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Bright Ideas Responses

Thank you for your great suggestions and ideas!  Old responses are below but we have migrated to a new platform at this link where you can see other suggestions and responses and vote on which ones you want to move forward to solution. Check it out!

Suggestion 13:
Are there any charging stations available for personal vehicles in permit parking?  If not, are there plans to add them?  Where? Erik Wieland, Director of IT

Congratulation if you have purchased or plan to purchase a new all electric vehicle.  Although long-term plans call for charging stations at all major UCSF campus sites,  the short-term focus is on Parnassus and Mission Bay, which have the largest population of staff, faculty, and students.  We advocate for the use of electric vehicles but we encourage employees to recharge their vehicles in the evening at home, when electricity is cheapest, rather than during peak daytime rate periods, especially when they live within their vehicle’s refueling range.

The good news is that 92% of staff, faculty, and students live well within the Nissan Leaf’s 100 mile range (the Chevy Volt runs on electricity for an initial range of 35 miles on a single charge, after which a gas generator creates electricity for up to 340 additional miles on a full tank of gas).

Note we do plan to offer preferential parking for fuel efficient vehicles at various campus sites within the next six months.

Once again, when possible, refueling at home is the best option, as electricity is much cheaper during evening off-peak hours and PG&E offers night-time charging incentives. 

Suggestion 12:
Is there a plan to begin composting (with janitorial pick-up of compost-bin contents) in offices across the Parnassus campus?
Response:  The new compost program is rolling out building by building on the Parnassus and Mission Bay Campuses. This process will takes some time as it involves building assessment of each kitchen in the building, outreach to clients, order and deliver of containers for the building and training of the custodial team.

I read recently that we could now co-mingle all recyclable materials (paper, cans, rigid plastics) in one bin.  Is that true of the small blue wastebaskets at each of our workstations, or only the large, communal bins at selected locations on the Parnassus campus?

Response:  All recycling containers accept mixed recyclables (clean paper, cans, rigid plastics, see attachment). This includes desk and office receptacles as well as the larger public receptacles throughout the campus.

I’ve heard anecdotally that custodians simply dump all of the office waste, regardless of which bin it comes from, into the trash.  Is the recyclable waste that we place in our workstation blue bins actually sorted and recycled? 

Response:  The custodians have been trained, they should be placing all materials in the correct containers for recycling, compost and garbage. Please let us know if you notice a custodian putting the wrong materials into the containers at the loading dock. Many custodial staff use one large wheeled cart for collection to place the bags of separated materials. They wheel the cart to the loading dock and then place the bags of the materials into the appropriate compactors at the dock (for compost, garbage, recycling).

For more details about what goes where, see this flyer.

Thanks,
Cynthia Ashe

Suggestion 11:
Hello, I have two suggestions for reducing environmental impact and working toward sustainable future. 

Like many people on Parnassus campus, I bike to work, but I have a hard time finding a place to secure my bike on top of Parnassus hill.  Many people bike to the top of campus, and do not use the elevators from the bike cage which reduces energy use.  However, once on top of the hill, one is hard-pressed to find proper bicycle parking, and is forced to lock up on the car parking meters.  This risks the bikes getting damaged from trucks that are trying to park.  Shockingly, UCSF recently prohibited locking of bikes directly in front of the Galen library, and next to the hospital entrance, without providing any alternative places to secure the bikes.  Although it may be understandable that those areas may have other purpose, UCSF should have realized that there is total lack of areas to secure the number of bikes used everyday to access the campus.  Many people are already doing their part by biking to Parnassus campus instead of using fuels or electricity (e.g. elevators), all UCSF needs to do is install some more pieces of metal pipe to secure the bikes to!  In the surrounding communities, many business have already taken action, with the help of the city, to install bike-locking stations in front of their doors.  There is a HUGE lack of space/areas to lock the bike on Parnassus, and it seems like there is an easy solution.  One specific space suggestion is in front of the Galen library.

My second suggestion is: prohibit smoking in front of all Parnassus buildings.  REALLY prohibit smoking.  Otherwise, provide gas masks.  The way it is now, I start my every work morning by inhaling plenty of second hand smoke while walking from my locked bike to 513 Parnassus.

