Fresno State’s green initiatives received a major boost from state and local grants topping $2 million to support a bikeway along Barstow Avenue, install electric vehicle charging stations, expand Fresno State’s green fleet and fund cordless zero emission lawn equipment.
The state’s new Active Transportation Program awarded $872,000 to the bikeways project last month. This will create a bike lane along the north side of Barstow from Cedar to Chestnut avenues, making it easier and safer for students and faculty to commute by bike, foot or car on the busy route. The bikeway also completes a critical connector in the Fresno and Clovis bikeway systems and helps to improve air quality.
The project is also funded with grants from the Fresno Council of Governments’ Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality program and the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District.
Campus visitors who drive electric vehicles will soon be able to use a super-charger station, the first in the San Joaquin Valley. Scheduled to open in September 2015, the two super-chargers will be part of a six-stall EV Charging Station located in parking Lot P2, west of the Save Mart Center. A grant from the California Energy Commission funded the construction. The air district provided grants to Fresno State’s public safety unit to purchase electric vehicles.
The air district’s E-mobility Grant Program also funded expanded Citrix application streaming so students can access classroom software from home to complete class assignments and labs. This increased access reduces single occupancy vehicle travel to campus.
“Fresno State is demonstrating its environmental leadership,” said Dr. Gillisann Harootunian, Fresno State’s director of University initiatives. “The University is demonstrating to the region a strong commitment to greening. We are on course to become a model eco-friendly 21st century university.”
Recognized as one of the top green colleges in the country by The Princeton Review, Fresno State’s environmental leadership role also includes preparing the next generation. The grants support engineering students to gain hands-on experience as working assistants on these projects.
The recent sustainability initiatives follow other projects on campus such as the solar-powered parking structures, the use of LED campus lighting and a range of water-smart efforts.
For more information contact Harootunian at 559.278.4850 or gharootunian@csufresno.edu.
(Copy by Akyia Westley, University Communications news assistant.)
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