WINNIPEG, MB – Today is Earth Day, and The University of Winnipeg is partnering with Peg City Car Co-op to offer students and others in the University community a new, sustainable transportation option on campus: car sharing. Effective the first week of May, a silver Honda Fit will be parked free of charge year-round behind UWinnipeg’s Buhler Centre at 490 Portage Avenue.
UWinnipeg is committed to offering active and sustainable transportation options on campus. Most recently, in partnership with The University of Winnipeg Students’ Association, a campus and community Bike Lab opened that provides free year-round programming to students, staff, faculty and community members including bike maintenance and safety workshops. Additionally, UWinnipeg is now the downtown terminus for Winnipeg’s new rapid transit corridor connecting 14 bus routes to the east and south ends of the city. The Balmoral Transit Station, located at UWinnipeg’s AnX, features weather protection for passengers and real-time BUSwatch electronic signs.
“The car share option is an incredibly exciting addition to our campus,” said Alana Lajoie-O’Malley, Director, Campus Sustainability Office. “Several University employees are unable to walk, bike, or bus to work because they must drive to off campus meetings during the day. Our hope is that making this vehicle available to these staff members will reduce the number of University employees driving their cars to and from their homes.”
HOW CAR SHARE WORKS
“This partnership with the University of Winnipeg will provide us with new opportunities to expand our membership,” said Beth McKechnie, manager of Peg City Car Co-op. “This car will be conveniently located near our members in the West Broadway and Spence neighbourhoods, and we also represent a new transportation option for all students, workers and small businesses in the downtown area.”
To join, potential members must have a clear driving record and be at least 21 years of age. Members have access to a fleet of vehicles parked in a handful of Winnipeg neighbourhoods, 24 hours a day. Usage is paid on hourly and per kilometre basis.
UWINNIPEG – AN ECO-LEADER
The University of Winnipeg and the University of Winnipeg Students’ Association is also pleased to accept the 2013 Polar Bears International’s Paws of Approval Award, which handed out during a dinner on Friday, April 19, 2013. The award celebrates organizations, groups, and individuals who are making a serious contribution to reducing greenhouse gases.
In the last five years, UWinnipeg has become an award-winning eco-leader garnering national attention through the following sustainability initiatives:
All UWinnipeg campus food scraps, containers and biodegradable cutlery composted at the Forks by the unique BIOvator
Created Diversity Foods serving nutritious, local and sustainable food on campus
First university in Canada to ban the sale of plastic water bottles
Installed a hybrid heating system that switches between natural gas and electricity, reducing GHG emissions from core buildings by as much as 25%
Outfitted all campus bathrooms with low-flow toilets and sinks, saving more than 4.5 million litres of water per year
Uses green cleaning practices and products including phosphate-free detergents
All printers on campus default to double-sided printing, saving countless amounts of paper
New campus facilities constructed to minimum LEED Silver standard (McFeetors Hall: Great-West Life Student Residence and The University of Winnipeg Students’ Association Daycare Centre formally awarded LEED Silver by the Green Building Council of Canada in 2011)
In 2005, President Lloyd Axworthy committed to a comprehensive Sustainability Management System for UWinnipeg, which means potential environmental impact is factored into all decisions. The 2013 Globe & Mail Canadian University Report places UWinnipeg among Canada’s best for environmental commitment.
Later today, Dr. Axworthy is also receiving an Honourary Doctorate from the National Technical University of Ukraine – Kyiv Polytechnic Institute(known as KPI) in recognition of UWinnipeg’s commitment and achievement in creating a sustainable campus. KPI is considered one of the foremost “green” science and engineering facilities in Ukraine.
