Middlesex University Green

Middlesex University Green

Travel Plan

November 2011

Contents
Executive Summary
1 / Introduction
2 / Roles & Responsibilities
3 / Current Travel Patterns, Travel Issues and Site Assessment
4 / Objectives
5 / Targets
6 / Actions
7 / Monitoring & Evaluation
Appendices

Executive Summary

Since launching the Travel Plan for Middlesex University in May 2007, we have made significant progress in encouraging the use of sustainable transport and making the University as accessible as possible to staff, students and visitors.

Whilst the progress we have made is encouraging, we will further strive to make access to Hendon Campus via sustainable transport easier in the future by introducing a number of incentives to further reduce the number of staff, students and visitors driving to the Hendon Campus.

This document reviews the progress the University has made against the goals and objectives outlined in the original Travel Plan, and looks to establish ambitious new targets for the years ahead, with the Hendon Campus continuing to undergo exciting growth and change. The Travel Plan also seeks to engage with our students more than ever before, and present a package of measures designed with their specific requirements in mind.

The Travel Plan reflects evolving Travel Plan best practice and current government guidance. It is designed to be a ‘live’ document that we will continually improve, update and evolve.

These improvements will occur through continuing to work in partnership with the London Borough of Barnet and Transport for London, and through the continued support of our staff and students.

Warren Forsyth

Director of Estate and Facilities Management Services

Introduction

Background

This document presents an update to Middlesex University’s Travel Plan for its Hendon Campus. This document supersedes the previous Campus Travel Plan, dated June 2009 and covers both staff, student and visitor travel to and from the Campus.

This updated Travel Plan has been prepared for Hendon Campus taking into consideration the redevelopment and relocation of university activities from the Cat Hill Campus.

The Travel Plan also considers the proposed closure and subsequent relocation of all activities from the Trent Park Campus from August 2012.

Redevelopment of Hendon Campus

Since the original Travel Plan was submitted in May 2007, Middlesex University has built and opened Hatchcroft. This development was completed in September 2008 and enabled the relocation of approximately 150 staff and 3,000 students from the Enfield Campus.

The Phase III development was completed in September 2011 and accommodates the Art, Media and Design courses which were relocated from the Cat Hill campus. This has allowed the relocation of approximately 190 staff and a further 1600 students.

We are planning a continued expansion at Hendon to accommodate the transfer of the remaining courses from the Trent Park campus by September 2012.

This planned development will intensify activity on the Hendon Campus and therefore place greater significance on promoting sustainable travel to and from campus for staff, students and visitors.

Roles & Responsibilities

Management of the Overall Travel Plan

Nicki Littlefield is the University’s Green Travel & Transport Manager and Travel Plan Co-ordinator and will continue to oversee the further development and implementation of the Travel Plan with support from Susie Page, University Environmental Manager. Overall, the Travel Plan will continue to be directed by Warren Forsyth, Director of Estate and Facilities Management Services.

A Travel and Transport Group has been established to ensure that the Travel Plan is taken forward effectively. It is important that a representative of the Student Union attends Group meetings. The group will meet every 8 weeks and will feeds back to Senior Management to ensure continued support and resources for the Travel Plan.

Consideration for feedback will also be taken when Nicki Littlefield attends the University Environmental Forum on a quarterly basis.

Joint working is also undertaken and will continue to be developed with other stakeholders including:

London Borough of Barnet

Middlesex University Students Union (MUSU)

Transport for London

Liftshare.com

City Car Club

Other employers in the area with Travel Plans; and

Local suppliers e.g. cycle equipment stores.

Current Travel Patterns

Site Assessment

Introduction

Middlesex currently hasfive campuses, three in London – Hendon, Trent Park and Archway. The other two are overseas, in Dubai and Mauritius.

In London, we are engaged in an ongoing project to consolidate much of our teaching and research onto our flagship campus in Hendon, north London. Over recent years the campus has grown and continues to grow rapidly, with the construction of new buildings and the renovation of existing buildings.

