on weekends.
However, it isn't just local
commutes we're after. The station will
do double duty with Amtrak. Currently,
the Amtrak station services roughly
100 passengers a day. But that
number is about to go way up.
Rollins College just recently
completed The Alfond Inn, a large new
hotel and conference center that will
be located right at the north end of the
proposed Gateway. This will take
Winter Park's status as a world
attraction to a whole new level. The
thousands of visitors who flock here
for our nationally recognized Winter
Park Sidewalk Art Festival will have
new luxury accommodations. People
intrigued by Park Avenue's feature on
the Travel Channel will be able to stay
within a moment's walk. And
businesses and organizations looking
to connect with Rollins as a
prestigious academic resource will
host their conferences less than two
blocks from the campus.
Rollins needs to be easily
accessible for these new visitors. The
Rollins Gateway Green Street opens
up Rollins and Winter Park to a series
of connected zones, starting with the
train stations and ending with the
sunset over Lake Virginia.
Conclusions
Rollins College has been a vital
part of Winter Park for over a century.
As the city and the region move
forward, it must be left out by being
physically cut off. Nor can the region
afford to waste this opportunity to
enhance both our water supply and
our image around the world. Though it
looks like a small step, the Rollins
Gateway Green Street is the beginning
of a big change.
Like the now-iconic Rollins
gates at Park Avenue, the Rollins
Gateway Green Street can become a
functional symbol of the values this
college and this area. It can serve as a
link to our past and to our future.
“The Rollins Gateway Green Street serves to
create a safe connection between Winter Park
and the campus by removing the need to
cross the high traffic of Fairbanks Avenue.”
A view from
the overpass
Reduce water runoff.
Preserve native vegetation and
encourage eco-restoration.
Enhance the aesthetic environment.
Connect Rollins with Winter Park.
Bring the campus to national and
international visitors.
20. [20]
SUSTAINABILITY
T H E R O A D T O
Project Goals:
Generate effective
and sustainable
ways to integrate
Rollins College
into the new
transit-oriented,
SunRail culture.
Several indications, such as the
Mercers survey, demonstrate that
quality of life improves with
sustainability. It is no wonder why
according to urbanist developer,
Christopher Leinberger, current
American preferences are increasing for
mixed-use, transit-accessible
neighborhoods and walkable places.
Rollins is a community leader in
sustainability, as evidenced by the
recent, student-developed bike share
program. It is worth recognizing the
popularity and success of campus
sustainability improvements as they
continue to grow and evolve. Students
are actively engaged in reducing their
carbon footprint, whether it is through
involvement in the EcoRollins club or
the Committee on Environmental and
Sustainable Issues (CESI). Clearly,
sustainability has a place not only in the
SUSTAINABILITY AS A RECRUITMENTTOOL
An important way to recruit new students to Rollins College is simply by making it a place where people want to live.
Maybe
9%
No
11%
Yes
80%
Maybe
6%
No
7%
Yes
87%
Q1: If SunRail was a convenient
mode, would you be willing to use
SunRail to commute to work?
Q2: Would you be willing to use
SunRail to reach destinations
other than commuting to work?
315ROLLINSFACULTY,STAFF,&STUDENTSWEREASKED:
sunrail.com
21. [21]
Rollins College mission statement, but
also in the everyday lives of students,
faculty, and staff.
Rollins has the opportunity to
promote a walkable, bikeable, livable
environment and the near-by transit
(SunRail) as a way to recruit
students. In fact, Rollins can be
advertised for its unique location
close to a commuter rail line and
beautiful historic downtown. Winter
Park is at a transition point as
residents and students alike anticipate
the completion of the SunRail. In a
recent poll of 315 Rollins participants,
87% of people would be willing to use
SunRail to reach destinations other
than commuting to work, and 80% of
people would be willing to use SunRail
to commute to work.
