Mobility management at Goudse Poort Business Park
Type of location
Goudse Poort is a business park with mixed businesses, covering 160 acres (62,5 ha), in which app. 6.000 workers are employed. Now, there are still businesses in the park with large warehouses: a waste-processing business, for example, and car repair, sales firms and logistics. Gradually, however, the park will become a top-quality office area plus innovative retail functions. It is estimated that in 2015 over 80% of the present companies have been replaced by other companies. The period of 2004-2010 can be seen as an period of exodus and change. As a result, the business park is not increasing at the moment but instead a lot of underutilization occurs.
The ambition of Goudse Poort is to become one of the top 10 office parks in the Netherlands, offering a lively site with a balanced functionality mix in a modern and attractive working environment. This means that in the coming ten years more and taller office buildings will be going up. This restructuring is planned to be completed in 2015. The project Goudse Poort involves:
LocationGoudse Poort is located at the edge of the town Gouda, close to the highway A12 and A20 and within one hour travel distance from Rotterdam, Eindhoven or Arnhem. It is a long, narrow piece of land, about 2,5-3 km removed from the railway station. To see a detailed map of Goudse Poort, click here.
|
|
mode of transport |
modal split |
travel time (minutes) |
travel distance (km) |
average speed (km/hr) |
|
car driver |
64% |
30 |
26,0 |
52 |
|
car passenger |
5% |
38 |
28,0 |
45 |
|
motor cycle |
0% |
27 |
21,4 |
48 |
|
moped/scooter |
1% |
17 |
8,6 |
31 |
|
cycle |
21% |
19 |
7,3 |
23 |
|
walking |
0% |
21 |
4,4 |
13 |
|
train |
5% |
66 |
41,6 |
38 |
|
bus |
1% |
38 |
12,8 |
20 |
|
tram |
0% |
56 |
20,0 |
21 |
|
metro |
0% |
61 |
29,0 |
29 |
|
total |
100% |
30 |
22,6 |
45 |
Despite it excellent location at the highway, the share of bikes is still rather high, due to the large number of less educated workers that live nearby. The bike share is expected to decrease once Goudse Poort has evolved in a top-quality office area. By then, the objective is to increase the train share by 5% to 10%.
Car
Goudse Poort is easily accessable by road (A12/A20 motorway). See for a map here. In general, car drivers suffer more delays than users of public transportation and cyclists, however travel delay is less than 30 minutes in 83%.
Public transport
The train station in Gouda is 2-3 kilometres away and accessible by the intercity train between Utrecht and Rotterdam/Den Haag (4 times/hr) and light rail out of Leiden (2 times/hr). It takes 15-20 minutes to walk to Goudse Poort from the railway station or one could take a bus (3 times/hr, 10-13 minutes). A light rail station is expected at Goudse Poort in 2010, that will connect Goudse Poort to Gouda, Waddinxveen and the coast. However, the IC station of Gouda is (since 1 December 2006) considered to be of far more importance, it actually convinced a couple of companies to settle at Goudse Poort.
In Gouda it has been decided to apply the Wet Voorkeursrecht Gemeenten (WVG) - in English the law on preferential right by municipalities (pre-emption provision). The WVG implies that ground landlords have to offer their lands and properties tot the municipality before offering it to other parties. In this way, the local government is able to get a handle on activities and stimulate an integral development.
Goudse Poort’s main asset is its excellent location. To ensure that this location will continue to hold this competitive advantage, it is vital that the area remains accessible. Accessibility is felt as crucial not only to the successful development and marketing of Goudse Poort, but is also part of Gouda’s city promotion. Mobility management, in turn, has been included in the plan making from the very start of the restructuring process at Goudse Poort. Here we may rightfully speak of an integral approach to the problem of accessibility.
With a plan such as this, the usual procedure is to first make a land use plan. A land use plan is the legal framework within which district councils lay down their spatial development. There is no land use plan yet for Goudse Poort. Instead, the town of Gouda has first made a Master Plan. This master plan serves as the starting document for the restructuring process and indicates which direction Gouda wishes the area’s development to take.
In April 2004 Gouda’s town council passed the master plan. Parts of the master plan were then worked out in the so-called image quality plan, which serves as a guideline and yardstick for the designers of the public spaces and the private lots in the business park. The plan includes the themes (1)integration in the surrounding landscape, (2) parking and (3) cycle paths. Next, a plan was made to ensure the accessibility of Goudse Poort. Together, these plans form the basis for the new land use plan.
