Nova Gate UCD Cycle Improvement Scheme

SYSTRA Ltd Ireland is delighted to have provided University College Dublin (UCD) with design support for the Nova Gate UCD Cycle Improvement Scheme, which improves cycling and walking access to the Belfield Campus.

Officially launched on Friday 1st April 2022, this improvement is part of the wider Stillorgan Road (UCD Access) Cycle Improvement Scheme, which was implemented by Dún Laoghaire - Rathdown County Council and funded by the National Transport Authority.

The UCD Nova entrance improves access for those arriving on foot or by bike to the Belfield Campus, providing connections into the wider local area and transport network. At UCD Nova, a new shared pedestrian and cyclist entrance has been created, along with new associated internal shared surfaces connecting to the core of the Campus and supported with cycle parking, signage, and road markings along its route. SYSTRA undertook the concept and preliminary design for the scheme within the UCD campus.

This new entrance enables pedestrians and cyclists travelling north along the R138 or across the pedestrian bridge over the R138 to enter the Campus at an earlier point, reducing their journey time and providing a new traffic free Active Travel route into the core of the Campus.

The aim of the initiative is to encourage more people to travel to the campus by foot or bike, as part of the UCD Travel Plan. The recent UCD Commuter Survey identified that of those who currently drive, 34% of students and 49% of staff live within 2 to 10km of the Campus – and the Nova Cycle Scheme is one of the many Travel Plan initiatives the University are implementing, focused on making it easier for staff, students and the wider community to switch from car to sustainable mobility choices.

In recognition of this, UCD has also become the first third level institution in Ireland to achieve a Gold Level Certification as a cycle friendly employer. Awarded by the European Cyclist Federation (ECF) and issued by Cycling Solutions Ireland, the only EU-licensed Cycle-Friendly Accreditor operating in Ireland, the award recognises the significant investment that the University has provided to cater to its growing cycling community. Find out more here.

Since 2019, SYSTRA has been delivering a range of sustainable travel planning advice and support for the UCD’s Belfield campus, aimed at making it easier for the UCD Community to take healthy, active, and sustainable travel choices to, from and within the campus. This includes updating the campus Travel Plan and campus Cordon Study, developing a parking resilience strategy, supporting with the concept design of the proposed new bus interchange, improving, and extending the campus cycle route network and inputting into active travel event planning.

Find out more and contact us here.