Pratt Institute

Higgins Hall, just off of the Southwest corner of Pratt Institute’s campus, has recently begun construction of a new off-sidewalk bicycle rack area designed to accommodate forty additional bicycles.  The rack area will utilize permeable pavers, landscaping, and will involve no changes to the existing historic structure of the building, all of which contribute to its sustainability while promoting bicycling, an eco-friendly form of transportation.  The project is one out of necessity, due to the recent increase in cycling throughout New York City, which resulted in a major overcrowding of the current bicycle storage systems at Pratt.  According to the New York City Department of Transportation, the number of cyclers in the city has doubled between 2007 and 2011, and the risk of injury for cyclers has decreased by 71% between 2000 and 2010, making the area a much safer place to ride.  The amount of cyclers is projected to increase further this coming Spring in March of 2013, when Citibike bike share program is launched.  This will allow anyone easy access to bike rental across the city; there will be 600 stations and 10,000 bikes distributed at various accessible locations citywide, and renting is as easy as pressing a few buttons at the station kiosk.  The appreciation and accommodation of cyclists at Pratt is not surprising, considering their very own transportation planning course entitled Pedestrians and Bicycles offered through the Programs for Sustainable Planning and Development.  Sustainability is a priority with the school.  Additionally, Kamdyn Moore, a graduate of the Urban Environmental Systems Management program at Pratt Institute (http://www.pratt.edu/academics/architecture/urban_environmental_systems_management) focused her capstone project on cycling, and has created the CAB (Campus Area Biking) initiative to utilize the urban school setting as a model for efficient cycling programs in New York City.  Read more about Kamdyn’s initiative at the CAB website, http://campusareabiking.wordpress.com/ and Pratt’s Center for Sustainable Design Studies web page http://csds.pratt.edu/cab.html.  The new Higgins Hall bicycle racks are set to be completed in approximately two weeks.