Together with the city of Tallinn, we will launch bike paths pilot project on our campus from 01.08.22 until 30.09.22. Therefore Lõõtsa and Valukoja streets will become partially one-way to make more space for cyclists. This project is a significant step towards our future vision — a car-free campus heart that belongs to pedestrians and cyclists.

Doing research in cooperation with researchers from the University of Tartu, it has become clear that people on our campus sit for 5-8 hours daily. It is a significant health risk because even one hour of exercise does not help to nullify the effect of sitting and support health. Therefore, researchers recommend that people on our campus find other active forms of movement, such as walking or cycling to work.

That’s why, in cooperation with the city of Tallinn, we are testing the partial one-way conversion of Lõõtsa and Valukoja streets in August and September to create a space for cyclists and scooter riders. For the pilot, in cooperation with Bolt, we have also added charging stations for scooters so that it is possible to combine different modes of movement, e.g. coming to work by bus and going home by scooter.

In connection to the pilot project, routes of bus lines 7, 15, 49 and 65 and bus stop locations have changed in Ülemiste City from 01.08.22 to 30.09.22. The bus stop Dvigatel on Lõõtsa street is temporarily located at Keevise 10. In addition, instead of the bus stop Lõõtsa on Valukoja street, you can use the bus stop located at Valukoja 12. The route of bus lines 64 and 45 remains the same.

The traffic management for those travelling by car has also temporarily changed. From Suur-Sõjamäe street you can get to the campus through Keevise, Ääsi and Sepapaja streets. The entry is restricted to Lõõtsa street from Suur-Sõjamäe and Valukoja street from Keevise street. Lõõtsa and Valukoja streets have partially one-way traffic. In addition, there is a restriction over Valukoja and Lõõtsa street intersection if you drive to the campus from the south side of Lõõtsa street. However, access to all parking lots and buildings is guaranteed.

The project is part of the inclusive city concept of Ülemiste City. We’ll conduct interviews with our community members before and after the change in traffic management to get valuable input on what kind of urban space our Ülemiste City talents want to see in the future. In addition, Fyma’s artificial intelligence and the Bikeep app collect data on how ridership has changed. We can see that this project also helps the city of Tallinn to test and understand how traffic management changes in city centres help create a safe and human-friendly environment.

In the summer, we launched a Bike2Work challenge with Activate to motivate community members to come to work on bikes. At the end of the challenge, we’ll draw a winner that gets a brand new Ampler Axel electric bike. Participating in the challenge is easy — come to work by bike and register your ride by scanning the QR code. The codes are on Bikeep bike racks, shower rooms, and other bike storage areas.

We’ve created options on our campus so everyone can conveniently come to work by bike. There are many possibilities to store your bike, and in many of our buildings, you can take a shower and store your personal belongings. You can find more information about all options here.