Thanks for your attention,
Monika

Response:
Thank you for your bicycle parking suggestions.  Transportation Services plans to increase bicycle parking capacity at Parnassus by adding a new 50 space bicycle cage in the Millberry Union garage at Irving and Arguello.  Funding for the cage comes in part from grants through the San Francisco County Transit Authority and the UCSF Chancellor’s Sustainability Advisory Committee.  Although use of the bike cages in this area may require an elevator ride from Irving Street to Parnassus, the marginal electricity use of each additional elevator passenger is negligible and should not be a deterrent to using these bike cages.  If you prefer to park on Parnassus, we do offer a number of bicycle parking racks.  Please note that the racks located to the east of the ACC building (500 Parnassus) are typically available and we plan to add additional racks in this area.  Here is a link to all available UCSF bicycle parking: http://campuslifeservices.ucsf.edu/transportation/parking/bicycle/

Regarding smoking, California law prohibits smoking within 25 feet of public buildings including government buildings and publicly owned medical centers. Check out this link to report concerns.

Suggestion 10:Dear UCSF sustainability community,

My name is Molly Reed, I am a representative of the Fellowship for Intentional Community (FIC), a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering global cooperation, sustainability and peaceful social evolution through the communities movement. Next September, FIC is putting together an event, Art of Community: Creating Sustainable Culture through Cooperation, designed to bring new audiences into dialogue about living with intention in community, cooperative culture and the sustainability movement.
We are reaching out to academics and student sustainability groups who might be interested in partnering with us to produce this event! We want to hear from academic communities about who they would like to see present or lead a workshop, and to hear directly from individuals who may want to participate in the program. We plan to offer facilitated panel discussions specifically for student groups and co-ops that will provide a platform for the concerns and contributions of students.

There are a variety of ways in which UCSF can get involved: helping to get the word out, purchasing discounted group tickets, organizing an informational booth for the conference, becoming a volunteer, or sponsoring Art of Community and becoming a co-producer (we have a wide range of sponsorship levels). We would love to hear from anyone interested in getting involved, and are open to creative ideas about collaboration.

Art of Community will be a three-day celebration in the beautiful Sonoma County Coastal Redwoods, north of San Francisco, at Westminster Woods in Occidental, CA. Our goal is to bring 300-500 people together to participate in interactive, educational workshops, a variety of presentations, and informational displays and demonstrations that address sustainable ways of living and cooperative skills.

You can read more about the event here. I look forward to hearing from you!

In community,

Molly Reed, FIC Events Team, 646-801-CMTY (2689) http://www.artofcmty.com

Suggestion 9:
Hi!  The water filing stations are a great idea. There is also one in the Courtyard Café in the Nursing Bldg at Parnassus.  When will they be added to other campuses (Mt Zion, Laurel Hts, etc)?  At Laurel Hts I have stopped using the drinking fountain near my office to refill my bottle since the children from the day care center “play” on it, touching their fingers and mouths to the spigot, etc; I am tired of being exposed to their germs.

Thanks
Stuart Gansky

Response:  There are no plans to install more bottle fillers at this time.  The two fillers installed came through a grant from San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SF PUC) to promote the drinking of tap water from one of the highest water quality sources in the country.

Suggestion 8:  I see in your 2011 plan that you are looking to install charging stations for City Car Share vehicles at Parnassus. Is there any chance you might be looking to put in electric car charging station at Laurel Heights? I am taking delivery of a 2011 Nissan Leaf in February and work at Laurel Heights.  I also have two (some days three) carpoolers who ride in with me (one other UCSF employee) from Marin.

Congratulation on purchasing a new Leaf (Leading, Environmentally friendly, Affordable, Family car).  Although long-term plans call for charging stations at all major UCSF campus sites,  the short-term focus is on Parnassus and Mission Bay, which have the largest population of staff, faculty, and students.

The good news is that 92% of staff, faculty, and students live well within the Nissan Leaf’s 100 mile range (the Chevy Volt runs on electricity for an initial range of 35 miles on a single charge, after which a gas generator creates electricity for up to 340 additional miles on a full tank of gas).

