Determinants for walking and cycling to a university campus : insights from a participatory Active Travel workshop in Malta

Abstract

Malta is a small island state in the Mediterranean, with one of the highest population densities and per capita car ownership rates in the European Union. University campuses located in urban areas have a substantial role to play in transport planning and policies since they are amongst the largest generators and attractors of commuters. However, at the University of Malta, mobility to and from the work and study place is still characterised by high levels of private car use, resulting in traffic congestion, parking constraint and land use uptake. The current transport system is discriminatory towards those outside the car, who cannot or do not want to drive. These people find themselves struggling for space to walk and cycle, whilst bus users have to withstand long journey times due to car traffic and limited priority. A participatory Active Travel workshop was organised at the university in order to better understand the determinants of pedestrian and cyclist mobility to and from the university campus. Participants included people from the university community as well as other interested stakeholders. Four different guided walks or cycles led participants along predefined paths in the surroundings of the university, to assess the environment from the perspective of a pedestrian or cyclist. Information on the active travelers’ experiences allows the assessment and spatial distribution of perceived walkability and bikeability around campus. These outputs are then presented in a participatory web map that has evident potential to assist in the design and improvement of public space for promoting active travel. Contributions from the workshop are used to identify barriers and opportunities for walking and cycling and to construct tangible policy recommendations for promoting active travel in the vicinity of the university and the wider urban environment in Malta.