Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Ana-Maria Baston -
Number of replies: 50

Your first task is to introduce yourself and your city. Please write a couple of sentences saying:

  1. Where you're from?
  2. What you do?
  3. What is the size of your city?
  4. What is the modal split in your city?
  5. Why do you want to develop a sustainable urban mobility plan?

The course facilitators (Maija, Ana-Maria and Liard) will be adding our thoughts and comments to the news forum on a regular basis as well. The answers received from you will be presented in the first workshop in Thessaloniki.


In reply to Ana-Maria Baston

Re: Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Raffaele Sforza -

My name is Raffaele Sforza and I was born in Bari, southern Italy, on adriatic coast. All friends call me Lello.

I have been working in the regional Government of Apulia (Regione Puglia) for many years. Since 2002 I work in the Mobility Department. My office now is called "Sustainable Mobility Section" and my role is "regional mobility manager". I spent many many years also in promotion of cycling, especially as regards EuroVelo, the transeuropean cycle route network and Bicitalia, the national one.

At the moment the Mobility Department is involving in the drafting of the regional Guidelines on SUMP and I am part of the workgroup that is working in in cooperation with Euromobility, the italian association of mobility manager. For this reason I attend this course, in order to understand in which way the regional level can support the municipalities of Apulia to have in better way a good SUPM.

In my region there are 280 Municipalities. Apart Bari with about 320.000 inhabitants we have just 3 towns with more than 100.000 inhabitants; 11 towns between 50.000 and 100.000 inhabitants. The rest less

Moreover, also I know very well the conditions and mobility policies of Bari, the city where I was born and live, I find  embarassing to comment what is doing in this matter

In reply to Ana-Maria Baston

Re: Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Raffaele Sforza -

My name is Raffaele Sforza and I was born in Bari, southern Italy, on adriatic coast. All friends call me Lello.

I have been working in the regional Government of Apulia (Regione Puglia) for many years. Since 2002 I work in the Mobility Department. My office now is called "Sustainable Mobility Section" and my role is "regional mobility manager". I spent many many years also in promotion of cycling, especially as regards EuroVelo, the transeuropean cycle route network and Bicitalia, the national one.

At the moment the Mobility Department is involving in the drafting of the regional Guidelines on SUMP and I am part of the workgroup that is working in in cooperation with Euromobility, the italian association of mobility manager. For this reason I attend this course, in order to understand in which way the regional level can support the municipalities of Apulia to have in better way a good SUPM.

In my region there are 280 Municipalities. Apart Bari with about 320.000 inhabitants we have just 3 towns with more than 100.000 inhabitants; 11 towns between 50.000 and 100.000 inhabitants. The rest less

Moreover, also I know very well the conditions and mobility policies of Bari, the city where I was born and live, I find  embarassing to comment what is doing in this matter

In reply to Raffaele Sforza

Re: Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Wolfgang Backhaus -

Hi Lello, thanks for breaking the ice and kick-off the online discussion! It is great having the Puglia region on board of SLP1, from your description there is quite a good and long experience in regional sustainable urban mobility planning which can only bring an additional new and fresh perspective to the course. Could you share with the group a bit more about the regional SUMP Guidelines that are being prepared by your region? What is the starting point and the context in which it was decided to develop them?

In reply to Wolfgang Backhaus

Re: Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Raffaele Sforza -

Hi Wolfgang, excuse if I answer just now but in our Section (on Sustainable  Mobility) we are very few people and I personally re very busy also for drafting the administrative acts regards the partecipation of Apulia Region at SLP1.

In our Department of Mobility, the head of the Infrastructures for Mobility Section decided, last year, to prepare the regional SUMP Guidelines for some reasons:

1) According to the national agreement between the national Government and the European Commission, in order to get european ERDF funds, local Authorities have to have the SUMPS and the infrastructure for wich they partecipate in the call have to included in the SUMP;

2) Apart the ELTIS Guideline for SUMP, almost unknow in Southern Italy, there are not italian Guidelines on SUMP. Moreover in Italy the only local Plan on transport, mandatory by law only for cities biggest than 30.000 inhabitants, is the Urban Traffic Plan, introduced by the Road Code in 1992. By the law that Pland have to be update each two years. No many Cities and town in Italy have Urban Plan updatet;

3) panic attacked both Apulia Region and Munipalities. Also the first call was pubblished, the Head of the Infrastructures for Mobility Section, responsable for the implementation of the Regional Transport Plan, decided to work for prepering the regional Guidelines on SUMP also because the National Guidelines were not ready yet;

4) an agreement with Euromobility, the national association of mobility manager was signed at the begining of this year. Euromobility was chosen also because is the National Focal Point of EPOMM and manages the Nationa Observatory on SUMPin Italy;

5) an intersectional working group in Transport Department was costituted to work with Euromobility for drafting the regional Guidelines. The first action was, last May, the organization of the first national conference on SUMPs in Bari where we presented some of the main italian SUMPS. We had also different sessions on different aspects of the sustainable mobility for people and goods. We had also some meetings with stakeholders;

6) we are almost at the end. In few weeks we present the draft to the stakolders and, than, we will have the formal approval by the regional Council;

