Sustainability wheels turn with Bike to Work Day

In late June, the St. George Sustainability Office brought F&S employees together to celebrate clean, healthy commuting and community on campus. The successful event sets a high-water mark for efficient planning and execution that the organizers hope will be emulated across U of T.

Bicycle bells rang out in the lobby of the Exam Centre on June 26 as F&S employees joined their peers for Bike to Work Day, a new initiative put forward by the Sustainability Office (SO) to champion sustainable transportation, safe cycling practices, and fun.

“We couldn’t wait to start turning the crank on this event,” says Kaitlyn Myles, sustainability coordinator. “It brought people together around an important cause. We’re hoping that other departments, faculties and groups on campus will follow suit!”

To that end, Myles shared a few key takeaways from her team’s planning process.

Consider safety first (especially fire safety!)

Any large group congregating on campus has safety considerations, and Bike to Work Day doesn’t just include people—by definition, there are lots of bikes present, too!

“When we were looking for appropriate spaces,” says Myles, “we used the F&S online resource to contact different buildings’ property managers and participants were encouraged to bring their bikes inside the building—and even to their workstations—early notification was essential.

“We always have to be cognizant of fire hazards,” says Denise Rose, manager, Fire Prevention Services, who worked with the SO on the event. “In this case, we needed to be sure that bikes weren’t blocking hallways or fire exits, interfering with daily work, or creating tripping hazards.”

Rose encourages anyone looking to host a similar event to reach out to the Fire Prevention team, who can advise them on best practices. “We love working with University groups to make sure that their projects go off without a hitch, keeping things safe and fun,” she adds.

Make the time and place inclusive

“It’s funny,” says Myles, “but you can’t just tell people to show up with their bikes. With an institution as big as U of T, there’s a lot of careful planning that must happen before sending out an event announcement.” For the SO, this meant choosing a central location for staff who are spread widely across the St. George campus.

“We landed on the Exam Centre because it’s accessible and familiar to everyone,” she says. “We also wanted to be sensitive to any holidays or religious observances taking place. It’s important that an event like this be inclusive.”

Avoid conflicts on a busy campus

U of T is a constant hub of activity, so the SO consulted with Campus Events to make sure Bike to Work Day didn’t negatively impact other groups. “The Exam Centre hosts, well, exams,” Myles laughs, “so we made sure there were no conflicts on the schedule. We chose a midweek day, so that we’d be catching remote workers when they were in the office—and a morning event means that people get to start their day with a fun team-building activity.”

With approvals in place, the team created fun signage and circulated announcements to keep everyone informed “Bike to Work Day was also certified as a sustainable event,” Myles notes. “The SO’s sustainable change certifications are a great way for event hosts to make sure that they’re adopting best practices when planning.”

Partner up with local shops and businesses

To make Bike to Work Day special, Myles and her team collaborated with Bikechain, U of T’s non-profit cycle shop. Their representatives were on site to provide safety checks and minor tune-ups, as well as advice for major repairs and safe cycling in Toronto.

“We wanted to add value and make things inclusive,” she says. “Bike to Work Day isn’t just for people who already cycle commute; it’s for anyone interested in sustainable transportation.”

The SO also partnered with Zygg ebikes, who had demonstrations available for anyone curious about pedal-assisted options. “Having partnering organizations involved makes an event feel more exciting and substantial, with tangible benefits and offerings for participants—as well as incentives for those who would otherwise have not been interested,” Myles adds.

Create community around clean transportation

“At the end of the day,” says Myles, “we’re showing appreciation for those staff who choose sustainable transportation methods while opening the door for others to do so and creating a space where the campus community can connect over sustainability.”

Myles also hopes that the planned social media celebration will resonate with staff. “I think that we’re setting great precedent by promoting healthy, sustainable lifestyles while abiding by all the important ”

With the SO sharing its learnings from the successful party on two wheels, the gears are already turning for more to come.