When possible, refueling at home is the best option, as electricity is much cheaper during evening off-peak hours and PG&E offers night-time charging incentives. 

If you intend to purchase an all electric vehicle and live outside the vehicle’s range, feel free contact our Campus Rideshare Coordinator, Robert Wong (476-1513) to discuss refueling options.

Suggestion 7:  Would it be possible to get rid of the gas powered leaf blowers that the gardeners are using? They pollute (noise and fumes). We have found them to be disruptive when we are having classes.

FM Landscaping has been working to find alternatives to the gas powered blowers. We recently purchased a propane fueled machine and have been testing it. It is a lot quieter than gas and is the cleanest blower on the market, as well as an EPA Clean Air Excellence Award Winner. It does have two issues one is weight, the other is the lack of an ergonomic design - worn over one shoulder versus a backpack style. In general, buying the least decibel, least exhaust, lowest maintenance and best fuel saving tools has been our policy.

Successful maintenance of our UCSF grounds requires a full suite of maintenance equipment and machinery. At Parnassus and other outlying sites, our landscape contractor provides their own equipment but conforms with our specifications. All purchases and selections of new equipment are made with environmental considerations in mind. Regular scheduled preventive maintenance is performed on all equipment to ensure that operation is as clean and efficient as possible. At the Parnassus campus, we do try to limit the use of our backpack blowers to 2-3 days a week. We attempt to use the blowers as early as possible to avoid disrupting classes and meetings however on parts of the campus with close proximity to neighbors, we need to commence after 9am.

If anyone has found any alternative products they would like to share that have both low emissions and have good ergonomic design, please forward them to Facilities Management for review.

UCSF Community Response to Suggestion 6:  As a community we could have an enormous influence to make sorely needed positive changes, and I don’t see that we’re exercising our influence.

I agree that as community members, we at UCSF have the opportunity to wield tremendous influence on the “green” awareness and behaviors of fellow community members.
I am a member of the Kalmanovitz Library Sustainability Committee (on hiatus). I would like to offer some suggestions for how the management of public buildings at UCSF could exercise this influence. As do many facilities on the UCSF campuses, Kalmanovitz receives a high number of visits from members of the general public. In fiscal year 2008-2009 (the last year for which data is available), 459,423 staff members, students and patrons entered the facility. As evidence of its high traffic level, Kalmanovitz received four and half out of five stars on Yelp, an online, user-driven review service.  Reviewers described it as “beautiful”, “the perfect library”, “the best place to study in all of SF” and “the best hidden gem in the city”.
The management at Kalmanovitz is focused on long-term environmental leadership and has implemented numerous successful programs to pursue this. In addition, management has implemented performance measurement and verification methods that utilize good science. Kalmanovitz management formally organized the Sustainability Committee in late 2008. The Sustainability Committee initiated multiple projects at this time. These programs include energy and water efficiency, recycling, daylighting, green procurement, and other programs and have resulted in drastic and quantifiable reductions in energy usage and costs.
As a large public facility, Kalmanovitz has leveraged its high level of outreach to educate both its occupants and its patrons (UCSF-affiliated and otherwise) about the value of sustainability. In summer 2009, Kalmanovitz management branded and produced eye-catching “Conservation is Contagious” campaign collateral. This collateral included posters stating the dollars, electrical watts, or pounds of carbon monoxide saved by powering down monitors, using the stairs, turning off task lighting at the end of the day, and other simple measures. The Sustainability Committee members placed these posters in their work stations, at the Information Booth, and in the employee lounge.
Another example of an innovative way in which management has raised awareness is its use of the electronic information kiosk near the main entrance. Members of the Sustainability Committee posted, to this kiosk, some of the “Conservation is Contagious” posters describing the well-marked recycling bins located throughout the library, and encouraging their use. Another awareness-raising initiative at the library was the quarterly sustainability e-newsletter. The sustainability committee emailed these newsletters regularly to the library community, and included links to useful websites, energy conservation tips for home and work, and minutes from the preceding Sustainability Committee meeting.
These sustainability and awareness-raising initiatives serve to educate library staff members and patrons (UCSF and non-UCSF affiliated), who ideally reproduce these efforts at home. Over the past two years, the sustainability initiatives implemented at Kalmanovitz have had a direct, quantifiable effect on the facility’s environmental impact. Through both direct action and example, the management has communicated the importance of environmental stewardship to its occupants and patrons.