7) in Italy we are late in the drafting of SUMPS and it's not guaranted that if a city has own SUMP its mobility is truly sustainable. Italy is the country in Europe second, after Luxemburg, for the index of private motorization. In many SUMP in Italy, and the national SUMPs Guidelines go to that direction, the main actions are many periferal car parking and electric vehicols;

8) one of the main goals of the regional Guidelines on SUMPS is reduce the private motorization (very ambitious). SUMP means first of all introducing a radical cultural change in the vision of mobility;

9) I would like to share the SUMP regional Guidelines with this group when it will be official, but a very big effort will be translate in English the document, at the moment only in Italian;

10) Since I work as sustainable mobility manager for the regional Department of Mobility of Puglia and not for the Municipality of Bari, the city where I live and where Puglia Region is based, I am not able to officially answer to the questions as regards the city SUMP

In reply to Raffaele Sforza

Re: Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Liard Kranen -

Thank you Lello! Liard here wink I do understand your full agenda. Happy to hear that the draft plan will soon be shared with stakeholders! Are this the same stakeholders that decided on the measures for inclusion in the Apulia regional SUMP?

I am sure that many in this e-course (and also outside of our group) will be interested to learn more about the SUMP regional Guidelines!  Please keep us updated throughout SLP1 on the status.

In reply to Ana-Maria Baston

Re: Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Joanna Holi-Sosnowska -

My name is Joanna Holi-Sosnowska. I’m from Częstochowa in Poland.

I’m a Head of Section of Transport Projects in Department of Regional Development and European Funds, City Hall of Częstochwa. For the last 10 years I worked in Municipal Road and Transport Management Board  as a Head of  Section of European Funds. My main duties: investment planning for co-financing road and transport projects, writing application for funding,  realization of investment. Type of investments: roads, roads for bicycle, transport nodes, investment areas.   

The population of Częstochowa is approx. 230 000. The area of the city is 160 km2. The city is in the south  of  Poland in Silesia Region and it’s a part of beautiful upland called Jura Krakowsko-Częstochowska. Częstochowa is a very friendly place to live in, but still needs huge improvement in mobility. It has made a great progress in building transport infrastructure for the last 10 years. It was possible due to EU funds. Investment process are still on going. However the above mentioned changes require good management  and joining  mobility under one planning system.

According to the Sustainable development plan for public transport collective for Częstochowa City in 2014 the modal split in the city is as follows: 59% Bus, 18% tram, 17% car, 3% bike, 2% walk, 1% other. Unfortunately, decrease in the number of people using public transport  has been observed for the last 2 years. It is mainly caused by new roads connections, increase in the number of cars, ect.

WHY SUMP ? Because there is a challenge with integrated planning in some fields in the city. Better understanding of the SUMP process can help to join all types of communication and develop integrated planning. I want to develop SUMP  to create  better quality of live in the city for every single person.

I enclose short film about my city, I hope you’ll enjoy it.

 

 .


In reply to Joanna Holi-Sosnowska

Re: Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Wolfgang Backhaus -

Joanna, the video presentation is very inspiring, it is really great to catch a glimpse of Częstochowa and with the help of images understand better the city's atmosphere. Also the modal split in the city appears to be the result of long-term investment implemented throughout the years. You were mentioning that there is lately an increase in the percentage of car users, is that reflected in the figures or should the modal split calculation be updated based on data collection and processing - which is a part of the SUMP development?

In reply to Wolfgang Backhaus

Re: Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Joanna Holi-Sosnowska -

Thank you for your opinion about video and city. Indeed the modal split should be updated. But last year we did some survey research among citizens called Analysis of transport behavior in Czestochowa as a basis to prepare the SUMP. It  has helped to understand better why people prefer cars. According to the  SUMP development I would like at the beginning focus on transportation needs of individual groups and do some data collection in this field. I treat  it as some kind of experiment for improvement in public transport as a part of SUMP. I hope I could share with all of you my ideas.

I am glad that so many representatives of interesting and well-developed cities take part in the project.

It is a great honor for me to be able to exchange opinions and experiences with you.


In reply to Ana-Maria Baston

Re: Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Sanna Ovaska -

Greetings from Tampere, Finland! We are looking forward to get our SUMP process up to full speed and working together with you all.

 

My name is Sanna Ovaska and I work as a project manager for sustainable mobility and mobility management for the City of Tampere. Together with Heljä Aarnikko and other colleagues at the city’s unit for Traffic System Planning, we are responsible for carrying through this project and the SUMP process in our city.

 

Tampere is a city with about 230 000 inhabitants (380 000 in the whole urban area) situating in Southern Finland about 160 kms north from capital Helsinki. Tampere is the second-largest urban area in Finland, a growing city and a significant economic and cultural centre.

 

Tampere has been active in developing sustainable mobility in recent years and there are plans for years to come. Currently, there is a tram network construction underway, and the first tram line will start operating 2021. This will change public transport that currently consists of a bus network. Work is and will be done also for cycling conditions, local train connections, intelligent traffic, electrification of buses, mobility as a service, commuter parking, community cars etc. In the following years, tram construction work and other ongoing building projects in the city center will cause significant traffic disturbance and will make mobility management even more important.

 

Anyhow, there is still much work to do: our current modal split is 45% for cars, 17% public transport, 27% walking, and 10% bikes.

