Living Green

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N I G V I N A M R NO G ree

BIKE TO WORK DAY

Bike giveaway winner- pg. 3

MYRIAD GARDEN

Finalist for award- pg. 5

GREEN TODAY

OU/Norman bus system adds services - pg. 6

Our relationships with customers, employees, suppliers and the environment will always be guided by Sincerity, Harmony and a Pioneering Spirit SkyHighImaging.com

Hitachi is committed to the environment. It’s more than just a slogan.

Environmental Awareness

HICAM promotes environmental awareness to all employees with annual tree giveaway, various Earth Day activities, monthly green tip announcements.

HICAM encourages employee volunteer activities including City of Norman’s Annual Household Hazardous Waste Collection Event.

Awards

Chamber of Commerce Greenovation Awards: 2011 - Transportation Award 2012 - Recycling Award 2013 - Conservation Award 2013 - Transportation Award 2014 - Conservation Award 2015 - Large Business Recycling Award 2012, 2013 & 2014 Eco-Factory Select from Hitachi, Ltd. for Energy Use Efficiency

Green Initiatives:

Hitachi recycled 1743 tons of material in 2014 including cardboard, woods, metals and more.

32% of electricity used at Hitachi is wind generated.

Kennedy Elementary School Outdoor Environmental Classroom Project In cooperation with Riverside Ranch, donated wood pallets to Dreamer Concepts.

© Hitachi Computer Products 2015. All Rights Reserved.

Bike Giveaway Winner!

First United Bank’s, from left, Cindy Zumwalt, Debbie Hoover and Tom Cooper, right, join with bicycle winner Robert Potts of Moore at the City of Norman’s Bike to Work Day. Potts won the bike from Al’s Bicycles in Norman in a drawing sponsored by the bank.

Wishing all of our readers a safe and fun-filled summer!

Elevate Your Fuel Savings to a High Level.

Make the Switch and Start Getting Up to 88 MPG with Ford’s Energi Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles.

CMAX ENERGI

FUSION ENERGI

CMAX HYBRID

FUSION HYBRID

TEST DRIVE ONE TODAY AND COMPARE FOR YOURSELF.

Go Further

I-35 & Robinson · Norman 321-2411 · M-F 8-9 · Sat 8:30-8 reynoldsfordnorman.com * Based on a comparison of U.S. EPA’s estimated combined fuel economy rating of Fusion Hybrid (47 mpg) and U.S. Federal Highway Administration’s most recent estimate of average fuel economy ratings of all light-duty vehicles in 2011 (21.4 mpg). EPA-estimated 47 mpg city/highway/combined. Actual mileage will vary.

Myriad Botanical Gardens Selected as Finalist in 2015 Urban Land Institute Urban Open Space Award Competition Oklahoma City -- The Urban Land Institute (ULI) has announced six finalist projects for its global Urban Open Space Award, an annual competition that recognizes outstanding examples of successful large- and small-scale public spaces that have socially enriched and revitalized the economy of their surrounding communities. Among the finalists is Oklahoma City’s Myriad Botanical Gardens.

“We are thrilled to be amongst this impressive group of finalists,” states Maureen Heffernan, Executive Director. “Being a finalist is wonderful publicity for the transformation of Myriad Gardens and the continuing tranformation of Oklahoma City as well.”

The Myriad Gardens is a finalist with Marina Bay in Singapore; Millennium Park in Chicago, Illinois; Thousand Lantern Lake Park System in Foshan, Guangdong, China; Tongva Park and Ken Genser Square in Santa Monica, California; and Washington Canal Park in Washington, D.C. An

international jury representing several facets of development— including finance, architecture, land planning and development, public affairs, design, and professional services—will select one winner later this year.

The six finalists were selected from an impressive collection of entries, representing urban areas from across the globe. While landscape architecture and urban

design were factors in the judging, the jury selected finalists based on a broader set of criteria, including overall project design and how each affected or revived its surrounding area.

The Myriad Botanical Gardens is one of Oklahoma City’s most beloved public spaces, offering its visitors a 15 acre natural escape in the very heart of downtown.

A half-acre children’s garden, an off-leash dog park, restaurant

space, splash fountains, and paths for walking and jogging provide guests young and old with a place to seek solitude with nature, or seek community and the company of others. Additionally, the Myriad Gardens offers a variety of horticultural education programs for adults and children.

The Crystal Bridge Tropical Conservatory’s unique design has earned attention and praise in the architectural community. It is 224 feet long, 70 feet in diameter, and is covered by 3,028 sections of translucent, double-layered acrylic panels. The Conservatory includes 13,000 square feet of plant display area in two distinct climates: the Tropical Wet Zone, which is at the south end and is watered daily; and the Tropical Dry Zone at the north end which receives water from April through September, followed by drought from November through March.