Thank you very much for listening!

Aria
Suggestion 6: I’m wondering whether the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Sustainability or anyone else in our campus leadership has considered adopting more of an active role in influencing public transportation decisions in San Francisco or the Bay Area. As the second-largest employer in San Francisco, as an “economic engine” for the city and for California, and as a health system that serves many patients who rely on public transportation (disabled, elderly, low-income, and many others), it seems that UCSF community has an enormous stake in the public transportation system. As a community we could have an enormous influence to make sorely needed positive changes, and I don’t see that we’re exercising our influence.

Several UCSF departments, including Campus Planning, Community and Government Relations, and Transportation Services work with the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency on a variety of issues involving public transit, traffic, parking, roadways, and bicycling.  There are a number of recent and ongoing transportation related efforts that impact UCSF staff, faculty, and students, including traffic calming measures, bicycle cage parking grants, access to Muni bus stops for UCSF shuttles, bicycle path planning, curb color assignments in and around campus sites, onsite transit pass sales, and Muni service to our various campus locations, especially at our growing Mission Bay campus.  We have worked with Muni on a discounted student pass program to provide all UCSF students with a near 70% discount on monthly Muni passes; unfortunately, this “ClassPass” program did not pass the student referendum vote requirement.  Most recently we expressed interest in improving multi-modal services and options in the first and last mile of trips from transit hubs, including shuttle coordination and better utilizing Muni deadhead service in the Geary and California Street corridors; we are also looking at potentially sharing commute transportation demand management services especially carpool and vanpool matching and a citywide bike sharing program.

Although UCSF is a large San Francisco employer, overall Muni ridership from UCSF is a small percentage of Muni’s 590,000 daily riders.  UCSF strives to partner with our communities while working toward solutions that benefit UCSF, our local neighbors, and the City at large.  UCSF also is involved with the City’s transit first initiative through an wide array of alternative transit programs to help mitigate commute related greenhouse gas emissions and reduce the number of single occupants vehicles. 

Suggestion 5:  All UCSF shuttles should be diesel engines and biodiesel supplied by oil from Moffitt Cafeteria should be used, at least in combination with regular diesel fuel. The shuttles should be painted to say: “Powered by Moffitt Cafeteria!”

UCSF Transportation Services has investigated running biodiesel in its shuttles.  Unfortunately, the use of biodiesel, even at the 5% level (B5), can potentially void our current engine warrantees.  The good news is that more than 70 gallons of oil per week from UCSF food services is recycled and converted to biofuel, some of which is used by Muni.

Although several UC campuses use biodiesel in fleet vehicles, these campuses have dedicated onsite vehicle maintenance facilities that can manage engine repairs that stem from the corrosive nature of biodiesel to rubber and plastic engine components.  In fact, several UC campuses have undergraduate engineering programs that focus on the development and use of biofuels.  Alternatively, UCSF relies on third-party repair shops and its curriculum does not compliment the use of experimental fuel alternatives.

It is important to point out that the UCSF vehicle fleet includes 41 low emitting alternative fuel and hybrid vehicles, including vehicles that run on CNG (Compressed Natural Gas), ethanol (E85) and fully electric vehicles. 

UCSF Transportation Services will continue to look for opportunities to reduce fleet related greenhouse gas emissions through the use of a variety of alternative fuels, including biodiesel.  We are committed to the expanded use of alternative fuels as one of many strategies to promote and encourage carbon neutrality.

Suggestion 4:  UCLA teamed up with the Big Blue Bus and other transit agencies to give UCLA faculty, staff and students heavily discounted bus fees if they show their UCLA ID.  UCSF should do this as well.  Pre-tax program does not save as much money as a discount or free transit pass.