 

Tampere has an ambitious climate target for carbon neutrality. In a growing city, this puts pressure on traffic planning to take bigger and faster steps towards to a more sustainable modal share. Besides that, we wish the SUMP to unify our strategies and acts for sustainable mobility and make a cross-sectoral working for mobility stronger. We are sure this project and working together with other cities will provide us new aspects and measures to adopt.


In reply to Sanna Ovaska

Re: Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Ana-Maria Baston -

Hi Sanna, great having you on board! Your description of the mobility situation in Tampere is very useful as it looks like the city is currently planning the implementation of a variety of measures: some are infrastructure-oriented, like the new tram line or the inter-modal nodes connecting the railway network with the urban transport network, and others are soft measures, as the Mobility as a Service, car sharing or mobility management enhancement. Could you give us some overview about the context in which all those measures have been planned, especially from a financial perspective? Are all measures undertaken from the local budget or also additional funds - like a national programme - is favourable in supporting the take-up of sustainable mobility and carbon neutrality? 

In reply to Ana-Maria Baston

Re: Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Sanna Ovaska -

Yes, the state supports the take-up of sustainable mobility. Climate targets are emphasized on strategies and programs on every level and there are funding available for developing climate-responsible mobility. In practise, there are still contradictions between the strategy level and policy level what comes to taxation, funding etc. Like everywhere, for sure, different political interests are present and often competitiveness and business are seen on the other side of climate and sustainability targets.

For local projects with regional or national significance, the city takes the biggest responsibility of the cost but a certain share of funding normally comes from the state budget. The state and municipalities in the Tampere region sign regularly the letter of intent which specifies key projects and the cost share related to land use, housing and transport. Tram network, commuter parking, and the central bike lanes, for example, get state funding based on this agreement.

For some measures, we are still on the first phase of developing and piloting and we also get project funding from national funds and from the EU.


In reply to Ana-Maria Baston

Re: Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Greg McDougall -

Hello there, I’m Greg McDougall from Edinburgh in Scotland.  I’m a Transport Officer in the City of Edinburgh Council, working in the Spatial Policy team, a new, multi-disciplinary team consisting of planning, transport, air quality and urban design professionals.  The overall objective of the team is better placemaking, a vital element of which is the production of a SUMP.  As well as myself, the core team working on Edinburgh’s SUMP will include Will Garrett, Spatial Policy Team Manager and Steven Murrell, Senior Transport Officer in the Spatial Policy team.  In addition to the core team we will be working with other Council officers, colleagues from various external organisations and stakeholders from a variety of groups and communities.

Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital city, has a population of 507,000 and covers an area of 264 square kilometres.  The city is growing rapidly with the population expected to reach 595,000 by 2039.  Modal split in Edinburgh is as follows:-

Walking – 29.9%

Bus – 18.5%

Bike – 3%

Rail – 0.8%

Car – 43.5%

Other – 4.3%

A lot has been done in Edinburgh in recent years to encourage travel behaviour change.  A new tram system was introduced in 2014, there has been extensive expansion of cycling and walking infrastructure and a big increase in the share of the city’s transport budget allocated to non-car modes.  This is reflected in the city’s modal split compared to other Scottish and UK cities, however the number of trips still being made by car, along with the rapid growth in population and the increasing number of commuters and tourists, shows that there is a real need for an effective SUMP.


As with many cities, poor air quality is an issue in Edinburgh with motorised transport being the most significant contributor.  We have six air quality management areas which include pollution hotspots that breach UK and European air quality objectives.  An action plan is in place to help reduce pollution levels and the city is looking to introduce a low emission zone which may exclude high polluting vehicles.


Edinburgh is keen to learn best practice from other cities that have brought together planning, transport and air quality functions as part of integrated transport and land use planning policies in the urban context.  These elements are currently addressed through individual plans or strategies (eg Local Transport Strategy, Local Development Plan, Air Quality Action Plan) so the Council is keen to bring these critical elements of urban planning together under one holistic strategy for the city.

 

The SUMPs Up programme offers a valued and timely framework against which to structure our approach and we look forward to learning lessons from similar cities pursuing sustainable urban mobility.


In reply to Greg McDougall

Re: Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Maija Rusanen -

Hi Greg,

I would be interested to know more about your Spatial Policy Team. You mentioned that it is a new team. When was that established and was that established specifically for preparing SUMP? Where did the initiative come from?

Many cities find it often quite difficult to work across different departments and integrate better e.g. transport and land use planning so it would be very interesting to learn more about Edinburgh's Spatial Policy team and how it works in practice.

It would be also interesting to hear whether other cities have similar approaches and how cooperation across different policy fields is promoted?



In reply to Maija Rusanen

Re: Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Greg McDougall -

Hi Maija

The Spatial Policy team was set up in 2016 – it emerged from a reorganisation/restructure across the City Council and was borne of the principles of placemaking and planning for people.  The purpose of the team is to bring together officers with varied specialisms which contribute to good placemaking, ie transport professionals, town planners, air quality experts, urban designers and landscape architects.

The team wasn’t specifically established to prepare a SUMP, we work on a range of interconnected projects around placemaking, of which SUMP is one.  Other projects include an open space strategy, a clean air strategy and a city centre transformation project.

The team and the concept work well – our varied specialisms mean we all have valuable contributions to make to each other’s projects.  Being based within the Planning department also works very well as we are able to shape policy and strategy which influences development at the earliest possible stage. 

