Formal Report Proposal – Small-Wheeled Vehicle Lanes on Main Roads of UBC

To: Head of the UBC infrastructure planning

From: Duffy Du, A current UBC student

Date: Feb 16, 2022

Subject: Proposal for small-wheeled vehicle lanes on main roads of UBC

 

Introduction

As skating gains popularity over the past couple of years, it has transitioned from just a street sport to something people use to get around different destinations. The UBC campus is over 400 hectares in size, therefore making it difficult for students to travel across campus quickly, especially with only 10 minutes in between classes. Many students have adopted the use of a small-wheeled vehicle such as a skateboard, cruiser board, penny board, longboard or scooter (all referred to as skateboard in this document) as their main method of transportation between classes. Recent development of electric versions of these vehicles have even eliminated the need to push with a leg.

 

Skateboards as a method of transportation have many advantages over traditional bikes – they are smaller in size, meaning that they are easier to carry around on busses and into classes, which in turn greatly reduces possibility of it getting stolen as bike thieves have been a deep-rooted problem in universities. All these advantages have contributed to the popularity of students using small-wheel vehicles as their method of transportation on campus between classes. Yet, UBC does not provide separate lanes for these vehicles and a lot of roads are paved with tiles that are hard to skate on.

 

Statement of Problem

Main mall, as an iconic pedestrian axis of UBC, is equipped with cleanly paved tiled roads. However, the gaps between small tiles creates extra difficulty for small-wheeled vehicles such as skateboards, scooters, longboards to roll on. As a major road spanning the north and south of the university, traffic on main mall gets heavy especially between classes. Skating down main mall is made more difficult as crowds of pedestrians share the same road. Road sharing also means pedestrians must be on a constant lookout to dodge these skaters. Similar problem exists on west mall and east mall, the two main roads for cars. Cars usually go faster than skaters, and they will need to go around skaters, and skaters will need to be on a lookout to avoid cars.

 

Proposed Solution

One simple solution to this problem would be to build a separate lane with smooth concrete or asphalt surface for bikers and skaters separate from the pedestrian walk and the car lane on the main streets on campus such as Main Mall, East Mall and West Mall. This will not only provide skaters with a smoother surface to skate on, but also give pedestrians and drivers the peace of mind when going down the streets as they do not need to avoid people on these small-wheeled vehicles.

 

Scope

To access the opinions and the needs of UBC students, I intend to investigate:

1. What is the prevalence of small-wheeled vehicle use on campus?
2. What do students mainly use these small-wheeled vehicles for?
3. What do skaters want the most in terms of infrastructure improvements?
4. What is the proportion of skaters who are skilled enough to feel comfortable skating through crowds on main mall?
5. What are the opinions of non-skaters on adding a lane specific for small-wheeled vehicles?

 

Methods

The primary data of this research will be collected from surveys administered to UBC staff and students to gather opinions on current infrastructure regarding road sharing and the possibility of adding a lane specifically for small-wheeled vehicles. My secondary research data will come from bike lane implementation guides as references for the planning, planning and implementation strategy of these lanes.

 

My Qualifications

I am a current UBC student who recently started skating longboard and skateboard. I have found the problem of not having smooth asphalt roads or concrete roads and a designated lane for skaters troublesome. With my previous experiences working in biology labs, I am confident to say that I am familiar with conducting the research using scientific methods.

 

Conclusion

In order to improve the traffic on main mall for both skaters and non-skaters, implementing a separate lane specifically for small-wheeled vehicles would alleviate this problem, creating a safer travel environment on campus for both parties. By first determining the needs of staff and students on campus with the aforementioned five areas of inquiry, the results will aid in better addressing this problem of road sharing on campus. I look forward to hearing from you regarding this research project.