The new land use plan (=structuurplan) has recently been approved (February 2007) and sets a standard parking value of 1 per 50 brute square meters office space (this standard is also put down in the building permit ). The new standard will allow fewer parking spaces near businesses in the future situation than there are now. This will result in more office space compared to the available parking space. Nevertheless, the area’s accessibility will improve, thanks to a combination of central parking and supplementary mobility services. This will enhance Goudse Poort’s attractiveness, which in turn will result in a higher yield per square metre. Click here, to learn more about the plans for Goudse Poort.
For the integral development of Goudse Poort on the longer term, a modification is necessary of the development plan Den Uitert. To leave all options open for the development of the area and to give the required special substantiating (procedure ex art 19 WRO) it is choosen to produce a "structuurplan". With the "structuurplan" the since October 2004 active pre-emption provision on Goudse Poort could be maintained. .
The province of South-Holland is partner of the OPTIMUM² project, the municipality is responsible for the day-to-day control of the project at Goudse Poort. Mobility management is only a small part in the discussions between the province and municipality regarding Goudse Poort.
Next to the municipality and the province, the property developers, owners of the buildings, and companies are key stakeholders. As a project developer’s main concern with buildings is return on investment - not the area’s accessibility! - support will not come automatically. And yet, local investors have become more convinced of the importance of accessibility and keeping business areas attractive in the long term. Investors are therefore particularly involved in the plan making regarding Goudse Poort. In the Netherlands, this approach still is rather uncommon.
The owners of the buildings at Goudse Poort have formed an association, which serves as a platform for consultation with the authorities. The association, also known as park management, takes on the co-ordination of such services as, security, public transport, grounds maintenance, collective data wire installation and collective energy purchasing. The association has existed for years now (since 2002) and meets on an average of once every two- three months.
Goudse Poort’s main asset is its excellent location. To ensure that this location will continue to hold this competitive advantage, it is vital that the area remains accessible. Accessibility is crucial not only to the successful development and marketing of Goudse Poort, but is also part of Gouda’s city promotion. Mobility management, in turn, has been included in the plan making from the very start of the restructuring process at Goudse Poort. Here we may rightfully speak of an integral approach to the problem of accessibility.
As a result of the restructuring of Goudse Poort the number of people employed will double, as will traffic. At present, Goudse Poort already has to deal with a serious parking problem, traffic congestions. If no measures are taken to solve these specific problems, they are sure to increase.
Goudse Poort does not lie within walking distance from Gouda’s railway station. The only public transport is a bus service during rush hours. It is therefore essential to invest in better public transport to make alternatives to the car more attractive.
In anticipation of the park’s expansion, a shuttle bus system has been created: the Goudse Poort Expresse, running since 9 October 2006. The Goudse Poort Expresse characteristics are:
• The bus leaves each 15 min during peak hours and each 20 min during off-peak hours;
• Comfort enhancement;
• Improvement of public perception;
• A bus or minibus is the chosen option;
• 3 bus stops renewed;
• 2 DRIS systems operational
Till 2007 the bus is paid by funds from OPTIMUM², after 2007 the bus will be paid by the companies that make use of it. Right now, companies that make use of the Gouds Poort Expresse are already paying for the use of the Goudse Poort Expresse, but these revenues are saved in a mobility fund and will be used for the period after 2007. 1400 employees have been offered a Goudse Poort card by their employer (6 employers), in the near future 800 additional card holders are expected.
A visitor card is being developed, because there is an obvious demand for. Problem is that the public transport providor can charge an extra amount of money for this, while his expenses are already covered. Also companies have to pay for all cards sent to visitors, while only a porportion of these cards are actually used by visitors since most visitors still come by car. Negotiations with the province and Connexxions are started to solve these problems.
By creating a central parking area for offices and retail in the restructuring area, we intend to give companies an incentive to be more aware of car-using habits, and to encourage a more effective use of the available space.
Characteristics are:
• Containing the number of parking spaces supplied;
• Restricting car traffic inside the Goudse Poort area as much as possible;
• Limiting the number of parking spaces in the public space;
• Central parking in a communal area;
• Tangible measures (bollards) to prevent illegal parking;
• Rewarding desired parking behaviour by lowering fares and allowing a higher standard parking value;
• A comfortable walking route from the central parking area to the businesses;
• The travel time from the parking area to the businesses must not exceed two minutes;
• A mobility card will be needed to access the parking area. We are developing an interactive reservation system, which will be accessible through the Internet;
• It should be possible to run the central parking as an independent and viable business.