Best wishes

Greg


In reply to Ana-Maria Baston

Re: Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Lívia Silva -

On behalf of the Municipality of Funchal, I, Lívia Silva, would like to point out that it´s a privilege for our city to participate in this innovative project that will, undoubtedly, prove to be a relevant tool for planning our city and provide us with the necessary set of skills to develop a SUMP. Regarding my role within the Municipality, I am the current head of the Mobility and Traffic Division.

Since 2004 that I work directly on this Division, in which my initial role was to develop and implement a GIS database related to traffic and mobility data. The data ranges from parking data (both public and indoor, classified by type) traffic signs, traffic lights, road accidents. The GIS database is updated regularly and provides statistics that supports local decisions and territorial planning.

In these last years, my tasks became more focused in managing European projects, such as the CIVITAS MIMOSA and the Covenant of Mayors which played a key role in engaging awareness actions related to sustainable mobility.

Since I was appointed as the head of the Mobility and Traffic Division I am directly more related in coordinating studies such as traffic modelling, modal split, the CIVITAS DESTINATIONS management and applications for funding. Along with those tasks, I also am responsible for handling the daily operational management, including traffic restrictions, parking, traffic signs and traffic light management, just to name a few.

As for the Municipality of Funchal, my city is the capital of Madeira, an island with about 758.4 km2, that concentrates an enormous diversity of landscapes, vegetation, microclimates and traditions. Therefore, it has become a tourist destination of excellence, attractive throughout the year, thanks to the amenity of its climate and the wide variety of events promoted. Of course, islands are always an interesting environment to test mobility solutions.

As for Funchal, the city in which the SUMP will be based on, occupies an area of 76.15 Km2, distributed in ten parishes, where, based on the results of the 2011 Census, 111.892 inhabitants (about 41.8% of the population of the Autonomous Region of Madeira). Therefore, Funchal is the most densely populated municipality of the Region. This high population density is aggravated if we take into account that the occupation of the territory does not happen in a homogeneous way, that is, the settlement of the population is generally below 700 meters.

Its insularity presents additional challenges for the Region in terms of transport and accessibility, and this is a major challenge, since it involves a permanent effort to annul the isolation and maintain constant links with the outside world. However, it also presents opportunities, since the islands have a strong attraction and the tourist potential, among others, is valuable.

Transport plays a fundamental role in the economic and social development of both Madeira and Funchal. The mobility of the population and the movement of goods and merchandise contributes to the dynamism of the economy and to the competitiveness of companies, with repercussions on the quality of life of the population.

Over the past two decades, benefiting from Community funds, Madeira has implemented an important set of transport infrastructures. At the level of road accessibility, it is worth highlighting the implementation of a road network that have significantly improved the internal accessibility, reducing the times of connection between municipalities and promoting the emergence of new centralities.

The urban network is macro cephalous, where Funchal occupies the top of the hierarchy and maintains its hegemony. However, thanks to the new road infrastructures, the complementarity between this city and the surrounding urban centers has increased and the urban network has become more cohesive, making it possible to distinguish a more dense and continuous urbanization.

The results of the 2011 Census show that the inflows and outflows of the population are quite pronounced in the municipality of Funchal. Due to work or study, the population that enters the municipality represents about 24.5% of the resident population. Conversely, the population leaving Funchal represents only 6.6% of the residents.

The 2011 census also revealed that in the municipality of Funchal, more than half of the resident population that exercises a profession uses the light motor vehicle as a driver in its commuting movements (53.24%). 22.16% of the residents uses the public transport while 11.11% of the population travels on foot to the workplace.

Following the trend, in the last 10 years, the number of cars in Funchal has increased by 18% while the number of motorcycles increased by 75.3%. Residents in Funchal own about 44% of the regional car park. The motorization rate of the resident population in Funchal was estimated at 430 vehicles/1000 inhabitants in 2015, slightly lower than the national average.

The prevalence of the motorized transport, namely the petrol and diesel car and its effects upon the environment, particularly noise and pollutants emissions explains the importance of developing solutions to shift the modal split towards clean vehicles. Along with this trend, we have identified other patterns that influences the local mobility system, which greatly justifies the importance of developing a sustainable urban mobility plan, such as:

·         Congestion/volume of traffic in the historical center of Funchal (mainly at peak times, taking and leaving passengers);

·         Structure of the road network (dimension, slope, paving);

·         Lack of information for accessibility to different areas;

·         Lack of connectivity of the pedestrian network;

·         Insufficiency of the public passenger transport system (urban and interurban);

·         Excessive concentration of passenger transport vehicles on specific roads;

·         Absence of bus lanes dedicated to public transport;

·         Poor freight transport system in the city center;

·         Excessive street parking in the center of the city;

·         Irregular parking in charging areas (non-payment and / or parking in an inappropriate place);

·         Absence of an effective and efficient system for monitoring and monitoring the transport system and mobility.

Given this diagnostic, it is expected that the participation of Funchal in SUMP will be important in improving the quality of urban space and implementing inclusive and innovative solutions upon the territory.

I take the opportunity to invite you to browse our mobility website that can give you a perspective of the way our city is organized in terms of mobility and traffic. Despite the fact that we don´t have an english version, we offer quite a vast array of pictures www.cm-funchal.pt/mobilidade . Please don´t hesitate if you have any type of question.


