Concerted parking space management as a building block for sustainable campus mobility at TU Dresden (KONZERT)
Table of contents
Initial situation
As the largest employer in the state capital of Dresden with around 8,300 employees and around 29,000 students (August 2024), the Technische Universität Dresden (TUD) is a major traffic-generating institution. Members of the university teach, study and research at various locations and visit them for work or training purposes. Accessibility and transport links to the university locations and in particular the main campus in Dresden's Südvorstadt district are therefore of particular importance. University members (employees and students) have individual mobility requirements due to different distances and connection qualities at their place of residence as well as their personal and family framework conditions. These mobility needs are to be supported and managed by TUD itself and by the stakeholders responsible for owning the land as part of a sustainable organization of transport processes.
Project structure and content
In the KONZERT project, the state-owned company Sächsisches Immobilien- und Baumanagement (SIB) is working together on behalf of the TU Dresden areas, the state capital Dresden (LH DD) for the publicly dedicated road space and TUD as the direct user of the areas on the main campus to implement responsible parking space management as a core component of sustainable mobility development at the university location. The following diagram provides an overview of the basic project process.
The KONZERT funding project essentially pursues three main objectives:
1. implementation of core elements of innovative operational mobility management
A core concern is to institutionally anchor the corporate mobility management envisaged in the mobility concept for TU Dresden and to implement core elements of it. This includes, in particular, the "Responsible parking management" package of measures, on which the project focuses due to its considerable potential impact on sustainable mobility development. A special feature is that the planning for responsible parking management - in accordance with the title of the funding project - is concerted, i.e. carried out jointly, simultaneously and in a coordinated manner both on public streets and in university areas.
2. establishment of innovative working and process structures
This requires intensive, cross-actor coordination processes, for which innovative work and process structures are to be developed, tested and consolidated in the project. These include regular, weekly meetings at working level within the framework of mobility workshops (co-working spaces) as well as the technical and organizational preparation of draft resolutions and decisions. The project is also characterized by an intensive participation process with various interactive and informative formats, which are accompanied by neutral external moderation.
3 Process and impact evaluation
The coordination and technical involvement of the Chair of Mobility System Planning ensures sound, scientific process support and a transparent analysis of the effects of the funding project. The mobility survey of employees and students already established at TU Dresden will be further developed as part of the funding project and a further round of surveys will be conducted at the university in spring or early summer 2025. The results of these scientific studies will be incorporated into practical recommendations for action for other multi-actor groups and transferable use cases.
The research project is based on numerous preliminary works, strategies and concepts of the institutions involved in the project, which have been developed in recent years around the topic of mobility at TU Dresden:
- Leitziele für Mobilität in Dresden 2035+ of the City of Dresden
(https://ratsinfo.dresden.de/to0050.asp?__ktonr=175940) - TU Dresden Sustainable Strategy 2023–2030
https://tu-dresden.de/tu-dresden/nachhaltigkeit/strategie-und-vision?set_language=en - Mobilitätskonzept für den Hauptcampus der TU Dresden (Teil 1+2) (part 1+2)
https://tu-dresden.de/tu-dresden/nachhaltigkeit/mitmachen/nachhaltigkeit-im-arbeitsalltag/mobilitaetsportal/mobilitaetskonzept?set_language=en - Masterplan Campusgestaltung
https://tu-dresden.de/bu/architektur/ila/forschung/masterplan-campusgestaltung
The core of the KONZERT project is to answer three central scientific research questions:
- To what extent can innovative work and process organization make operational mobility management successful at a large university with a complex administrative and responsibility structure? What strategies can be used to overcome existing obstacles to cross-actor cooperation?
- How are innovative mobility management strategies perceived by those involved and affected and which approaches lead to the acceptance of a cross-modal "push & pull" concept for influencing mobility?
- Does the implementation process of core elements of the mobility concept lead to noticeable changes in the perception of transport alternatives and to behavioral changes among university members?
The results of the research project should not only contribute to the scientific discourse on corporate mobility management, but also provide concrete recommendations for action for universities and comparable institutions. Particular attention will be paid to the practical relevance and transferability of the findings to other educational institutions and organizations.
Participation formats
The project work will be accompanied by a broad-based participation process. Different stakeholder groups will be brought together at regular intervals to discuss specific mobility management issues. The following overview provides an insight into the participation formats already implemented in the project. Some of the formats were moderated externally and offered concrete opportunities to contribute personal, interest- and target group-specific ideas and concerns to the implementation process.
The information event on campus mobility entitled "The future of parking on campus - a balancing act between sustainability and necessity" kicked off on May 17, 2024.
