Eugene Martin GIS solutions and educator
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The UWSP Sustainable Commute Project (SCP) evaluated the sustainability of UWSP student and employee commute practices to raise awareness about the impacts and alternative transportation choices. The a database of student local addresses between 1980 and 2010 with local and regional transportation infrastructure data in a geographic information system (GIS) to model mobility and efficiency. Results from this analysis were presented to the campus community and to reveal the extent of miles traveled and related costs. In 2010 sixty three hundred off-campus students and employees commute on average 6.7 miles to campus, collectively this sums a commute of 84,000 miles each day; the circumference of the Earth is 24,000 miles. The density of students nearby campus has seen a marked increase over the last forty years. Seventy-five percent of off-campus students live within five miles of campus. These students and employees are more likely users of alternative modes of transport reducing the number of fossil fuel based commute miles and emissions estimates. Synthesis of the results were prepared specifically to assist administrative decisions that could encourage alternative transportation choices and better manage of transportation resources and activity like parking lots, bicycle racks, bus routes and rideshare programs. The SCP was funded by the Wisconsin Institute for Sustainable Technology (WIST) and the GIS Center.