In reply to Lívia Silva

Re: Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Maija Rusanen -

Thanks for very comprehensive description of the mobility situation in Funchal. You certainly have very specific issues to deal with due to the location in an island. The detail that attracted my attention was the high share of light motor vehicles. You also did not mention cycling at all. Is cycling popular in Funchal at all and could for example promotion of electric bikes be a way to decrease the number of light motor vehicles?

In reply to Maija Rusanen

Re: Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Lívia Silva -

Hello,

The modal split in 2011 (on journeys between home and work) gives to the bicycle only 0,02% of users. This value is expected, taking into account the orography of our city.

Thanks for your attention.


In reply to Lívia Silva

Re: Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Liard Kranen -

Hi Livia, Thank you for your update. Do you update the modal split figures every 5 years or so? From my last visit to Madeira I do understand it offers certain geographical challenges for cyclistssmile Interesting to find out what is behind this 75.3% increase of motorcycles use! Where do you think this increase in motorcycle use comes from? Do you see opportunities for cycling in Funchal itself or for a commute a bit outside of the city with an e-bike? Are electric bicycles introduced by private business?

In reply to Liard Kranen

Re: Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Lívia Silva -

Hi Liard,

Thank you for your attention. Every 10 years we realize census actions, when we update our statistic data in a national, regional and municipal level. However some data we collect out of shelter of census actions.

In the case of cycling in Funchal, at this moment we don't have data about e-bikes and how many people are using that type of bycicle. In our city hall, we have 4 e-bikes for workers use.

In the case of motorcycles, since a national law allowing the use of motorcyles under 125cm3 by car drivers, many people move to this type vehicles with 2 wheels. To complement that law, our municipality made some contributions, giving more areas for motorcycle parking.

Best Regards.



In reply to Ana-Maria Baston

Re: Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Loretta Marini -

My name is Luca Coin and I'm from Padua in Italy.

My job is Transport Engineer (Senior expert) inside the Mobility and Transport Dept. of Padua Municipality.

Our team working at this project is also composed by Daniele Agostini (Project Manager) and Loretta Marini (Junior expert).

We all have a 8 years long experience in European Projects concerning sustainable mobility (Alpine Space, SEE MMS, QUEST, VeloCittà).

Padua is a city with about 210.000 inhabitants (about 400.000 in the Metropolitan Area) situated 33 km from Venice, in the central part of the Veneto Region. Despite its relatively low number of inhabitants, it daily attracts almost all of the metropolitan area inhabitants, thus challenging important car traffic problems. Even if, for historical reasons, the cyclists number (or the bicycles owners!) is surprisingly high.

Padua estimated urban modal split is nowadays 48% cars, 23% public transport, 17% cycling, 4 pedestrian, 8 motorbike.

Why SUMPS? For a higher quality level (urban and of life) in the Municipal territory and also in the Metropolitan Area, by construncting a real sustainable mobility.


In reply to Loretta Marini

Re: Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Maija Rusanen -

Hi Padua team! I noticed that in many of the municipalities the share of cycling is very low due to different reasons but you have pretty impressive share of 17%. You mentioned that is due to historical reasons, could open up this a bit? Why do you think its so? Does the city have well-developed cycling policy? I am sure that you can also share some tips to promote cycling to other cities as well.

In reply to Maija Rusanen

Re: Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Loretta Marini -

In Padua there is anhistorical tradition of cycling for a series of favorable 
coincidences such as the flat territory, compact city, short distance trips, 
favorable weather, presence of 60,000 university students.
Cycling policies such as 170 km of cycle routes (the global road network is 
about 900 km), proper planning asthe BikeMasterPlan(2010), the Municipality 
Cycling Office, events and actions in order to promote cycling, the 
implementation of public bikesharing (2013), are good for a change of travel 
behavior of people.
Support to the sustainable mobility is givenby the external city centerring 
road,, the north / south tram line (2009), disincentive policy of parking in the 
central area, the pedestrian area (0.17 square kilometer), the Limited Traffic 
Zone (1.30 square kilometer) within a central area of ​​4.54 square kilometers, 
the carsharing service (2011).
Political support in order to encourage sustainable mobility and consequently 
cycling policies is crucial to their success. In any case, to address 
periods/situations/contexts of poor political support, we learned interesting 
techniques/strategies of political involvement in someactivities of European 
projects.

In reply to Loretta Marini

Re: Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Loretta Marini -

Padua's biggest square "Prato della Valle"

Attachment Prato della Valle - Padua.jpg
In reply to Loretta Marini

Re: Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Loretta Marini -

First place in the ECC 2013 Padua as Best Cycling city

Attachment premiazione agostini pagliaccio loretta.jpg
In reply to Ana-Maria Baston

Re: Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Lorella Mekic -

Hello everyone, my name is Lorella Mekić and I work as a traffic planning advisor in the municipality of Rijeka Department of development, urban planning, ecology and land management. This is the department that carries out preparation, co-ordination and elaboration of documents relating to physical planning and it will be responsable for conducting the SUMP  preparation process.

Rijeka is largest Croatian port, the third largest city in Croatia and the administrative center of the Primorje - Gorski Kotar County, with economic, administrative, social (especially important educational services, health and culture) functions. It has 128 600 inhabitants with a metropolitan area of almost 200.000 inhabitants.  The traffic and urban specificity of the city were conditioned by topographical and morphological features. 

