What we do
Commissioned by Smit’s Bouwbedrijf SBB and the Biesterbos Group, we did a full mobility analysis for the Kooiplein in the municipality of Castricum. Two new building blocks, consisting of a mix of rental flats and commercial spaces, will be realised on that square. Because of the different (135) homes and some shops, it is important to get a good insight for an appropriate mobility plan.
We do this according to our calibrated vision and approach: first, we did a context analysis. In it, we make a full overview of the external mobility factors. What connections or facilities are there? On top of that, we do reference studies to make the analysis as complete as possible and arrive at a parking standard. We also do trend analyses: what kind of forms of innovative mobility can be introduced here?
We also provide a forecast of the target groups that will live at Kooiplein. The final combination of analyses then forms the basis for a parking calculation.
Why we do what exactly
In the conceptual analysis, we test accessibility in transport supply. Public transport, the car network, cycling network, walking routes and partial mobility. This creates an interactive web of opportunities and stumbling blocks, from which we can draw valuable conclusions. In the case of Kooiplein, its convenient location stood out. Two kilometres from Castricum Station, which has direct trains to Amsterdam Central. There are also many amenities in the area within walking and cycling distance.
By amenities, we think as broadly as people live. From supermarkets to recreation and from childcare to bike shops. The analysis shows that the hospital will be used by car in emergencies, but otherwise all facilities are within walking and/or cycling distance and there is little need to use the car.
For the reference study, we first used Zuidpolder Barendrecht, a project that showed that a good, complete target group study can have a great effect on mobility needs. In addition, the reference project Smart hub Wijck – Pijnacker Nootdorp was interesting because it showed well how innovative ideas can be properly introduced in a new area development.
For the innovative forms of mobility, we first draw up a package of different measures, then we take the microscope and put the yardstick next to the specific project. For Kooiplein, we arrived at more flexible parking norms through increased use of partial mobility, adaptable traffic facilities for different transport and stimulation of alternative mobility.
Using the Whize target group segmentation model, we are able to accurately predict target groups to be attracted to neighbourhoods, buildings and renovated residential squares like in Castricum. This includes factors such as income, age, composition and mobility preference. The model has many, somewhat vague umbrella terms for target groups such as ‘Dreaming and making ends meet’ to ‘Modest elderly’, but together, however, they form a good overall picture for mobility needs. Our analysis showed that the parking standard could be lowered based on the expected car use by these target groups. Finally, we tested the current parking policy against our findings and came up with a final recommendation.
The result
Three scenarios emerged from our parking calculation. The clients and municipality could then make an informed decision between the parking standard of the municipal policy, the CROW standard and our, lower than these two, number of parking spaces for Kooiplein. Our final calculation was 0.6 parking spaces per dwelling, provided this number of parking spaces is combined with 3 shared cars and a commitment to high-quality bicycle parking facilities as well.