Sustainable accessibility to peripheral university sports facilities: mobility barriers and intervention strategies in Rome

his study examines how to improve accessibility to the university sapienzasportfacility in Rome. Motivated by existing accessibility shortcomings, the research iden-tifies and evaluates practical operational and infrastructural solutions. a mixed-meth-ods approach combined quantitative analysis of the mobility system with qualitativedata from user surveys, providing in-sight into both transport conditions and userexperiences. the questionnaire was administered in the first half of 2025 tosapienzasport centre students and staff, resulting in 228 valid responses. Resultsrevealed a strong dependence on private cars. Poor pedestrian infrastructure alsoemerged as significant safety concerns. Based on the survey findings and a comple-mentary visual assessment, three intervention scenarios (a, B, and c) were devel-oped. scenario a represents a low-impact strategy focused on increasing shuttlefrequency, reducing booking time, and introducing minor pedestrian safetyimprovements. scenario B expands shuttle coverage to high-demand residentialareas and university facilities, combined with more substantial pedestrian infrastruc-ture upgrades. scenario c further optimises the shuttle system through a dual-routeconfiguration to reduce travel times, maintaining the proposed infrastructureimprovements. the three intervention scenarios were evaluated using a combinedbenefit and Multi-criteria assessment. scenario c consistently achieved the bestperformance, offering the greatest improvements in travel time, service quality, ,and pedestrian safety through upgraded walkways and lighting. although the studyrecommends a phased implementation beginning with scenario a, direct adoptionof scenario c may be feasible where institutional and financial conditions permit.the study provides an evidence-based framework for more sustainable, inclusive,and efficient mobility planning at sapienzasport.