Bike Parking Installation of the Month: Hope College

This month we shine the light on the City of Holland, Michigan.

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This month we're highlighting an organization showcasing their commitment to cyclists with bike infrastructure painted in their school colors. Through the Department of Campus Safety, Hope College recently installed a cycle aid station, air station and branded bike docs for students, faculty, staff and visitors.

To learn more, we interviewed someone closely involved with Hope College's efforts, Jason Guthaus. 

Why did you choose to add cycling infrastructure to your campus?

Residents of the City of Holland, Michigan, share the same love of cycling as their Dutch counterparts in the Netherlands, and the students at Hope College are no exception! Roughly one third of the students on campus use bicycles as their primary mode of transportation around campus and throughout the area. Hope College is located within the core city of Holland and serves as a beautiful landmark on the southern border of this area, welcoming community members into downtown. In addition to the bike friendly city streets, the greater Holland area provides more than 150 miles of designated bike paths and off-road trails for mountain biking. Hope College hosts the National Multiple Sclerosis Society's annual "Bike MS: Great Lakes West Michigan Breakaway," with daily routes from 30-100 miles.

One of our roles as Hope College's Campus Safety Department is to provide motorists with basic assistance for vehicle problems like dead batteries and flat tires. Yet with such a large number of students and local community members utilizing bicycles, we came to realize that our department could do more than offer a basic tire pump at our office. Students and staff frequently asked for tools to replace tubes and perform basic maintenance or make adjusts on their bikes, however, we simply did not have the necessary equipment.

Have you received any student/user feedback?

Our cycle aid station, air station, and branded bike docks have only been in place for little more than one week. Yet in that short time, we have received a number of compliments on the visual appearance from staff and guests. Incoming freshman that have been on campus for orientation activities have been happy to see the availability of equipment to maintain the bikes on campus beginning this fall. We're certain that when the majority of our students and staff return to Hope College this fall, they will be excited to see the addition of this equipment to our campus.

Why did you choose to use our products?

After researching various bike maintenance stations, we found the Cycle Aid Station and Air Station to be the best option for our campus. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant design of the Aid Station was one significant factor in our selection, allowing those with all abilities to benefit from this product.

Members of our college's brand identity team were thrilled to see that we could order the equipment to meet Hope College's specific color palate requirements and have our department's logo added to our bike docks. Perhaps the best part of using Saris and Bike Fixation as our supplier has been the exceptional customer service throughout the entire process. The knowledge, attention to detail, and patience that Emelye provided from our first inquiry to the delivery of our equipment, has only reaffirmed our decision to use Saris and Bike Fixation for our cycling infrastructure needs!

More information about Hope College's new addition can be found in their local paper, the Holland Sentinel.

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