This is important because Orlando
has the nation’s highest pedestrian
death rate, it ranks 26th in population
and a mere 83rd in mass transit
access. In addition, if Orlando’s driving
death rate were nationwide, fatalities
would exceed 15,000 every year. The
highest death rate for college students
is driving, and the chances of dying in
Orlando are seven times greater than
in Portland, OR, which has the nation’s
best-integrated rail and bicycling
systems. Thankfully, Rollins has the
opportunity to create a safe, healthy
atmosphere that will attract new
students, and serve as a model to
other communities by following the
guidelines in this report:
Part A: Evolve from
Reliance on the
Auto to aTOD
CONNECT R-CARDS
TO DISCOUNTED
UNIVERSAL TRANSIT
PASSES
One of the easiest ways Rollins
can boost transit use while saving
money is by investing in universal
transit passes instead of parking
spaces. Free transit passes reduce the
number of car trips by 11%. Not to
mention, transit extends the
pedestrian environment. Many other
universities distribute universal transit
passes as an incentive to encourage
use of public transportation, therefore
lowering the need for parking*. The
financial savings are evident as UCLA
transit passes cost a mere third of the
price for a new parking spot. Even
though there are several universities
throughout the Orlando region (Rollins,
UCF, Full Sail), SunRail currently lacks
the foundation to provide student
discounts—this is alarming as many
transit operators earn a stable source
of income and meet ridership goals
primarily from distributing universal
transit passes. Clearly, the best way to
increase transit ridership is by
developing a universal transit card that
can be used for SunRail, LYNX buses,
and/or Hertz 24/7 carshare. Since
Rollins already distributes R-
Cards, the college could easily
link an upfront fee to student
accounts that pays for
unlimited or discounted rides
using SunRail, LYNX, & Hertz 24/7.
18 Cities Where Public
Transportation Teams with
Universities
1. Portland, OR (image)
2. Los Angeles, CA
3. Minneapolis/St. Paul
4. Chicago, IL
5. Boston, MA
6. Philadelphia, PA
7. Boulder, CO
8. Denver, CO
9. Atlanta, GA
10. Phoenix, AZ
11. Pittsburgh, OH
12. St. Louis, MI
13. Dallas, TX
14. Salt Lake City, UT
15. San Antonio, TX
16. El Paso, TX
17. Tampa, FL
18. Newark, NJ
TODCOLLEGES
Promote
sustainability
Increase
walkability &
bike use
Evolve into
Transit Oriented
Development
1
22. [22]
PROMOTE TRANSIT
ROUTES WITH MAPS
ON CAMPUS AND
WEBSITE
In order to make people feel
comfortable using SunRail and LYNX,
local transit maps should be placed
throughout campus and on the Rollins
website. The maps should indicate
various popular destinations (malls,
theme parks) as a way to draw
attention for students who are not
familiar with the area. Rollins will
benefit from advertising the new
transportation initiatives as a way to
recruit new students, especially for
freshman who are not allowed to have
a car on campus. If funding were
available, a Rollins College
Transportation Resource Center would
create job opportunities and make
everyday transit even easier for the
Rollins community.
DISTRIBUTE
PARKING CASH-
OUTS TO FACULTY
AND STAFF
Another option to reduce single
occupant vehicle trips is through
parking cash-outs—offering money to
employees in place of a free parking
space. This will surely promote
walking and biking to work for faculty
and staff that live near campus, which
will also reduce the need for parking
spaces. There is the economic benefit
of being able to receive a tax
deduction when finances are
distributed as Commuter Tax Benefits.
Employees’ commute modes should
be subsidized equally by creating
incentives for carpool, transit, bike, or
walk with money foregone from
parking construction and
maintenance.
• Devoting land to parking usually has
the opportunity cost that could have
been used for buildings,
landscaping, leased or sold.
• Imagine all of the improvements that
could be made with the money
saved from parking construction: the
national average construction price
for one parking spot is over $15,000;
the cost for service attendants,
maintenance and cleaning, utilities,
taxes and insurance averages
CA$H OUT!
Quick Facts
• Employers provide an
estimated 85 million free
parking spaces for
commuters--space with a net
worth of nearly $31.5
billion.
• Parking cash out tends to
reduce driving to work
by 20% or more.
• VMT decreased by 12%.
• Carbon dioxide emissions
from commuting fell by 807
pounds per employee per
year.
Collegiate Examples
• UCSD gives free access to the
main gym showers to
students who pledge to cycle
• Cal Poly installed over
150 bike lockers near
residence halls.
