Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 75.79
Liaison Mary Whitney
Submission Date Sept. 22, 2015
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

Chatham University
OP-21: Support for Sustainable Transportation

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 Mary Whitney
University Sustainability Coordinator
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution provide secure bicycle storage (not including office space), shower facilities, and lockers for bicycle commuters?:
Yes

A brief description of the facilities for bicycle commuters:

Chatham Bike Works is located on the lower level of Woodland Hall. It combines indoor bike parking with a bike workshop and classroom. There are lockers reserved only for bike commuters. Showers are located at the AFC.

Eastside has only outdoor bike parking, but does have lockers and showers.


Does the institution provide short-term bicycle parking (e.g. racks) within 50 ft (15 m) of all occupied, non-residential buildings and make long-term bicycle storage available within 330 ft (100 m) of all residence halls (if applicable)?:
Yes

A brief description of the bicycle parking and storage facilities:

All residence halls (not all apartments) have bicycle parking within 30 feet or much less. Occupied non-residential buildings have bike parking nearby, although not always within 50 feet. There is bike parking at the library, cafe, dining hall, and main admin building. Chatham's Shadyside campus is compact, and it is possible to walk from one end to the other in about 15 minutes. Our parking lots for cars are at the edge of campus, and people walk once arriving on campus. This is no different for cyclists.
There is bike parking at centralized locations at the Eden Hall campus in similar fashion, and the residence halls will have indoor bike parking when they are complete. Eastside bike parking is less than 50 feet from the main entrance.


Does the institution have a “complete streets” or bicycle accommodation policy (or adhere to a local community policy) and/or have a continuous network of dedicated bicycle and pedestrian paths and lanes?:
Yes

A brief description of the bicycle/pedestrian policy and/or network:

Chatham has walk/bike-only paths through campus, with no cars allowed on them.


Does the institution have a bicycle-sharing program or participate in a local bicycle-sharing program?:
Yes

A brief description of the bicycle sharing program:

We rent bicycles at $80 per year to any Chatham member. This rental comes with helmet, emergency tool kit, and front/rear blinky lights. Maintenance can be scheduled with the Bike Works coordinator. We have 20 bikes available now, and can add more as demand increases. We partner with a local bike organization, Free Ride, to build or upgrade new bikes as we need them.


Is the institution certified as a Bicycle Friendly University by the League of American Bicyclists (U.S.) or under a similar third party certification covering non-motorized transportation?:
Yes

A brief description of the certification, including date certified and level:

Bike Friendly University - Bronze
bike Friendly Employer - Bike Pittsburgh


Does the institution offer free or reduced price transit passes and/or operate a free campus shuttle for commuters?:
Yes

A brief description of the mass transit program(s), including availability, participation levels, and specifics about discounts or subsidies offered (including pre-tax options):

Chatham University offers a free campus shuttle for students, faculty and staff. Three shuttles operate daily. Chatham Eastside Shuttle loops every 20 minutes between 7am to 11pm, Monday-Friday. Oakland Shuttle loops every 30 minutes Mondays-Thursdays between 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., Fridays between 7am to 3:30 a.m., Saturdays between 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Sundays between 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Approximately 1,000 riders per week participate in the Chatham Shuttle program while classes are in session.
Additionally, students, staff and faculty are eligible to ride the University of Pittsburgh shuttles at no cost throughout the SouthSide and Oakland and University of Pittsburgh students are eligible to ride our shuttles at no cost as well. Riders must present their valid Chatham Photo ID. There are nine Pitt Shuttles which operate under regular schedules, seven days per week, throughout the year.

Free Public Transportation
Pittsburgh Port Authority Transit (PAT) offers free transportation for students, staff and faculty aboard its buses, Monongahela Incline and light rail system within any PAT zone via its Port Authority U-Pass program. Riders must present a valid, unexpired Chatham University photo ID and are free to ride at any time on any day.

Free Safe Rider Van:
Chatham participates in the University of Pittsburgh's Safe Rider Van Service which provides free evening and early morning transportation to students, faculty and staff where and when buses and shuttles are not available. Transportation service is limited to two categories: intercampus, between local residences and campus buildings. Riders are limited to 20 trips per semester. Trips are scheduled with a dispatcher during evening and early morning hours.


Does the institution offer a guaranteed return trip (GRT) program to regular users of alternative modes of transportation?:
Yes

A brief description of the GRT program:

Chatham works in conjunction with the City of Pittsburgh and the other universities (Pitt, CMU, Duquesne, Carlow) to offer a coordinated guaranteed ride program. Students can get guaranteed rides from the Downtown, Oakland, Shadyside and Squirrel Hill areas from any of the campus police departments. This program also provides non-emergency medical transportation. In the event that a rider or cyclist is stranded further out, we have reciprocal agreements with regional municipalities in similar fashion.


Does the institution participate in a car/vanpool or ride sharing program and/or offer reduced parking fees or preferential parking for car/vanpoolers?:
Yes

A brief description of the carpool/vanpool program:

Chatham participates in the Southwest PA Commission CommuteInfo program, which coordinates vanpool, carpool and now bikepool riders.


Does the institution participate in a car sharing program, such as a commercial car-sharing program, one administered by the institution, or one administered by a regional organization?:
Yes

A brief description of the car sharing program:

Chatham has hosted Zipcar since 2009. Two cars are located on campus. The cars are available for any Chatham community member 18 or older with a drivers license. Chatham ZipCar members may also use other university ZipCars in the city, including those at Carnegie Mellon, University of Pittsburgh, and Duquesne University.

We also have a fleet of minivans that are reservable by students for activities. (21 and over)

Eden Hall Campus will have an Enterprise University Car Share beginning with the Fall 2015 semester.


Does the institution have one or more Level 2 or Level 3 electric vehicle recharging stations that are accessible to student and employee commuters?:
Yes

A brief description of the electric vehicle recharging stations:

While we are reluctant to add charging stations where we do not have PV installations (as research has shown that electric charging stations that draw the power from the grid may increase emissions in the PJM region) we do have two charging stations at Eden Hall, where they are fed by the solar array.


Does the institution offer a telecommuting program for employees as a matter of policy or as standard practice?:
No

A brief description of the telecommuting program:
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Does the institution offer a condensed work week option for employees as a matter of policy or as standard practice?:
No

A brief description of the condensed work week program:
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Does the institution have incentives or programs to encourage employees to live close to campus?:
Yes

A brief description of the incentives or programs to encourage employees to live close to campus:

Chatham owns and rents at reasonable rates many houses and apartments on and near campus, with preference given to faculty and staff. The university provides housing for many Student Affairs staff, as well as Academic Affairs staff, whose jobs require them to be on campus throughout the day and evening.


Does the institution have other incentives or programs to encourage more sustainable modes of transportation and reduce the impact of student and employee commuting?:
No

A brief description of other sustainable transportation initiatives and programs:
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The website URL where information about the institution’s sustainable transportation program(s) is available:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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