After months of negotiations, University officials declined a proposal that would have significantly increased the number of on-campus Divvy stations, including at Ryan Field, emails obtained by The Daily show.
The details come as city officials begin installing 17 new Divvy stations in Evanston, more than doubling the number of stations around the city. The project includes shifting high-dock stations to the locations with the highest demand, according to a July 1 city newsletter.
The approved plan only includes one new station on campus, at the intersection of Sheridan Road and Foster Street. Two other new stations, at Clark Street Beach and the intersection of Clark Street and Orrington Street, are located nearby.
In 2025, 34.5% of Divvy trips in Evanston began or ended on campus, a Daily analysis found in February. In emails with University officials, employees for the company argued that the Northwestern community had shown demand for its bicycles.
In September, Divvy officials met with city and NU planners to discuss an expansion, emails obtained through a public records request show. In the following months, employees at the bikeshare company fleshed out the expansion, including floating the addition of five docking stations on NU’s campus.
Divvy recommended placing stations outside the Technological Institute, Francis Searle Building, Pancoe Life Sciences Pavilion, Annenberg Hall and Josephine Louis Theater, according to a map shared with city officials.
“I didn’t make any recommendations around Ryan Stadium,” Divvy general manager Sean Madison wrote to city officials in a Dec. 15 email. “But I think it’s safe to say we could use 2 stations there.”
Madison then proposed the idea to University officials in January with an added bonus: The five on-campus stations could likely be installed at no cost to NU if the University paid for the two stations at Ryan Field, he wrote in a Jan. 27 email.
Madison didn’t outline the stations’ costs in any of the emails The Daily obtained. But the largest models in the city’s order, which included 12 docks, each cost about $19,000.
Campus planner Sarah White responded that the Ryan Field project lacked “the resources available to support this initiative” in a Jan. 28 email.
“The Ryan Field project committed to a robust strategy to accommodate guests wishing to bike to events at Ryan Field as a part of the project submission to the City of Evanston in 2023,” a spokesperson for Ryan Sports wrote in a Thursday statement to The Daily.
The commitment included “an unprecedented investment to create a free bike valet for guests at Ryan Field capable of handling 300-500 bikes per event,” the spokesperson wrote, and all project funding to accommodate bikers had been dedicated to the valet when Divvy recommended additional stations.
Furthermore, there were no locations available at Ryan Field for bike storage to support additional Divvy stations, the spokesperson wrote.
Still, city transportation advocates highlighted the positives of the broader Divvy expansion.
“The new stations will make Divvy an even more convenient way to get around Evanston, putting reliable, car-free travel within reach of more residents and visitors,” Evanston Transit Alliance chair Robert Keding wrote in a Wednesday statement to The Daily.
Email: [email protected]
Bluesky: @ryaninevanston.bsky.social
Related Stories:
— By The Numbers: Bikesharing data suggests Northwestern community driving Divvy in Evanston
— Noyes Street businesses prepare for Ryan Field reopening
— Evanston residents offer suggestions for city’s 2026 Bike Plan Update
