Wilkins Terrace walkway: student views on getting from Gordon to Gower St
25 October 2017
The Wilkins Terrace redevelopment's 'hidden treasure' is the opening of new pedestrian route to connect Gordon Street directly to the main campus, helping to save time, and increase links across UCL.
![October Wilkins October Wilkins](https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/sites/news/files/styles/large_image/public/251017-Ocober-wilkins.jpg?itok=J7Nr06d8)
The new walk way connecting Gordon Street and the new Wilkins Terrace is open for its first full term and many are discovering the new quicker route through the terrace and past the new Lower Refectory makes for a far more enjoyable trip across campus.
"Being able to go through, rather than around isn't something I had thought about but it is going to be great as the weather gets bad." said one student.
Students enjoying the new development between lectures said it was a positive addition to the campus, and thought word would spread fast.
"It cuts out a lot of the hassle of the street route which makes life easier when I'm running from lecture to lecture, I can see it getting a lot of use as more people discover it." added another.
A third student thought the sustainability element of the development as a whole was something to be proud of.
"I didn't realise the stone and stuff was all sustainable, and the gardens are really pretty but I didn't even connect that they would add to the green part of it, it works really well."
The walk way is a significant benefit of the Wilkins Terrace and Lower Refectory development, part of the large scale Transforming UCL programme being undertaken by UCL Estates. The entrance can be found in the Bloomsbury Theatre building on Gordon St, and ends at the Wilkins Terrace, with easy access to the new dining facilities in the Lower Refectory. It removes the need to go around the campus to access the Wilkins Building, North and South cloisters helping to fulfil Transforming UCL's goal of a much improved estate and opening up a completely joined up East-West route directly across campus from Gower Street to Gordon St.
The Transforming UCL programme aims to develop the UCL estate into a campus which is future proofed and student oriented, as part of the wider reaching UCL 2034 strategy. Over the course of 10 years, the university will invest £1.2 billion into development and new builds to increase study and teaching space, support new growth, and reach the highest levels of sustainability possible for each project.