• Ripon College provides
free bikes to freshmen who
promise not to bring cars to
campus.
2
3
Drive Alone Car Pool Ride Transit Bike/Walk
4%
9%
23%
63%
3%6%
14%
76%
Cashing Out Impacts on Commute Mode (Shoup, 1997)
Before Cash Out After Cash Out
23. [23]
between $500-$800 per space per
year; an empty parking space
equates to $40,000 that could have
been spent on trees, traffic calming,
or other improvements.
• Parking spaces are not sustainable
as they require resurfacing and
repaving every 5-10 years, and major
reconstruction every 20-40 years.
Reducing one acre of parking results
in saving over a million gallons of
storm water runoff.
• Structured parking deals with the
trade-off between construction and
land costs, but it becomes cost
effective when land prices exceed
$1 million per acre.
• Generous parking encourages
sprawl, and increases per capita
vehicle ownership, thus reducing the
viability of other modes of
transportation, such as walking,
cycling, or transit.
REQUIRE ON-CAMPUS
CARSHARE & CARPOOL
PARKING
Carshare and carpool parking
should be required as a remedy for
congestion, especially since car share
members drive 44 percent less than
typical car owners. Carsharing
provides the convenience of a car
without the monthly payments.
On June 3, 2013, the City of
Orlando and Florida Department of
Transportation signed a parking space
lease to reserve 12 carshare spots in
downtown. Also, the City of Winter
Park recently agreed to place two
carshare parking spots near the train
station.
A membership-free car rental
through Hertz 24/7 awaits drivers 18 +
with rates starting at $8 per hour
(including fuel and insurance).
Carpooling matches similar
destinations through
reThinkYourCommute.com. Rollins
graduates, such as Courtney Miller—
Manager of reThink Your Commute,
serve as connections to improve TOD
in and around the community.
RENOVATE A
PARKING LOT INTO A
COMMUNITY GARDEN
Parking spaces should remain
limited as to discourage driving
and encourage public transportation.
In Winter Park, the value per acre for a
park is more than twice than a parking
lot. Remodeling a parking lot into an
open green space (e.g. community
garden) would increase the property
value and bring in greater tax revenues
to further enhance community
livability. Many other colleges, like
LaFayette College in Pennsylvania
(image below), grow flowers, medicinal
plants, fruits and vegetables in their
community gardens.
Part B:
Improve Walkability
& Bike Use
EXTEND ROLLINS
BIKE LIBRARY
(SunCycles: Downtown
Orlando’s Bike Rental)
Over the past five years, the
Rollins Bike Library has expanded the
number of bikes from 8 to 27. There is
such a high demand for rental bikes on
campus that for every bike checked
out last year, there was another person
waiting to rent one. Providing an
extension of the current Rollins Bike
Library will certainly increase ridership.
A safe biking environment reaps the
benefit of decreasing obesity rates by
15 percent. By increasing the number
of cyclists on the roads, the crash rate
will also decrease. Rollins should
establish a relationship with
SunCycles, Downtown Orlando’s Bike
Rental. Community outreach, such as
Winter Park’s Bike from Park to Park
initiative or Bike Valet at festivals, are
ways to get community members
together for a short bike ride through
town. The City of Winter Park
Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Board
strongly supports extending
the local and regional
bicycle network of
trails to connect with
the greater Orlando
area. In fact, we can
anticipate new bike
trails along Denning
Drive in the near future.
4
5
6
Winter
carrots
collected from
LaFarm at LaFayette
Community
College
24. [24]
MAKE BIKE LANES
NOTICEABLE WITH
“SHARROWS”
Sharrows are painted
arrows on the street to
make shared bicycling
lanes conspicuous to
drivers. A conspicuous
striped buffer zone can
reduce bike injuries by 90 percent
without increasing vehicle travel time.
IMPROVE
WAYFINDING
WITH SIGNAGE
As many as 41 percent of
visitors had difficulty finding parking
simply because of poor signage, so by
implementing wayfinding as an
intuitive part of planning, there will be
less confusion and congestion in the
streets. Traffic calming devices should
be implemented to promote a safe
cyclist- and pedestrian-friendly
atmosphere. Pedestrian success
should be measured based on
distance to crossings, crossing
delays, comfort, crossing exposure,
and conflict-free crossing times.
