ASU Parking and Transit Services assistant director named a city of Tempe 2018 Bike Hero

Bike valets on campus are just one of the programs overseen by JC Porter (right), the assistant director of Arizona State University Parking and Transit Services and the 2018 Tempe Bike Hero.

March 08, 2018

The city of Tempe will name JC Porter the recipient of its 2018 Bike Hero award this April. Porter is assistant director of Arizona State University Parking and Transit Services and promotes bike safety and bicycling as an alternate method of transportation.

The Bike Hero award recognizes individuals and organizations that advocate for bicycling.

Porter leads by example and rides his bicycle a total of 40 miles each workday from home to work and back.

"The trip helps me clear my mind and think about things I need to do at work," said Porter. "It also helps me think about ways to keep the cycling community safe since it directly affects me as a cyclist."

Porter has implemented multiple bicycle-riding safety initiatives at ASU. For instance, he spearheaded the creation of green bike boxes at several campus intersections, a contra-flow bike lane along College Avenue and sharrow lanes to provide shared access for bicyclists and vehicles along the Tempe campus and campus-adjacent city streets.

Since his arrival to ASU in mid-2014, the League of American Bicyclists designated the Tempe campus as a gold-level Bicycle Friendly University. The Downtown Phoenix, Polytechnic and West campuses earned the bronze-level distinction soon after.

One of Porter’s more significant undertakings are bike valet stations, which served more than 30,500 bicycles on the Tempe campus during the 2016–17 academic year. The three stations on the Tempe campus provide free, secure storage for ASU students, faculty and staff. He also helped develop a bike video to help ASU community members understand rider etiquette, regulations and safety tips.

JC Porter

Porter’s accomplishments additionally include the International Parking Institute's Emerging Leader of the Year award, and for his establishment of the bikeASU program, Parking and Transit Services’ President's Award for Sustainability.

"JC is deserving of this award since he uses a bicycle as a significant mode of transportation, consistently implements bike-friendly ASU facilities, organizes bike events, and is an advocate for bike safety and bicycle-friendly roads,” said Melinda Alonzo, PTS director. “I am proud to have him on our team.”

Learn more about bicycling on campus.