Rijeka

Attached photo shows a view of Rijeka from the west - see the entrance to the port of Rijeka. The city is located along the coastline from which the terrain climbs under considerable slope; the city center is located by the passenger harbor; the suburbs are at the altitude of 300 - 400 meters; in the background is the hilly area of Gorski Kotar through which pass the highway and railway connections to the capital of Croatia, the city of Zagreb.

There is no recent data on modal split, and according to a traffic study that has been produced more than ten years ago, approximately two-thirds of the trips are made by passenger cars and one-third by public transport. Due to the steep configuration of the terrain, residents do not use bicycles for transport at all. Pedestrian traffic is present but mainly in the area of a wider city center.

The development of a traffic system is defined by Physical and Master plans. These plans envisage the strengthening of public transport. But, thirteen years after approving there is the need to create a new urban mobility plan aimed not only at strengthening public transport but based on the sustainable as well as integrated planning principles. We want to develop a strategy that can stimulate a shift towards cleaner and more sustainable transport modes and aplly smarter solutions for using space in our city at the same time.



In reply to Lorella Mekic

Re: Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Maija Rusanen -

Welcome Rijeka! You mentioned that you want to develop a strategy that can stimulate a shift towards cleaner and more sustainable transport modes? Has there already been an official decision to prepare an SUMP?  

You mentioned Lorella that you work for a department that is responsible for development, urban planning, ecology and land management. Are all transport related issues handled in that department or do you have a separate transport department?

It is very interesting to learn what is the organizational structure in each city and especially who has the responsibility for SUMP development.


In reply to Ana-Maria Baston

Re: Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Carla Oliveira -

Hello!

We are a team of 6 nice fellows that live in the Area Metropolitana do Porto (AMP) territory, in Portugal, and we work at Planning and Mobility Management Division at AMP institution, an intermunicipal association.

Unfortunaly our presentation videos are in Portuguese, mas soon we will also have in English:

AMP institution:

https://player.vimeo.com/video/222662398

 

Planning and Mobility Management Division:

 https://player.vimeo.com/video/235026522


We have different background and professional experiences, but at the time we all integrate Planing and Transports team here. AMP is a recent Metropolitan Transports Authority and it has liabilities in mange public highway transport.


Carla Oliveira represents AMP in CIVITAS SUMPS and works with GIS and urban planning projects and has spent several years working with ERDF projects. At AMP she followed the elaboration at our Action Plan for Urban Sustainable Mobility. 

AMP Action Plan for Urban Sustainable Mobility as its origins in the obligations established in national programs for the access to the European funds for mobility projets: only projects enrolled in a SUMP could be financed. The major idea was to encourage public authorities to develop SUMPS, but they give only 9 months to do the plans, so we have shrunken the plan, which initially had a SUMP structure, and we only have done an action plan. Now, we are determined to make it right, and we intent to develop a real SUMP.

Carmo Tovar is following the mobility survey at AMP and deals with projects financed by Community funds, like SMART-MR (https://www.interregeurope.eu/smart-mr/).

Nuno Costa is responsible for the supervision of the public road transport system in the AMP, as well as the management of various technological tools to support mobility and its integration into the GIS.

Joana Figueiredo has many years of experience in education and gives support to municipality in school transport which is a very delicate subject in Portugal. It also works with public transportation users and their claims. Presently she’s following the development of AMP territory observatory.

Mário Valente has many years of experience in environment projects, he works with GIS and he gives support to all colleagues in administrative areas.

Ana Santos give support to all colleges in financial administrative areas.


AMP is a metropolitan institution constituted by 17 municipalities, which Porto is the most famous. It has more than 1.700.000 inhabitants and 2.040 Km2. It has a densely urbanized central core that covers about 6 municipalities, and as we move away from the center we have more fragile areas and less urban features. We have several regional asymmetries in AMP, and we can consider the existence of three distinct groups of municipalities: the most heavily urbanized, the intermediate, and the more rural. These differences constitute a challenge in defining common development policies, especially in mobility issues.

In AMP, according to 2011 Census, the modal split was

Car

62,5%

Walking

15,9%

Bus

14,5%

Rail

5,1%

Other

1,6%

Bike

0,3%


Its our goal to improve the use of public transport and reduce the use of individual transport.

 

AMP needs to develop a SUMP because it’s not possible to manage mobility issues without a plan who has the atual situation and the goals to the future. We cannot promote urban development and regional integration without planning and at this point, with our liabilities at mobility and transports, we need to have to have a SUMP. It is crucial to intermunicipal articulation and territorial relations.


In reply to Carla Oliveira

Re: Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Maija Rusanen -

Nice to hear that such a big team will be involved in SUMPs-Up!

Did I understand correct that the Action Plan you have already developed covers the whole territory of AMP and that would be also the case when you prepare the full SUMP?  Since the number municipalities is high - 17 municipalities that belong to AMP territory it would be interesting to learn what kind of cooperation structures have been established in order to jointly develop SUMP in cooperation with so many municipalities?   

