Tram
Tech Lane Ghent Science Park is the second largest Ghent University campus (the largest one is the University hospital). In the coming years, it will further develop to become the largest Ghent University campus. The total Tech Lane Ghent Science Park (including the companies) ranks no 11 on the list of European University Deeptech Science Parks. If the campus would today be fully developed (if all future buildings would be finished and in use), its ranking would be in the top 5 in Europe. This is truly amazing for a relative small city like Ghent.
Unfortunately, the future development of the campus is constrained by the mobility issues that plague the area around the campus. Creating more jobs will attract more traffic, and kill the attractiveness for future investors. Therefore, the current tenants of Tech Lane Ghent Science Park ask the city and the Flemish government to invest in a high capacity public transportation system to the train station, and continuing to the heart of the city. We believe that a tram connection is the only feasible solution to bring 2000 people to the campus during the rush hour. This will require 2 km of tram tracks from the Voskenslaan, crossing the Sterre with a stop at the Sterre campus, a second stop at the shopping center, and a final stop in the heart of the campus (comparable to the final stop at the university hospital). It would run without interruption from 6 am to 11 pm. This fast and high quality frequent connection with the train station and the city would be an attractive and climate neutral alternative for using a private car. This attractive alternative would be the catalyst to drastically improve the modal split of the campus, and hence its further development will be made possible.
An attractive final stop in the heart of the campus could become the meeting point for the people working and studying at the campus.