A site assessment of Hendon Campus was originally undertaken in August 2006. This information has been updated to reflect the changes on site.

Public Transport Information

Middlesex University provides public transport information to staff and students via the intranet. This information includes campus maps indicating the nearest underground and rail stations and the bus routes serving each campus. In addition, travel information is made widely available to everyone via the University website. This information includes bus routes serving the campuses, maps and inter-campus journey information.

Public Transport serving Hendon Campus

Hendon Campus is well served by public transport, including London Bus and London

Underground services.

Bus Services

TfL has an accepted walk threshold of 640m to bus stops that is used in recording the Public Transport Accessibility Level (PTAL) of a site and there are six bus routes accessed within 640m of the Hendon Campus.

These routes provide services to destinations such as Golders Green, Ealing, Edgware and Oxford Circus. Routes 143, 183 and 326 run directly adjacent to the site on The Burroughs and are accessed southbound from the stop opposite the Town Hall, and northbound from the stop directly outside the Hatchcroft building.

Routes 113 and 186 are accessed from stops on either side of Watford Way, adjacent to the Hendon War Memorial. Route 83 is accessed further south on Vivian Avenue, and route 240 at the junction of Brent Street with Church Road, to the east of the site.

Underground and National Rail Services

The closest London Underground station to Hendon Campus is Hendon Central, which is approximately 10 minutes walk from the campus. The station is served by the Northern Line (Edgware branch).

The closest National Rail station to the campus is Hendon, which is located approximately 1.3km south of the campus on Station Road. Hendon Station can be accessed via bus routes 83 and 183 which are described above.

Trains from Hendon Station connect north to Luton, Bedford and St Albans, and south to stations in Central London, Sutton and Wimbledon. Currently, these services are operated by First Capital Connect.

Pedestrian and Cycle Access

Pedestrian routes surround Hendon Campus, with pedestrian crossing points at the junction with Watford Way/The Burroughs and on Church Road, near the junction of The Burroughs/Church End.

Pedestrian routes surrounding Hendon Campus are mostly in good condition and well lit. Sections of the footpaths on the Eastern side of The Burroughs are in poor condition, particularly in front of Ravensfield House.

The London Cycling Campaign’s London Cycle Guide, published by Transport for London outlines a number of advisory routes in the vicinity of Hendon Campus. There is an advisory cycle route along Church End and part of Church Road, which is shared with general vehicular traffic. There are also some quieter routes surrounding the campus that would be suitable for most cyclists, although there are no cycle routes along The Burroughs, Watford Way or Church Hill Road. Cycle route maps are available on the Staff Intranet and the University Internet.

Cycle parking is available on Campus in a number of locations:

Hatchcroft building – 15 stands (30 spaces);

Scholars Yard – 30 stands; and

Greyhound Hill Car Park – 30 stands.

Future Improvements

Middlesex University remain in consultation with London Borough of Barnet about how to most effectively implement improvements to public realm spaces for cyclists and pedestrians.

Student Parking

Since 2007, students have not been permitted to park on campus during core hours,

which are defined as between 08:00 and 16:30 on weekdays. The only exemptions to

this policy are disabled and mobility impaired students.

With this policy, we have attempted to deter students from driving to Hendon campus. We must however accept that there will be students who drive to University, park on the surrounding streets and then walk onto campus. It is difficult to deter these students from driving, but the University is committed to improving and promoting accessibility to Hendon campus by sustainable modes.

Staff Travel Strategy

The current Staff Travel Strategy can be viewed in full on the University Website and on the staff Intranet pages.

In November 2009 the decision was made to deny parking permits to all new employees – those who joined after 1 January 2010 are not allowed to apply for parking permits. New joiners are made aware of this policy when they request an application pack and they should only apply if they are able to make the journey to Hendon without a car. There is also a 2 mile non-eligibility zone around the Hendon Campus so applicants must live outside this radius.

