Charlotte Recognized As A Bike-Friendly Business
UNC Charlotte received the Bike-Friendly Business of the Year award at the city of Charlotte’s 2025 Bike Charlotte Awards held last month.
“UNC Charlotte is proud to be recognized as a bike-friendly business,” said Mike Lizotte, university sustainability officer. “We were nominated by a neighbor who cited our bicycle lanes, greenways and Niner Transit as examples for other businesses to support the bicycle community. ”
The University’s Parking and Transportation Services Office played a key role in receiving this award by fostering a bike-friendly campus and workplace. The office coordinates (or oversees) bike and bike locker rentals, and provides bike-carriers on Niner Transit buses to promote access to light rail.
This recognition follows the Bicycle Friendly University Bronze rating the University received from the League of American Bicyclists in 2024.
The Charlotte Green Initiative, UNC Charlotte’s student-led green fund, allocates approximately $60,000 a year toward sustainable projects on campus. This spring, CGI funded projects for bike repair stations, biking events and a cargo bike pilot program.
Its support will increase outdoor bike repair stations from one to six, with new equipment being installed near student housing and the greenway, and the organization funded the popular “Anything that Rolls” events. Students working for the Office of Sustainability will pilot the e-cargo bike as a delivery vehicle, as a model for accommodating student workers who lack a driver’s license.
This year’s Bike Charlotte award ceremony doubled as a fundraising event for Trips for Kids, an inclusive community that empowers youth programming by using cycling as a tool for growth and connection. The University works with the organization by donating abandoned bikes from campus to its “Re-Cyclery,” a bike shop that recycles bikes, parts and accessories.
For more information about the University’s sustainability efforts, visit the Office of Sustainability’s webpage.