Some 700 varieties of plants and a cascading waterfall round out the spectacular features of the Conservatory.

Myriad Gardens, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S.A. (owner: Myriad Gardens Foundation, designer: Office of James Burnett). A joint investment effort takes an underused yet prime 15-acre (6 ha) urban downtown garden and park site that had fallen into disrepair and turns it into a state-of-the-art, active destination to improve the quality of life in Oklahoma City and continue the renaissance of the entire downtown.

Green today OU/Norman bus system adds services are now one hour in length.

Ridership on CART, the public transportation system of the City of Norman and the University of Oklahoma, continues to increase with more than 30,000 passenger trips per year on the CARTaccess system, and more than 1 million passenger trips on CART fixedroute buses.

CART (Cleveland Area Rapid Transit) has a lot to celebrate with the Norman community on Dump the Pump Day this Thursday. The bus system has made numerous improvements since we celebrated last June, including: • CART has extended service one hour on all routes, and four hours on the Research Shuttle, until 10 p.m. weekdays. This change was made to better serve Norman workers on late shifts and Univer-

sity of Oklahoma students whose classes end after 9 p.m.

• CART modified the Alameda/ East Norman route, moving Stop 192 to Halley and Lexington to provide better access to Norman’s YMCA. A bus shelter and new sidewalk are planned at that stop.

• The buses have new voice announcement LED display systems, and a new voice announcement system at Brooks Street Transfer

Station that is ADA-accessible.

• CARTaccess ADA-certified passengers now ride free on CART’s fixed-route bus system when showing their ADA card. These cards are available to all registered CARTaccess members.

• Also coming this summer is a plan to make all Norman routes 30 minutes in length. This would change Main Street (10) and Alameda/East Norman (21) which

Dump the Pump will celebrate all of the above accomplishments with free fare on Thursday and free T-shirts (while supplies last) at Brooks Street Transfer Station. Fare will be charged on the Sooner Express, a shared route with Oklahoma City’s EMBARK transit system. Ask your bus driver for a transfer ticket and exchange that ticket for a Dump the Pump T-shirt.

“This year our shirts say, ‘Clean Up Your Planet, use Cleveland Area Rapid Transit’,” said Doug Myers, director of OU Parking and Transportation Services, the administrative arm of CART. “Dump the Pump is a great day to

greener tomorrow the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality alerts the public that conditions are favorable for ground-level ozone air pollution, an Ozone Alert Day is declared. On Ozone Alert Days, citizens of central Oklahoma are urged to take public transit instead of driving. CART offers free fare on these days, which can range from four to 24 days a year.

bring day-care or elementary-age children and introduce them to public transportation,” he said. “I recommend grabbing the Main Street or Lindsey West route and riding it from Brooks Street Transfer Station back.”

CART works all year long to do its part to leave the planet in good shape for generations to come.

Part of that work includes reducing paper waste. The system’s Route Schedule and Transit Guide still is printed in booklet form, but everything in the booklet can be found online at rideCART.com. In addition, CART plans to roll out a smart phone app for both Apple and Android phones in early

August.

CART and OU have ramped up efforts to encourage bicycling on campus and around Norman.

Every bus is equipped with bike racks and drivers will show you how to secure your bike for the ride. The university has added bike lanes in high-traffic areas like Asp Avenue and safety rules and more can be found at ou.edu/ bike_ou. In addition, CART was awarded a grant for new bicycle racks and repair stations around Norman.

The public transit system also works for cleaner air by participating in Ozone Alert Days. When

Another cost-saving, environmentally friendly effort is CART’s transition from smoke-belching diesel buses to the much cleaner burning compressed natural gas (CNG). As of June, CART has 22 fixed-route buses and 10 are CNG. CART has 14 paratransit buses serving the elderly and disabled.

Nine of them are CNG and five are

biodiesel. CART received four new CNG paratransit buses in September 2014 and two new fixed-route CNG buses are expected to arrive in July. CART’s five support vehicles are fueled with ethanol (E85).

“CART utilizes multiple alternative fuel solutions supporting this emerging American technology,” Myers said. “CART’s dedication to alternative fuels supports the continued growth of jobs in the alternative fuel market.”

For more information on CART or Dump the Pump Day, visit rideCART.com, like CART on Facebook, follow @CARTNorman on Twitter, email rideCART@ou.edu or phone (405) 325-2278.