Master plan Mobility at RWTH Aachen University

 

Background:

RWTH Aachen University is an exceptional location in Aachen and thus generates a considerable amount of traffic in the city and in the region. It is therefore vital to ensure its accessibility by all transport modes. However, at the moment there are several junctions in Aachen causing congestion during peak times. In addition, the situation needs to be handled in a way that reduces emissions since motorized private transport significantly affects the environment. Some emissions in Aachen already exceed limit values so that measures must be taken. The city of Aachen has so far forgone designating a Low-Emission Zone and instead counts on reducing the number of car trips and encouraging environmentally friendly transport modes (walking, cycling, public transport) for air pollution control, i.a. by employing mobility management measures. The university’s expansion by the Campus Melaten and Campus West areas and the resulting additional traffic make it necessary to tackle mobility at the university with an integrated approach of transport infrastructure planning, transport management, and mobility management. In addition, introducing an innovative mobility concept supports the university’s modern/excellent image. It is important not to neglect aspects of urban planning in this context. The impression that street spaces crowded with parked cars make as opposed to generous public areas is an important factor in making Aachen more attractive.

Aims of the project:

The expansion of transport infrastructure is limited by the space and financial means available. Therefore the goal must be to use the existing infrastructure as efficiently as possible and to limit the expansion as much as necessary. This can only be achieved using innovative mobility management offers. An important factor in this is integrating the measures into the context of other planning concepts to achieve sustainable transport planning.

Project contents and structure:

Against this background, it is important to consider the entire university area and to create a coherent transport and mobility concept (Master Plan Mobility RWTH) for all its locations. This concept must contain infrastructural measures as well as measures to influence transport behaviour. In order to use existing infrastructure as efficiently as possible and to save space, Aachen needs a coordinated combination of hard (e.g. construction and operation of transport infrastructure) and soft (e.g. Jobticket, information and consulting, facilitating carpooling) measures. This principally requires an application-oriented, innovative concept for the entire RWTH and all its facilities. The project was organized in the following steps:

• Concept paper on integrating mobility management into the Melaten planning process, including recommendations regarding arrangements and additional agreements
• Different versions of parking space management, including one recommended version considering the other measures of the Master Plan
• An analysis of the transport situation in the university area, including a depiction using plans and textual explanations; pointers on implementing the plans
• An assessment of the potential of a job ticket, recommendations on expanding/modifying public transport offers and a campaign concept for further implementation
• Depicting the possibilities and starting points for installing a mobility (service) central and implementing innovative concepts; limiting need for further studies and data
• Summary of the state of the study, structuring the components, prospects

Sponsor:

RWTH Aachen University

Project Duration:

October 2008 – January 2009

Contacts at the ISB:

Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dirk Vallée, Dr.-Ing. Andreas Witte, Dipl.-Ing. Christoph Hebel, Dr.-Ing. Conny Louen, Dipl.-Ing. Tobias Brandt