Princeton University wants to make the oncampus pedestrian and micromobility experience for students, faculty and visitors irresistible. Working as Princeton’s mobility consultant, the Gehl team developed a series of interventions and facilities improvements –built on a system wide analysis of current flows, experiences, and aspirations – to realize this first-inclass mobility for the University.
Understanding mobility patterns today, for the campus of tomorrow
Princeton’s campus is in flux as the University undertakes a series of ambitious capital projects to expand its footprint and capacity over the next thirty years. A central tenet among them is to “make walking irresistible,” while reducing the reliance on single occupancy automobiles on campus. Princeton partnered with Gehl to realize their campus-wide, humanfirst mobility vision.
While the University has indeed observed growing rates of micromobility ridership in recent years, they have also seen a sharp rise in rates of construction vehicle traffic and vehicular-pedestrian tensions in tandem with these capital investmments that can create a less than desirable environment for
pedestrians and people moving on wheels.
To address this challenge, Gehl established and executed a data collection plan to observe how people move throughout campus: designing a replicable methodology for collecting and analyzing mobility data and monitoring micromobility trends. This plan included conducting a campus wide survey and data collection of user movement patterns, existing infrastructure to better understand the site’s unique challenges and opportunities.
The Gehl surveys generated clear baseline data and mobility insights to inform future design and circulation strategies on campus. In one instance, the team’s PSPL survey found that foot traffic peaks in the early afternoon and nearly doubles
Findings from the surveys not only offer a snapshot into how people move today but helped to establish seven “Key User Experience Insights” that serve to inform the ongoing development of supportive micromobility policy and design interventions on the Princeton Campus. From this data, Gehl proposed a pathway network focused on routes that remain intact with underused corridors helping to fill the on-campus gaps in mobility and delivered the ‘Princeton University Bike Facilities’ proposal, a comprehensive guide for improving bike and scooter facilities and user experience on campus.
• S treiker Bridge
• T ruck Routing
• D illon Gym
• E lm Drive
• S chmidt Hall
• Washington Road Roundabout
• Hobson College
• Vehicular Arrival Strategy
• Temporary Campus Pathways
• Ca mpus-wide Bike Inventory
2.“Princeton
