Cycle lane network to connect the different campuses of Technical University of Cartagena (Spain)

Abstract

The Technical University of Cartagena consists of three campuses and two public service buildings distributed throughout the old town. This configuration causes many displacements among the different campuses, besides the daily movements between home and university. In March 2014 an online survey was undertaken on the university community (professors, students and staff) in order to know their mobility habits in relation to the mode of transport used to arrive at university and to move among campuses. The most interesting result was that for 12% of survey respondents the bike is the main mode of transport. It is a very surprising result because there is no appropriate cycling infrastructure, and the bicycle is used only by 1% of the inhabitants of Cartagena, according to general mobility patterns of the city. As a consequence, a project about the connection of campuses by means of a suitable cycle lane network was carried out. Three designs were studied and a multicriteria analysis technique was applied to choose the best proposal, taking into account route characteristics, traffic segregation, accessibility, safety and cost. The chosen proposal was presented to the local government in order for it to be put into practice. As a consequence, in the near future, a suitable cycle lane network to connect the different campuses of Technical University of Cartagena will be constructed. This safety cycle lane network will encourage the use of bicycles among members of the university and all inhabitants, being one of the starting points to the sustainable mobility in Cartagena.