OPTIMUM² funds have been used to work on the inventory-taking phase. Meanwhile, central parking on one or two locations in the new development has been laid down in the new land use plan and will be effective after 2015.
Slow traffic is encouraged to take a larger share of pre- and post-transport, both to and from stations and in short-distance travel (commuting, recreation and leisure). The companies and developers at Goudse Poort have not taken an interest in stimulating bike use. However, at the municipality level numerous bicycle maesures will be implemented:
• Cycle routes, short and of high-quality, from Gouda Central Station to Goudse Poort;
• Cycle paths parallel to every car route;
• Connections to cycle routes outside the Goudse Poort area.
Mobility card
The development of a mobility card, which is to provide access to all modes of transport (bus, parking space, loan bicycle, pool car/van) is seen as an important seen tool for mobility management at Goudse Poort . The card will facilitate registration and settlement of the services that have been used.
At present the mobility card is restricted to the Goudse Poort Expresse, and thus called the Goudse Poort card. It is planned to upgrade the card to a full Mobility Mixx card, which can also be used for train, train taxi, OV-fiets, etc. The –to be built- central parking should also be accessible through the mobility card.
At the moment ca 1.400 Goudse Poort cards have been sold to the larger employers in Goudse Poort.
Travel facility point linked to park management
The facility point is responsible for the co-ordination of mobility services, and will take care of communication, administration and financial settlement. The facility point's duties include the handing out of the mobility cards, the co-ordination of central parking.
For Goudse Poort business park, the travel facility point has been linked to park management. Besides mobility, park management offerse services regarding security, maintainance and purchasing. For more infomation on park management at Goudse Poort, click here
Mobility services are now being paid by the municipality, but are expected to be exploited by funds from the owners and companies and its own profits within 2 years.
Within the municipality of Gouda a separate bureau is set up to co-ordinate Goudse Poort, which is having regular meetings with the private parties. For OPTIMUM2 activities, an inplementation team was established, in which the municipality of Gouda, Province of South-Holland, Mobiliteit op Maat and consultants participated.
The authorities, project developers and businesses conceived a joint plan to improve the location’s present and future accessibility. The report titled ‘Visie Locatiebereikbaarheid Goudse Poort’ addresses the views on the accessibility of Goudse Poort business park. In the report four themes have been defined to which measures have been linked:
• Central parking;
• Pre- and post-transport;
• Bicycles;
• Mobility card.
For each theme a plan has been made, which in each case consists of three phases, (1) the quality/inventory phase, (2) the quantity/feasibility phase and (3) the implementation phase. A central parking report has been delivered, pre- and post transport was realised (the Goudse Expresse) as well as the mobility card realised. Only the bicycle system was not implemented because of unsufficient interest from the companies.
Major achievements have been:
The first steps towards the marketing plan were aimed at getting to know your target group. Therefore, a baseline measurement survey among the employees was undertaken and an user panel was established, consisting of about 40 facility and human resources managers of the 20 major companies (in total about 120 companies are located at Goudse Poort). The user panel was created to improve the work climate and image of Goudse Poort through the exchange of ideas and wishes. The topics of discussion include the location’s accessibility, safety and image, as well as future services. The user panel meets at an average of once a month.
Besides the companies participating in the user panel, there was not much contact with-and knowledge off the companies at Goudse Poort. To gain insight in future building or moving plans and obtain a actual database with contact persons a ‘tasjesactie’ (bag action) was held. Each company was visited in person and a bag with information was delivered to the appropriate person and information about the company was gathered.
Subsequently. marketing activities were undertaken on various levels:
Click here, for a presentation of the marketing services for Goudse Poort regarding OPTIMUM². Emphasis has been put on business-to-business marketing, target groups being: project developpers, property owners and companies at Goudse Poort. An important, often neglected, target group is the management and elected officials. With the implementation of the measures also the end user have been targeted, mostly through their employers, but also direct.
Furthermore, Goudse Poort has its own website (www.goudsepoort.nl). Communication took also take place through a special newsletter, several events (mobility market, bicycle event, opening of Goudse Poort Expresse) and moreover, through the travel facility point. Also, local and regional papers have been mobilized whenever possible.
Would you like to know more about mobility management at Goudse Poort?
Please contact: Mariëtte Haring (mariet.haring@gouda.nl)
