Campus development and
car parking update

The next stage of campus development is just about to begin with the start of building work on the Heathfield site. This will be the site for new student residences and will be completed in spring 2006.

The short-term impact of this work is the loss of around 200 parking spaces. These will be re-gained in the long term, as building work is completed and new parking spaces become available. Director of Campus Services David Yule explains, "The target for two years' time is to have 1,200 parking spaces on the main campus, and within the next three years the plan is that the total number of spaces will be up 50% on the current amount."

In the meantime however, a number of measures have been put into place to address the issues of travel to, and parking on, the main campus. You can visit
www.dundee.ac.uk/externalrelations/travelinfo.html for the latest news about car parking and travel information. This area of the website will be regularly updated as information becomes available.

Car parking

A new site for car parking has been obtained with spaces for 45 cars. This site, which will be operational this month, is located in West Hendersons Wynd, at the former Comet site.

University traffic wardens will be on site each morning to ensure that only University staff gain entry to the car park, and the site will be monitored each day. In addition, Estates and Buildings are currently pursuing a possible option to the south of the campus. For information about the location of spaces on campus see the 'where can I park my car?' map on the car parking section at:
www.dundee.ac.uk/externalrelations/travelinfo.html

Anyone who wishes to reduce the number of times they bring their car onto campus can obtain a weekly pass for £2.50. Refunds will be issued to those who want to return their yearly pass. For information about the parking permit, and how to obtain a weekly pass, see the car parking section at: www.dundee.ac.uk/externalrelations/travelinfo.html

An additional 50 parking spaces are also available in the overspill car park to the north side of the building at Gardyne Road Campus. An extended University bus service has been created to service this car park, which means that staff travelling in via the east end of the city can park at Gardyne Road and travel into the main campus using the bus. Both the car park and the bus are free of charge to staff. The service will also return to Gardyne Road at the end of each working day. The extra journeys from Gardyne Road to the Tower will be at 8.15am and 13.15pm. The full timetable for the shuttle bus can be found on the website at: www.dundee.ac.uk/estates/MinibusSept2003rev1.htm

Travel plan

The University has been working with Dundee City Council over the last year to assess the current travel situation on campus and to implement a plan for sustainable travel methods. By providing information to staff and students about alternative modes of transport, including public transport, car sharing, cycling and walking to work, the number of cars coming to and from the campus each day may be reduced. For example, drivers may be able to devise their own park and ride arrangements using existing outlying car parks and bus services to further ease congestion.

The postcode analysis which was carried out as part of the Travel Plan research showed that there is a high concentration of staff and students living in the DD2 postcode area. There are also over 1,000 staff living in other areas of Dundee who could be in a position to use sustainable methods of transport on some occasions. If everyone left their car at home for just one day each week, it would reduce the amount of traffic on campus by 20%. It would also reduce the congestion in streets around the University where some staff and students park their cars.

One of the first objectives of the Travel Plan was to establish a steering group to address travel-related issues and implement new initiatives. The first meeting of this group has taken place, with representatives from Student Services, Estates and Buildings, the Institute of Sport and Exercise, DUSA, Dundee City Council and External Relations. A number of initiatives have been launched - as detailed in this article - and more information will be published in upcoming issues of Contact, via Hermes and on the website at: www.dundee.ac.uk/externalrelations/travelinfo.html

Car sharing

If you are interested in car sharing you can submit your details via the University web site for distribution in the Hermes email message, which goes out to all staff each Monday. Hermes messages can be submitted via the University web site at: www.somis.dundee.ac.uk/hermes/general/submit.html

All car share information will also be posted on the travel plan web pages at www.dundee.ac.uk/externalrelations/travelinfo.html in addition to the weekly Hermes message.

Public transport

The University has excellent access to public transport, with the train station located within 15 minutes walking distance of the main campus, the bus station in the city centre, and good servicing from local buses from all areas of the city and the surrounding areas.

Dundee City Council has created a website with a journey planner, which can be used to plan bus journeys to and from the campus from anywhere within, and outwith, the city. The website provides information about every bus or train that originates or ends in Dundee. As well as information and timetables for local buses, information about services from Scottish Citylink, National Express and train information is also included. The journey planner is updated every two weeks to ensure it is always up-to-date. The address for the website is www.dundeetravelinfo.com

Cycling

Information about the location of bicycle racks is available on the 'where can I park my car?' map in the cycling section at: www.dundee.ac.uk/externalrelations/travelinfo.html

The shower facilities at the University swimming pool can be used for free by staff travelling to campus by bike. Estates and Buildings are currently looking into the development of more facilities for cyclists and a BUG (Bicycle Users Group) is to be established by the Travel Plan Steering Group. More information about this will be provided in due course.

Walking

The Institute of Sport and Exercise has a 'Walk in to Work Out' programme to encourage more staff to walk, at least part of the way, to and from campus.

Walking is an effective and easy way to increase your daily physical activity and help achieve health benefits. More information about the Walk In to Work Out programme is available on the website at: www.dundee.ac.uk/sportexercise/event/walkin.htm

The future

The changes to the car parking situation between now and the end of the semester are illustrated in the table below. This may change depending on the development of building work over the course of the semester but any further developments to this forecast will be communicated to staff via the usual channels.

Longer term, in addition to an increase in offsite car parking, Estates and Buildings are currently investigating the creation of a pay and display car park for the next academic year. This would involve providing a dedicated car park for daily parking only, which would have a daily or hourly charge and could be used by visitors to campus and staff who want to cut down on their car usage and would find it more economical to pay a daily fee when they bring in their car.

A car share database, which would enable staff to find potential car share contacts without having to initially submit personal contact details, is currently being investigated. More details about this will be made available in due course.

University Secretary David Duncan said, "Although the loss of car parking spaces is a short-term issue and the numbers will increase again, this is an opportunity for staff to try out some of the different, sustainable, modes of transport even if it’s only once or twice a week.

"If we can make progress in reducing the amount of traffic onto campus, it will not only make the campus less congested it will also put the University at the forefront of travel planning in Dundee."

Contact the steering group

Are you a walker or a cyclist with ideas about how more people could be encouraged to walk or cycle to work? Or do you have suggestions about public transport or any other sustainable forms of travel? If you want to make any suggestions you can contact the Travel Plan Steering Group at travel@dundee.ac.uk