Campus traffic patterns changing, audit shows

UVic commuters are taking the bus more, taking their cars less and are even resorting to skateboards to make it to class, according to the latest campus traffic audit.

The 2004 audit, conducted by Bunt and Associates in mid-October, "is a snapshot of where the campus is at in terms of transit usage, car ridership and bicycle commuting," says Sarah Webb, UVic's sustainability co-ordinator.

UVic has been conducting traffic audits every four years since 1992. The latest data shows that traffic to campus has declined 13 per cent since 2000 while cycling trips have risen by 12 per cent in the same period.

For the first time, less than 50 per cent of the trips to campus were in a single occupancy vehicle while transit ridership has increased by 33 per cent over 2000 levels, representing over one quarter of the trips made to campus.

The 2004 audit was the first one to measure trips to campus by skateboarders and rollerbladers and also documented the number of UVic employees who work from alternative locations.

Webb says the addition of nearly 400 residence rooms at UVic this fall has already had an impact on traffic to campus. "Parking pass sales are generally down this year. We can definitely correlate the difference to the addition of on-campus housing."
She says the data from this latest audit is encouraging and will further assist the university in implementing transportation demand management initiatives that encourage and reward sustainable travel behaviour.