Employees and students as well as representatives of TUD stakeholder groups were invited to attend. The event took place on May 17, 2024 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the Dülfersaal (Mommsenstr. 13, 01069 Dresden). It was attended by 115 registered participants.
Objectives and concerns
The core objective of the event was to provide initial information for university members and to communicate participation opportunities and planned participation formats. In terms of content, the focus was on the integration of the project into the mobility concept and mobility management at the TUD, the presentation of the KONZERT research project and the discussion of possible future measures aimed at responsible parking management. Participants also had the opportunity to put their questions and concerns to those involved in and responsible for the project and then take part in an interactive live survey.
Course of the event
- Welcoming words by the Chancellor of TU Dresden
Chancellor Mr. Jan Gerken - Keynote speech: Mobility management and mobility concept at TU Dresden
PD Dr. Rico Wittwer, Chair of Mobility System Planning - Keynote speech: Responsible parking space management
Florian Schönherr, Chair of Mobility System Planning - Open discussion with project managers
State Capital Dresden, State Enterprise Saxon Real Estate and Construction Management, TUD Directorate Facility Management, TUD Chair of Mobility System Planning - Interactive live survey
- Closing words
Documentation and results
Presentation slides:
Slides of the overall presentation
Interactive live survey with Mentimeter:
Results of the Mentimeter survey
During the summer months (June-August 2024), the so-called "Open Mobility Workshop" took place several times with selected stakeholders.
Objectives and concerns
The open mobility workshop is a format in which selected stakeholder groups were invited to a joint exchange with the project team. The stakeholders were always invited on a topic-related basis. The aim of the format was to systematically record the target group-related needs and requirements so that these can be taken into account in the course of the project.
Course of the events
The open mobility workshops followed a standardized procedure. At the beginning, the participants received a keynote speech on the research project in general as well as a current overview of the project focus "Responsible parking management". In a subsequent part, the participants worked in small groups using placemats. Each placemat consisted of several key questions for which the participants could note down comments and ideas on index cards. In a final discussion round, the small groups presented their results in plenary.
Events held:
- Open mobility workshop on 12.06.2024 with external institutions (Studentenwerk Dresden, DLR, IFW and SLUB)
- Open mobility workshop on 26.06.2024 with student representatives (StuRA - Mobility Department and tuuwi initiative)
- Open mobility workshop on 14.08.2024 with Personnel Representation Councils (Personnel Representation Council, Diversity Management, Representative of Employees with Disabilities and Persons with Disabilities or Chronic Illness and IT Security Officers)
On September 25, 2024, the City of Dresden (Office for Urban Planning and Mobility) organized a public participation event specifically for the development of a parking space concept for the public road space around the TU Dresden campus. The event, which took place in the large lecture hall (POT 81) of the Friedrich List Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences (Hettnerstraße 1/3, 01069 Dresden), was attended by around 100 people and was primarily aimed at residents living in the vicinity of the campus.
You can find more information about the event at: https://www.dresden.de/de/rathaus/aktuelles/pressemitteilungen/2024/09/pm_059.php
An important milestone of the KONZERT project was the round table "Parking Space Management" on November 27, 2024.
Selected representatives of TUD stakeholder groups and people already involved in the project were invited to the Drawing Room (POT 168) of the Friedrich List Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences (Hettnerstraße 1/3, 01069 Dresden). The event was attended by a total of 36 people. Among the participants were representatives of the various Directorates of the TUD as well as various staff and student representatives.
Goals and concerns
The aim of the "Parking Space Management" round table was to bring together key stakeholder groups at TUD to discuss a potential management approach for parking spaces at TU Dresden in a direct exchange. The event also served to bring together the concerns and information from the previous participation formats, in particular the open mobility workshops.
Course of the event
- Welcoming words by the project team
Kathrin Brömmer, TUD Directorate Facility Management - Round of introductions Participants
Wolfgang Pfefferkorn (external moderator) - Context and steps taken so far
Florian Schönherr, Chair of Mobility System Planning
- Recommendations on the management approach
Florian Schönherr, Chair of Mobility System Planning
- Participation formats
Round 1: Plenary feedback on agreement, concerns and open issues
Round 2: In-depth exchange and discussion in three thematic groups - Synthesis of the topic-related discussions in plenary and opportunity for further comments to the project team
- Closing remarks: Next steps, next steps, farewell
Florian Schönherr, Chair of Mobility System Planning
FAQs on parking management at the TUD (March 2025)
The aim of the project is to analyze the parking situation at the TUD main campus and to establish structures so that parking space supply and demand can be managed responsibly in the future. The project is pursuing the implementation of the Mobility Vision 2028+ and the university's mobility goals adopted by the Extended University Executive Board in March 2022.
