Active Commute Week begins Monday

Mary Morgan grew up in New York City, where mass transit and long commutes are the norm.

While Grand Rapids may not be the easiest city for commuters, Morgan, technology applications manager for University Libraries, has made a commitment to get to work without a car.

For the past five years, Morgan has started her workday by walking about 13 minutes to a bus stop near her Plainfield Avenue home to catch a Rapid bus. She then transfers to the No. 50 bus to get to the Allendale Campus.

“Sometimes, I’ll ride my bike to the downtown campus,” Morgan said. “That takes about 35 minutes.”

Morgan said there were several factors leading to her decision, including gas prices and her kids were grown and out of the house. 

“I also thought, Grand Valley has this great benefit and we can ride the bus for free so I should take advantage of it,” she said.

Active Commute Week

May 14-18 is designated as Active Commute Week by the Greater Grand Rapids Bicycle Coalition, in conjunction with Bike to Work Week.

Lindsey DesArmo, health and wellness coordinator, is seeking faculty and staff members who want to participate in the Active Commute Week Challenge, an online competition among area organizations and businesses such as Amway, Grand Rapids Public Schools, Grand Rapids Community College, Meijer and others.

GVSU participants would log their daily commutes online here. Daily prizes are offered.

Health and Wellness is also sponsoring a Connecting Campuses Ride on Wednesday, May 16. Details are online here.