Officer Bishoy Ibrahim and Sergeant Michael Palermo will be patrolling campus differently, on new mountain bikes, thanks to Daniel Snyder ’11.  Daniel entered his idea for a University Bike Patrol and secured enough support to win third place in the 2011 U-Reka Big Idea Contest sponsored by the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program (I&E).  The University Bike Patrol launched on May 20.

With the $1,000 in prize money, the University Police Department (UP) was able to fully outfit one officer with a patrol bike and uniform.  In a further demonstration of support, the police department purchased a second bike and patrol uniform for a second officer.  “Enhancing safety and environmental issues simultaneously is a win-win for both students and the University,” said Chief Stephen Goulet of the University Police Department.

Daniel took his passion for cycling and applied it to concerns about campus safety and environmental sustainability.  “The Clark campus is very compact and ideally suited for bicycle riding.   I am able to contribute and give back to the Clark community in my favorite way, with bikes.  It adds to the efforts started by Clark’s bike share program, which aims to create a campus that supports sustainable transportation,” said Snyder.

Daniel worked with Officer Ibrahim to research, set up and create the University Bike Patrol unit.  “It’s been really exciting working with Officer Ibrahim on establishing the new bike patrol unit.  The University Police have exceeded my expectations by purchasing an additional bike. From the beginning, one of my goals for the bike patrol was to institutionalize it. The University Police’s support makes me confident that they will continue this program,” Snyder continued.

The bike patrol will provide the University Police Department with a secondary patrol presence on-campus that is not restricted to campus streets.  Additional benefits of a bike patrol include increased perceptions of safety and officer visibility among students and decreasing green house gas emissions by patrolling less with sports utility vehicles.  The University Police Department will track their patrol hours to help determine their impact on Clark’s safety and sustainability efforts.

The goal of the U-Reka Big Idea Contest is to encourage students to make improvements to the Clark campus community.   “We are very proud of Dan’s work.  He successfully established a partnership with the University Police Department and helped launch the University Bike Patrol.  His work is a reflection of his passion for bikes and making Clark a safer and greener campus.” said Amy A. Whitney, Associate Director of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program.

The U-Reka Big Idea Contest is held annually.  It is open to any undergraduate student with an idea about how to improve or change something within campus or the Clark community.  The $5,000 award is split among first, second and third place finalists to support the launch of their ideas.   Contest finalists must complete a two stage judging process before students vote on contest winners.  Previous U-Reka contest winners have included: One Green Roof (2011, 1^st Place), The Clark Community Thrift Store (2010, 1^st Place), Clark Urban Gardens (2010, 2^nd Place) and the Clark 5K Green Run (2009, 1^st Place).

Visit the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program online for more information.