The focus is on the Campus Südvorstadt of TU Dresden. Here there are parking spaces in the public street area as well as parking spaces on the university campus. The TUD is responsible for organizing parking on the university campus.
Parking permits are currently only issued to TUD employees. Students, guests and visitors to the TUD can only park on public streets.
Parking permits are issued by the Transport and Traffic group in the Directorate Facility Management. Employees apply for access authorization here and are issued with a transponder to open the barrier systems (if available). Unfortunately, transponders are passed on uncontrolled. As a result, there are currently no transponders available for reissue.
Yes, there is a need for action. Around 38,000 people work and study at TU Dresden. To ensure that sufficient parking spaces are available for those who are dependent on cars, TUD must manage its parking space responsibly, efficiently and fair in order to avoid undesirable displacement effects and inconvenience for university members and residents in the future.
Building regulations stipulate that the university must cover its parking requirements predominantly on the university campus. In addition to employees, also students, guests and visitors to the TUD must therefore be taken into account when allocating parking permits in the future. The parking spaces on public streets are available to the general public and are the responsibility of the City of Dresden.
The application and allocation of parking permits must be reorganized so that parking permits can be allocated on a person-specific and time-limited basis.
Various implementation steps are currently being discussed at project level for a reorganization of the parking space. These include
- the development of a digital application and administration tool for the allocation of parking permits,
- the application of social, fair allocation criteria and
- the evaluation of paid parking management.
Measures to organize parking on the university campus have a direct impact on the public street space. For this reason, the implementation plans are closely coordinated with the City of Dresden and a parking concept is being developed that also takes into account the plans of the City of Dresden.
No, no decisions have yet been made regarding the introduction of parking space management. Technical consultations are currently taking place in order to develop a basis for decision-making. Comprehensive participation, consideration and decision-making processes are then required, involving TUD's chancellor, staff and the Students' Council.
No, the aim is not to reduce the existing parking spaces on the university grounds at the Campus Südvorstadt. However, parking should be organized and only take place in designated areas.
Yes, because no decisions have yet been made by the university's executive board to charge fees.
Charging fees is currently being considered as an option for improving the parking situation on campus as part of the KONZERT project. In addition to relieving the demand for parking space, financial resources would then also be available for modernizing the parking infrastructure and promoting bicycle parking facilities.
Parking along the streets is the responsibility of the City of Dresden. In some areas, the city has been charging parking fees for more than 20 years (Mommsenstrasse, Helmholtzstrasse) and has designated residents' parking areas (Zeunerstrasse, G.-Bähr-Str.). The city of Dresden regularly examines measures, particularly to protect residents.
The contents of the city's plans must be clearly separated from those of the TUD. Questions in this regard should be addressed to the Office for Urban Planning and Mobility, Department of Transport Development Planning () and the relevant participation formats of the City of Dresden should be used.
The city administration is currently planning the expansion of residents' parking areas in the vicinity of TU Dresden in response to regular complaints from residents and on the basis of its own environmental objectives. The implementation of these plans is largely dependent on the approval of the Dresden City Council and the availability of financial and human resources.
Contact and further information
The research project "KONZERT - Concerted Parking Space Management as a Building Block of Sustainable Campus Mobility at TU Dresden" is part of the funding guideline "Operational Mobility Management" with the focus on "Innovation Promotion" of the Federal Ministry of Digital and Transport (BMDV) and is administratively managed by the Federal Office for Logistics and Mobility (BALM).
The project consortium comprises
- TUD Dresden University of Technology - coordinated by the Chair of Mobility System Planning and the Directorate Facility Management,
- the state capital of Dresden, represented by the Office for Urban Planning and Mobility and
- the Staatsbetrieb Sächsisches Immobilien- und Baumanagement (SIB), in particular the Dresden II branch in the project.
- Amt für Stadtplanung und Mobilität der Landeshauptstadt Dresden
https://www.dresden.de/de/rathaus/aemter-und-einrichtungen/oe/dborg/stadt_dresden_6642.php - Staatsbetrieb Sächsisches Immobilien- und Baumanagement (SIB, Niederlassung Dresden II)
https://www.sib.sachsen.de/niederlassung-dresden-ii-3998.html - TU Dresden, Chair of Mobility System Planning (MSP)
https://tu-dresden.de/bu/verkehr/ivs/msp - TU Dresden Dezernat 4 – Gebäudemanagement
https://tu-dresden.de/tu-dresden/organisation/zentrale-universitaetsverwaltung/dezernat-4-gebaeudemanagement
Contact person:
TUD Dresden University of Technology,
Friedrich List Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences
Institute of Transport Planning and Road Traffic
Chair of Mobility System Planning
01062 Dresden
E-mail: konzert-mobilitaet@tu-dresden.de