In reply to Maija Rusanen

Re: Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Carla Oliveira -

The action plan defines a common strategy for all AMP, and sets projects to be implemented in all the 17 municipalities, but these projects, related to the strategy for AMP, were set for each municipally for itself. It where defined to be implement until 2023 (aligned with the end of this UE framework).

We think that with our territorial structure we need to define a SUMP for all AMP territory, and it needs to be managed and implemented at different levels. There will be one vision and the same aims for all the territory, and it would be implemented at different scales, with intermunicipal and municipal interventions. This would implicate several teams working together and a complex projet management.


In reply to Ana-Maria Baston

Re: Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Silvana Mondello -

My name is Silvana Mondello, I’m an engineer, I have worked for the Urban Mobility Department of the City of Messina, Italy, since 2000. In 2006, I was appointed Urban and Local Municipality Mobility Manager.
I’ve worked on the principal plans of urban mobility, such as Urban Mobility Plan andSustainable Energy Action Plan, in conjunction with the consulting engineers, and about national and community funding for sustainable mobility projects, such as cycle lanes, revamping  fleet of local public transport, intermodal hub.
I’m Daniela Catanoso, I’m from Messina, Sicily, Southern Italy.
I’m the Sociologist for the City of Messina. I worked for many years at the Strategic Planning Office and European Projects. My competencies are: European planning, planning survey, Customer Satisfaction, sociological research, and participatory planning.
We’ll be working on this project, giving a real opportunity to the City of Messina to learn more and prepare the first SUMP.

The city of Messina is the third largest demographic area of Sicily (238,439 inhabitants). Messina is a Metropolitan City.Messina is situated between the Ionian coast and the Peloritani mountains.  It overlooks its large, harbour (closed on one side by the small, sickle-shaped peninsula, San Raineri) on the Strait of Messina.  As the distance between the coast and mountains is so very narrow the city has developed in a longitudinal sense, following the Ionian coast without interruption from Giampilieri Marina to Capo Peloro, for about 30 kilometres. The result is basically only two main arteries with obvious consequences on traffic flow.  , the third in Sicily. The territory covers an area of 211km2; population density is 1,129 km2. The area is a vital service centre not only for the city and the surrounding municipalities of the Province, but also for Calabria and Straits area. The hinterland is characterized by numerous hill villages that have now become satellites of Messina.

Messina is in the south of Italy, and has a high rate of motorization: 595 auto/thousand inhabitants.
Modal Split: 67% private cars – 8.1% public transport (collective and/or shared) – 5.7% motorbikes-18% pedestrian – 1.2% cycles.
In 2004, a tram service was inaugurated, in a north-south direction, and covers approximately 8 kms. Local public transport has a fleet of 70 buses. 
The local administration is now encouraging a shift towards more sustainable modes, highlighting the need for more sustainable and integrative planning processes as a way of dealing with the complexity of urban mobility. Given the rather unique geomorphological characteristics of the city and increasing congestion, the only way forward is to adopt a modern integrated plan. The goal is to shift part of private transport (principally cars) to public transport.


Messina


Attachment capo peloro.jpg
In reply to Silvana Mondello

Re: Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Maija Rusanen -

Welcome on board Messina! It seems that many of the cities share the problem of high share of private cars and very low share in cycling. In your case probably the shape of the city influences the modal split.

 I think that SUMPs-Up project is a good opportunity to exchange experiences with other cities that have similar issues with the high share of private car use and who need to do some actions to promote also more sustainable modes of transport.  If I remember right you have already started the SUMP process? Have you had any particular challenges in that?

In reply to Silvana Mondello

Re: Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Silvana Mondello -

Hi Maija, 

Our challenges are very steep. 

The first, the most important, regards behavioural change about legal regulations on the part of citizens.  Therefore, bottom-up involvement will be very important during the SUMP process.

The second regards (i) the low level of inter modality because of lack of connections between all relevant transport modes (bus-tram-ferries-hydrofoil); (ii) some car parks placed in strategic zones, at the tram and bus terminals, need renewal and improvement; (iii) the IT system to provide information in real time to users is only at the beginning and needs improvement.                                                                                         Improvement in all of the above would shift demand from private transport to public.

The third regards improvement in the urban road network.The shape of the city and the presence downtown of two ports connecting Sicily to mainland Italy creates severe traffic congestion.

Moreover,  increase cycle  and pedestrian network  are, amongst others, two focal points of the guidelines of SUMP that we have been developing.


In reply to Ana-Maria Baston

Re: Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Mărăcine Anca -

My name is Anca Mărăcine, and I represent Municipality of Tîrgu Mureș, Romania.
I am a consultant in accessing European funds with a 6 year experience in the field. At least 70% of the projects we have developed and implemented are public infrastructure investments in rural and urban areas. I also coordinated and participated in the elaboration of several local development strategies, including the Integrated Urban Development Strategy of Tirgu Mures 2016-2023, which is based on the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan.

It is a privilege for me and for my city to participate in this program, given that Tirgu Mures Municipality is about to implement the first SUMP, like most cities in Romania. So we are faced with the lack of information and experts in the field. 
SUMP has been developed by another consulting firm, alongside the members of the Urban Authority, and is in the approval stage, waiting to be implemented in the near future .

Our City is located in the center of Transylvania, the central-northern part of Romania and has an area of 66.96 km2.
According to the 2011 Population and Housing Census, the stable population of Tirgu Mures Municipality was 134.290 inhabitants, out of which 63,349 male population and 70,941 female population.

