| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 68.45 |
| Liaison | Keisha Payson |
| Submission Date | May 8, 2024 |
Bowdoin College
OP-17: Support for Sustainable Transportation
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Keisha
Payson Sustainability Director Sustainable Bowdoin |
Does the institution have a bicycle-sharing program or participate in a local bicycle-sharing program?:
A brief description of the bicycle sharing program:
Bowdoin students run a Yellow Bicycle Club (YBC) from which members have access to a fleet of bicycles around campus for a small fee. Current YBC membership stands at eighty, which is limited by the number of bicycles that can be stored during the winter and summer months.
Does the institution participate in a car sharing program?:
Bowdoin used to participate in the ZipCar program with three ZipCars on campus available to Bowdoin and local community. Unfortunately Zipcar pulled out of Maine during COVID-19 and have not returned. The College is still searching for another car sharing program for campus.
Does the institution offer preferential parking or other incentives for fuel efficient vehicles?:
A brief description of the incentives for fuel efficient vehicles:
Bowdoin used to have preferential parking spots for fuel-efficient vehicles near some of our LEED certified buildings but has since replaced those parking spots with parking for EV charging stations, which we assume would still qualify as fuel-efficient vehicles.
Does the institution have one or more Level 2 or Level 3 electric vehicle recharging stations that are accessible to student and employee commuters?:
Bowdoin has eighteen publicly available Level-2 charging stations placed in centrally located parking lots on campus - six managed by ChargePoint and twelve managed by Blink. The chargers are free for the first four hours. After the first four hours, the charge is $3/hour in an effort to incentivize people to move their cars and to make room for others.
Does the institution have incentives or programs to encourage employees to live close to campus?:
In response to high mortgage rates and limited availability of affordable homes within reasonable commuting distance of Brunswick, the College is offering a forgivable loan program to assist employees with the purchase of their first home in the area.
For a limited time, Bowdoin will provide a ten-year forgivable loan for up to 10 percent ($50,000 maximum) of the home purchase price to support faculty or staff who have not owned a primary residence within forty (40) miles of Bowdoin’s Brunswick campus within the past five (5) years. The loan does not have to be repaid as long as the employee remains in a benefits-eligible position at the College in either a full-time basis on campus or in an approved hybrid role and continues to own and occupy the home as their primary residence. For each year that the employee remains at the College, one-tenth (1/10th) of the loan principal, as well as the annual interest, will be forgiven. On the anniversary date of the loan, forgiven principal and interest will be reported as taxable income on the employee’s W-2.
This is a limited-time, two-year program, available for property closings occurring between March 1, 2024, and February 28, 2026.
The College has partnered with two area banks, Bath Savings and Kennebec Savings Bank, to process the loan and provide all required disclosures at property closings.
Who is eligible? To participate in the program, several criteria must be met. These include, but are not limited to, the following:
• The property must be located within forty (40) miles of Bowdoin’s central campus.
• The buyer(s) must not have owned a primary residence within forty (40) miles of campus within the past five (5) years.
• The property must be owned and occupied as your primary residence.
• Primary mortgage financing for the property must be obtained from either Bath Savings or Kennebec Savings Bank.
• The property must be a single-family residence, townhouse, or mobile home (if permanently affixed to land owned by the employee). Please be sure to review the full policy (available here on the Bowdoin website) for additional details of eligibility and important features of the loan program.
https://www.bowdoin.edu/hr/benefits-perks/first-time-home-buyers-assistance-program/index.html
https://www.pressherald.com/2023/12/18/bowdoin-college-offering-employees-up-to-50000-in-forgivable-loans-to-buy-homes/
Does the institution have other programs or initiatives to encourage more sustainable modes of transportation and/or reduce the impact of student and employee commuting?:
A brief description of other programs or initiatives to encourage more sustainable modes of transportation and/or reduce the impact of student and employee commuting:
Bowdoin has been working on bicycle-related issues on campus — an effort that has grown out of our Bicycle Friendly University certification (silver). We have two student employees working in the sustainability office specifically on efforts to make the campus more bicycle friendly. The team covers everything from policy issues, infrastructure issues, safety issues, and a general awareness of safe routes to utilize for basic errands in the community. In addition to these issues, the students offer a once-per-month free bike maintenance drop-in hours, where students can address basic bike maintenance or get referred to a local bike shop for larger problems.
https://www.bowdoin.edu/sustainability/bikes-at-bowdoin/index.html
Optional Fields
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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