Construction Start for Mobility Station   [28.04.21]

Bike garages, lockers with sockets for charging bike batteries, a repair station, and a terminal for rental bikes from RegioRadStuttgart including charging stations for their pedelecs: Next to the "Uni Hohenheim" bus stop in the Heinrich-Pabst-Strasse, at the location of the increasingly electrically powered university vehicle fleet, a long-awaited mobility station for the University of Hohenheim is currently taking shape.

 

The excavators have moved in - and Martin Kerner, Hohenheim's mobility manager, is confident that the university will be able to check off another green accomplishment on its long list of measures before the end of the year.

The central mobility station in the heart of the campus has been included in the University of Hohenheim's mobility plan, which includes the fields of action of public transport, cars, bicycles, and pedestrians, since the first version in 2015.

In 2018, the anniversary year, Minister President and Hohenheim alumnus Winfried Kretschmann announced the funding for the construction project in person during his speech.

Martin Kerner is all too aware that some projects require a great deal of staying power: "When it comes to transportation and construction projects, you simply have to think long-term. That's why our mobility plan is deliberately designed to run until 2030."

 

University takes over construction

The fact that the excavators are now rolling is not necessarily a given, considering the long list of construction projects on campus. It was made possible by a special agreement with the state, which allows the University of Hohenheim to take on the role of building owner itself as part of a pilot project. Normally, this is the responsibility of the Stuttgart-Hohenheim University Building Office, an agency of the State Office for Assets and Construction in the Ministry of Finance.

"We are very pleased with this solution, which has allowed us to take the start of construction for the mobility station into our own hands. At the same time, we are also very grateful that the University Building Office is supporting us with its expertise, as we lack experience and human resources in this demanding role," said Chancellor Katrin Scheffer.

Specifically, the mobility station includes a double-level lockable garage for up to 20 bicycles, as well as additional covered and illuminated bicycle racks, a locker system with charging options for pedelec batteries, a bicycle repair station, and a terminal for rental bicycles from RegioRadStuttgart. Unlike previous stations on campus, these include charging points for RegioRadStuttgart's pedelecs.

 

Text: Leonhardmair / Translation: Neudorfer