PROVIDE BIKE
SERVICES &
WORKSHOPS
Most people are aware that bikes
require minimal resources and
maintenance, are relatively cheap, and
support human physical and emotional
health. Bike workshops and servicing
should be offered to increase
education and ridership. The
workshops and services could either
be student led, or Rollins could
collaborate with Winter Park Cycles.
ENSURE ADEQUATE
BIKE STORAGE &
SHOWERS IN PRIME
LOCATIONS
Buildings should allocate at least
10 percent of the number of car
parking spaces as bike facility spaces.
Bicycle storage, showers, and lockers
should be required for students and
faculty biking to campus. U-style bike
racks work best when bike garages
are not available.
TOP 5 SUSTAINABLE
COLLEGES 1 2 3 4 5
Allegheny
College, PA
(featured)
Amherst
College, MA
Arizona State
Univ.,AZ
Bowdoin
College, ME
Univ. of British
Columbia,
Canada
Sharrows in the
City of Redlands, CA
7
8 9
10
greenreportcard.org
Bike racks at
Rollins College
25. [25]
Part C: Promote
Sustainability
CREATE A
ROLLINS COLLEGE
SUSTAINABILITY
LOGO
All sustainability efforts at Rollins
must be celebrated and labeled. A
‘Rollins Sustainability’ logo should be
branded in a timely manner, perhaps
through a student competition with a
sustainable reward (e.g. bike, transit
pass). Once the logo is selected, it
should be displayed at sustainability
events (Earth Day) and on the campus
website.
TRACK, RECOGNIZE,
& AWARD
SUSTAINABILITY
IMPROVEMENTS
Rollins should monitor the
success of these guidelines in
increasing walkability, bike, and transit
use. Knowing how students move
around can help establish a Rollins
carbon footprint, as every mile that is
pedaled on a bike saves 1 pound of
CO2 from being emitted. Sustainability
goals should be constantly set and
revised (walkability score, vehicle
miles traveled, and pedestrian death
rate). One day, the community bike
score should increase, and Winter
Park will finally be recognized as a
bike friendly city.
OUTREACH FROM
ECOROLLINS & CESI
FOR CAMPUS
MASTER PLAN 2011
GOALS
Through outreach and education
programs from the CESI and
EcoRollins, students, faculty, and staff
can help reach the Campus Master
Plan 2011 goal to reduce gas
consumption 50% by 2021.
COLLABORATE
WITH CITY OF
WINTER PARK’S
SUSTAINABILITY
ACTION PLAN
The guidelines and goals
established in the City of Winter Park’s
Sustainability Action Plan serve as a
model that should be followed
(increase quality of life and health,
become energy independent, protect
and enhance air quality and natural
systems, save money, and increase
economic value). The City of Winter
Park and Rollins College can
collaborate in promoting alternative
forms of commute other than car,
therefore, emphasizing a high quality
of life and the creation of highly livable
neighborhoods and communities.
ENCOURAGE
COMMUNITY
PARTICIPATION IN
MINDMIXER
Finally, by encouraging the Rollins
community to become active
members in MindMixer (http://
engage.cityoforlando.net), further
sustainability suggestions, plans, and
achievements will be shared in the
future. Through the accumulation of
these actions, we can fulfill the Rollins
College Mission Statement: “We are
dedicated to scholarship, academic
achievement, creative
accomplishment, cultural enrichment,
social responsibility, and
environmental stewardship.”
11
12
14
13
15
ROLLINS SURVEY
PARTICIPANTS
CO2 GHG GAS
100% 252 3,780 937,440 $764,245.44
60% 151.2 2,268 562,464 $458,547.26
30% 75.6 1,134 281,232 $229,273.63
Annual reductions in metric tons of CO2 MMT of greenhouse gas
emissions, and dollars of gas saved for 100%, 60%, and 30% of
survey participants who said they would be willing to use
SunRain for commute.
sunrail.com
27. [27]
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