As Chancellor Desmond-Hellmann stated, “...taking public transportation and not having to worry about parking and circling the block to find a space.”  Why doesn’t UCSF give out free CalTrain passes, BART tickets, MUNI and AC Transit passes?  UCSF should also “pay” faculty, staff, and students NOT to park at UCSF campuses. These ideas have been in place at Stanford University for over 10 years now.  If UCSF does believe in being greener, then show it, don’t just say it.

Each university and UC campus is unique in its ability to fund transportation alternatives.  For example, the UCLA Big Blue Bus program is funded in large part by parking citation revenues, which is often a significant source of revenue for universities with large undergraduate populations, such as UCLA.  Stanford has its own distinctive funding methodologies and opportunities that differ from those of State funded UC campuses.

Although UCSF does not subsidize public transit fares for its staff, faculty and students, we encourage the use of public transit and other sustainable commute alternatives through a variety of cost saving programs, including a pretax transit program that can reduce transit costs by up to 30% for UCSF employees.  We are also proud of the fact that UCSF operates the largest UC shuttle program serving more than 2.3 million riders and traveling more than 1 million miles per year.

It is also worth mentioning that the latest UCSF transportation survey indicates that more than 60% of all staff, faculty, and students commute to UCSF by some form of alternative transportation, which has helped UCSF earn the “Best Workplace for Commuters” award.  This annual award is issued to employers that meet the National Standard of Excellence in commuter benefits—a standard created by the National Center for Transit Research (NCTR) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  UCSF is one of 128 organizations to receive this recognition.

Suggestion 3:  More Marin/Sonoma county residents would probably take the bus to work if there was an easier way to get from golden gate transit to UCSF campuses, especially Mt Zion. There is a need for shuttle buses to and from the GG Bridge terminal during peak hours. I would use it if there was something like this. Going to civic center or some other route and catching muni adds too much time to an already long commute.

Response:  There is no doubt that traveling from the Golden Gate Bridge to Mt. Zion by way of public transit is cumbersome.  One alternative might be the UCSF Marin Commute Club, which offers commute bus service to staff, faculty, and staff who live in the north bay, with stops in Corte Madera, Ignacio, Marinwood, Mill Valley, Novato, San Rafael, Sausalito, and Terra Linda.  Weekday service is provided to the Parnassus with buses arriving at 6:40AM, 7:10AM and 7:45AM.  Marin Commute Club riders can take the BLACK, GOLD, BLUE, and TAN shuttles between Parnassus and Mt. Zion, with service about every 10 minutes during commute periods.

For more information about the UCSF Marin Commute Club please contact Robert Wong, Campus Rideshare Coordinator, at 476-1513, or visit our website:
http://campuslifeservices.ucsf.edu/transportation/rideshare/marinecc/

Suggestion 2:  Have more VanPools/ with flexibility. Many leave the north bay before the roosters are crowing. Not many are geared to 8-5 employees.

UCSF Transportation Services currently offers 42 vanpools with service throughout the Bay Area and beyond to locations as far as Sacramento and Elk Grove and many of those vans serve groups that have an 8 AM to 5 PM work shift.  However, departure times are dependant upon the distance that the van needs to travel to and from work, so yes, a number of these vans do have to leave early in order to arrive at work on time.  It’s important to note that vanpools are formed when a minimum of 8 participants, include a driver and back-up driver, agree to a particular commute schedule.  If you are interested in joining an existing vanpool or starting a new vanpool, please contact Robert Wong, Campus Rideshare Coordinator, at (415) 476-1513, to place your name on our waiting list so we can try to find an appropriate match for your particular commute needs.

Suggestion 1: The UCSF Shuttles have signs stating that the shuttles are only for use by UCSF faculty, staff, and students.  This sends a negative sign to the community.  UCSF should show that they are pro-community by removing the signs from the shuttles.

Unfortunately, UCSF would be exposed to significant liability if it were to offer free, unrestricted shuttle service to any and all public passengers.  Additionally, such unrestricted access would overwhelm our ridership capacity, which is currently near capacity during peak periods, such that we could not guaranteed adequate access to UCSF staff, faculty, and students.