Back to School—Be Eco Smart

A sharp pencil, a new backpack, and maybe even a new t-shirt or two! These are all some of the joys of a new school year. How can parents save money, save resources, not lose their minds and do something good for the planet while getting the kids ready for school? Here are a few tips to be eco smart.

Pack a no garbage lunch
Think reusable, refillable, resources. It’s hip to be green now, so lay in the supplies for a no garbage lunch. Use a lunch bag/box/pack and fill it with refillable containers. You can even go chic with a reusable cloth napkin or bandana to wipe that peanut butter off.

Carpool, bus, bike, or walk
All are good choices for a clean and green travel. Bike maps are free and available at http://bikeped.pima.gov/Publications.html or call 740-3345. Check out the ride guide for Sun Tran trip planning www.suntran.com or call 792-9222. The bus is a great bargain and there are reduced prices for students and county employees! Walking saves pollution and offers a cardiovascular boost. Walk to School Day is Wednesday, October 8. Celebrate walking and biking to school as a means to promote health, safety, physical activity, and concern for community and the environment. Contact Donna.Lewandowski@dot.pima.gov or 205-8309 for more information—remember to ask Donna how to form a walking school bus in your neighborhood.

Make it green
Those lists of school supplies can be overwhelming and a stretch on the wallet. Buy and use recycled products when you can; the prices are going down and many are comparable to virgin products, plus the kids think they are cool. Have you seen the cardboard notebooks, Capri Sun backpacks, recycled money pencils, and old school lunchboxes?

The Wheels on the bus (and car) go round and round
Riding the bus saves gas when compared to driving, but kids may be exposed to fumes that have been linked to rising asthma rates. Talk with your principal about creating a “No Idling Zone” around the school. Is there an area where parents sit in their vehicles and wait for dismissal? And one where buses sit and wait for the kids? Encourage No Idling Zones at your school where bus drivers and parents turn off their vehicle motors while waiting. They will save money on fuel and we will all breathe easier.

Pima County Environmental Quality promotes alternatives to driving alone; and encourages carpooling, busing, biking, and walking to reduce air pollution in our community. For more information, please contact Robin at Robin.Johnson@deq.pima.gov.

Bicycle Commuting Benefits

Bicycling for commutes has notable benefits for money savings, personal fitness, time savings, and since it has zero emissions, bicycling benefits air quality as well.

For every day you ride your bike to work, that’s an extra day you have saved fuel for your vehicle. Do that two to three days a week, you’ve saved over a week’s worth of fuel every month! According to the Pima Association of Governments (PAG), every day you drive your vehicle, it costs you between $12 and $18 including fuel and operating costs.

Every time you ride your bike to work, you’ve exercised. According to 1world2wheels.org, the average person loses 13 pounds their first year of commuting by bike. Three hours of bicycling every week can reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke by 50%. Also, when you combine exercising with commuting, you’ve just saved time that you might have spent at later hours working out, freeing up your time for life’s other enjoyable moments.

For every time you ride your bike to work, you’ve helped reduce air pollution. Every 31 miles you drive your motor vehicle, you put about a pound of pollution into the air (PAG). When you ride your bike, you don’t pollute, and the air is simply healthier to breathe.

Thinking of riding your bike to work?

Take a bicycle safety class taught by LAB League Cycling instructors, and sponsored by Pima County and City of Tucson Departments of Transportation. Classes are free and available for adults, children, fitness enthusiasts, and commuters. Free helmets, lights, and locks are available to attendees. Check out www.dot.pima.gov/transsys/pimabikeped/SafetyClasses.htm for more information.

If you ride your bike (or use another alternate mode of transportation) for your commute at least two days a week, you are eligible for a Guaranteed Ride Home taxi voucher from the Pima County Employee Travel Reduction Program. You can use this voucher in case of an emergency and your vehicle is not available to you. Contact karen.wilhelmsen@deq.pima.gov for more information.

There are bike parking facilities at some outlying Pima County work places. Downtown, there are a handful of bike lockers and surface lock-ups scattered throughout the area. Listed below are locations where you can secure your bicycle downtown during your work day. If these locations do not meet your needs, or if there are other bicycle commuter needs that are not currently being met, please contact karen.wilhelmsen@deq.pima.gov. There is no guarantee that these issues can be resolved, but it would be good to know what the issues are and perhaps we can help solve at least some of them.

Downtown Bike Lockers
Fee: Refundable $10 key deposit and a $1 per pay period payroll deduction maintenance fee. This nominal fee is needed to ensure that the person renting the locker is still employed by Pima County, and holds them accountable for the contents and usage of the locker. Contact Facilities Management Parking program at 740-3054 for more info on bike lockers.

• Public Works Parking Garage, 201 N. Stone
Twenty bicycle lockers on the southwest corner of Level 4 are administered by Pima County Facilities Management Parking Operations. Bike lockers on Level 3 are administered by the City of Tucson, and are available to City employees only. 



Bike lockers at the Public Works Garage, 4th floor

• Pima County Parking Complex, 110-150 W. Congress
A and B levels of the downtown complex parking garages contains 14 bike lockers. B level lockers are near the west elevators under Health & Welfare.
The lockers on A level are at the northeast corner, under the Courts building.

Downtown Bike Lock-ups

• Public Works Building, 201 N. Stone
Bike racks located in the courtyard between the parking garage and the
Public Works Building. Free.

• Legal Services Garage, east side of Scott, south of Pennington Four, three-pronged closure, Graeber bike lock-ups, at ground level and within 20 feet of the security officer’s shack. There is room for storing a helmet and other gear in each lock up. Rider needs to provide own lock. Free.



Bike lock-ups in the parking garage at Legal Services Parking Garage

• Bank of America Building, 33 N. Stone   
Bicycle rack located in a chain-link cage in the parking garage. The location is in direct line of sight of the traffic control officers post. This rack will accommodate 8-9 bikes. Free. 

• Health & Welfare Building, 150 W. Congress
Bicycle rack located at the southeast side of the building can accommodate several bikes. Free.

If you choose to ride your bicycle for commutes, remember to choose a safe route, ride smart, and keep your bike secured in an appropriate parking location. And, don’t smile too big while you reap the money saving, fitness, and air quality benefits…you might get bugs in your teeth!

Alternate Modes Save You Money

Driving alone in your vehicle for your work commutes may cost you upwards of $12-$18 per day (around $4,000 per year), including fuel and operating costs. And if you work downtown, you probably have to pay for parking on top of that.

Pima County offers benefits to us employees who choose alternate modes.

• Take the bus to work with a monthly subsidized bus pass costing employees a mere $10, while regular monthly passes cost $28.
• Carpool to work, and besides splitting operation and parking costs with your carpool buddy (or buddies), get discounted parking rates at County lots.
• Bicycle to work and use a bike garage for a $10 deposit and $1 per paycheck.
• Use an alternate mode at least twice a week, and then you can get a voucher for a free taxi ride home in case of an emergency through the Guaranteed Ride Home Program.

There are lots of benefits to using alternate modes of transportation besides saving money. Think about it…we can get:

• Cleaner air
  
• Improved respiratory and heart health
  
• Increased exercise time
  
• Reduced stress
  
• More personal time
  
• Reduced global warming
  
• Reduced dependence on foreign oil
  
• Beautiful mountain views

Give alternate modes a try.

Contact karen.wilhelmsen@deq.pima.gov for a free 2-ride bus pass to try transit, to sign up with the Guaranteed Ride Home Program, or with questions about using alternate modes.

Contact Pima Association of Governments for an on-line carpool/vanpool matching system or call them at 792-1093.

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