We offer free travel benefits, free cycle or motorcycle gifts to all current SOCJ users at Hendon if they give up their parking permit or a lump sum to move house to within the exclusion zone of 2 miles.

Staff that are eligible to apply for a Single Occupancy Car Journey (SOCJ) parking permit are 0.5% of their gross annual salary, payable monthly and taken at source by pay roll. PAYG Parking is charged at £2 per day.

All staff that are eligible for a parking permit are actively encouraged to Car Share. Car Sharers are allowed free parking on campus. Such staff must demonstrate that only one parking bay is used between two or more members of staff.

This policy reflects the fact that, for some staff, driving to campus is necessary due to lack of viable alternative modes. However, the University takes the view that staff car parking should be viewed as a privilege, not a right, and staff interested in applying for parking permits will be required to pay for the privilege.

Contractors parking permits cost £300 per annum and we have been working to reduce the number of passes.

In addition, although we are not including specific targets for Schools and Services to reduce the number of SOCJs in their area, we encourage managers across the University to stagger staff working at home/having days off throughout the working week. We will be encouraging Schools and Services to reduce their number of SOCJs down towards the 24% mark (and we will provide current SOCJ figures to each School and Service).

Current Policies

There are several Human Resource Services Policies that promote travel choice for staff:

Flexible Working Procedure (including working from home)

Middlesex University CycleScheme

Motorcycle Loan

Public Transport – Season Ticket Loan

Business Mileage Rates for Cyclists

Staff Travel Strategy (including charges for SOCJ on site parking)

Staff Travel Survey

Every employee based at the Hendon Campus is asked to complete a staff travel form. The employee is asked to identify their main mode of travel to work. The information is stored on a database and gives real time information which is used to provide an outline of changes in behaviour and trends. It is a working document and will be made available on the Intranet.

The travel form will be updated to request more information about frequency and distance travelled to enable us to measure the CO2 footprint. All staff that have completed and returned a form since its inception will also be asked to supply this additional information.

The figure below shows a shapshot analysis of the information available.

Jul-08 / Oct-08 / Jan-09 / Apr-09 / Oct-09 / Dec-09 / Jan-10 / Mar-10 / Aug-10 / Jan-11 / Apr-11 / Jul-11 / Oct-11 / Target
SOCJ and PAYG / 57% / 50% / 50% / 53% / 52% / 52% / 50% / 47% / 46% / 43% / 40% / 40% / 40% / 24%
Car Sharers / 12% / 13% / 13% / 12% / 13% / 13% / 13% / 13% / 13% / 12% / 12% / 11% / 12% / 25%
Public Transport / 22% / 26% / 28% / 26% / 26% / 27% / 26% / 26% / 27% / 30% / 30% / 31% / 28% / 33%
Cyclists & Motorcyclists / 3% / 6% / 6% / 4% / 5% / 3% / 3% / 4% / 4% / 4% / 3% / 3% / 3% / 10%
Walkers / 6% / 5% / 3% / 5% / 4% / 4% / 4% / 4% / 4% / 5% / 6% / 6% / 5% / 8%
Nil response / 1% / 4% / 6% / 6% / 6% / 9% / 9% / 12% / 0%
100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100% / 100%

Student Travel Survey

In December 2010 we conducted a student travel survey at Hendon, Archway, Trent Park and Cat Hill Campuses. A total of 4,453 surveys were received and analysed and revealed that most students (60%) travel to university by public transport, and a further 18% walk or cycle. 14% of students drive alone to reach their campus, and 5% participate in car sharing. The travel data was used to estimate the travel-related carbon footprint of each site.

This process will be repeated annually to enable us to measure and record any changes in behaviour. The figure below shows a shapshot analysis of the information available.

Staff Business Travel

In the academic year 2010-11 we spent more £560,000 on business travel. More than 92% of this value was spent on air travel. We will measure the CO2 footprint and aim to reduce this.