The location of the city in the Center region gives it a favorable position due to:
- the central position, making it easy to connect with the other 7 development regions;
- Physical and geographical particularities of the region, respectively, the relief level;
- high and diversified tourist potential in the region;
- high value cultural heritage;
- the competitive economic sector.

According to the questionnaire prepared for the development of the mobility plan (12% of the population) the way of travel is presented as follows:
  • public transport: 63%
  • walking: 18%
  • personal car: 17%
  • taxi & bicycle: 2%

Some of the challenges faced by the city in terms of mobility are:
  • The absence of by-pass variants for heavy goods vehicles, lack of detour belts makes traffic more difficult and longer travel time in big cities
  • Malfunctions related to the operation of public transport services, which affect the attraction of European funds at the moment. Public transport from Tg. Mures, is carried out through a joint venture agreement, since 2001, between the operator of SC Transport Local and a private operator, valid by delegating the management for a company. Lines of transport are mostly served by both operators on the same route and with common stations.
  • The number of car parks is insufficient in relation to the vehicle park owned both in residential areas and in service areas, especially the central area. In neighborhoods, the parking space crisis is accentuated by the use of garages for other purposes;
  • Insufficiency of exclusive pedestrian routes, promenades, bicycle tracks;
  • the railway crossing the city hinders the traffic being used only for routes outside the city


Attachment 480786_424045090979191_384674595_n.jpg
In reply to Mărăcine Anca

Re: Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Liard Kranen -

Welcome Tîrgu Mureș! Thank you Anca in sharing this background information regarding Tîrgu Mureș and it's SUMP. Exciting to hear that the SUMP is planned and already shared with the City Council for approval! When will they make a decision on the approval of the SUMP? You may later upload the Tîrgu Mureș SUMP to the SUMP registry, so  other cities can learn from it, here: http://sumps-up.eu/sump-registry/

In reply to Ana-Maria Baston

Re: Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Maria Poulou -

Hello, I am Maria Poulou from Piraeus in Greece. I’m a Spatial and Urban Planning Engineer and work for the Piraeus Municipality and the Programming and Development Division.

Piraeus is a port city in the region of Attica, Greece, located within the Athens urban area, 12 kilometers southwest from the city center, and lies along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf. Piraeus is the biggest and most important port of Greece and one of the biggest ports of the East Mediterranean coast, as it connects continental Greece with the islands. Piraeus is an international cruise center and a commercial hub for the Mediterranean, providing services to ships of any type and size, while offering unique advantages because of its strategic position and infrastructure.

Piraeus Municipality constitutes the third biggest municipality and settlement in Greece having a population of around 180.000 citizens. The wider area of Piraeus includes the homonymous municipality and six more municipalities-suburbs  with a total population of around 470.000 citizens. Piraeus city centre is 12 kilometres from the centre of Athens being the historic seaport of the capital of Attica. Piraeus is the link of mainland Greece with the islands of the Aegean Sea.

As part of the Athenian urban complex, there are plenty of transportation means in service i.e. buses, trolleys, suburban railway, tram, metro (for the time being  the old line of the underground railway is the one available but in the future there is going to be  a  new extended line of the metro) while it is also connected to the central railway network of the country.

The Piraeus Development strategy lays the foundation «To demonstrate Piraeus as international Business, Tourism, Cultural, Maritime and International Commerce Destination, extracting Environmental, Energy and Social Added Value for residents, workers and visitors». In this framework, Piraeus Municipality is putting strong emphasis on promoting sustainable mobility and the development and deployment of e-Services and innovative solutions in the City of Piraeus.

Piraeus does not have an SUMP until now. Up to now, has implemented 2 EU Projects related to promoting sustainable mobility which both contributed as gaining knowledge in related issues.

In 2017, Piraeus has secured funds for tendering an SUMP for its city and the procurement procedure is expected to start in 2018.

 

Basic problems regarding mobility that needed to be faced are the following:

-          Traffic congestion, increased use of cars in the city

-          Illegal parking  

-          Low quality of Public transportation means & services  

-          Lack of promoting sustainable mobility practices or means usage, (cycling, walking, car sharing, car pooling, etc.)  

-          Non-existence of cycle lanes/network and a pedestrians network in the city  

-          Lack of ICT tools and e- services for efficient transport in the city, etc.  

 

You can see the following video for getting to know Piraeus:

(Piraeus2021: European Capital of Culture - Candidate City)

 

You can find more info at Destination Piraeus: http://www.destinationpiraeus.com/

 

Piraeus cruise shipping development is expected to expand and increased. New cruise berths are expected to be created at the port area. This will automatically affect port-city function and mobility in the city. Recently, with Piraeus Port Authority S.A. and the OECD-ITF have prepared the report below, which can be really useful for future city mobility strategy and related issues.

 https://www.itf-oecd.org/sites/default/files/docs/cruise-shipping-urban-development-piraeus.pdf


In reply to Maria Poulou

Re: Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Liard Kranen -

Welcome onboard Maria Poulou! Thank you for the introduction of Piraeus and it's challenges regarding mobility.

If I understand correctly Piraeus has pedestrian/cycling lanes but they are fragmented and are not very well connected ? Is cycling an option for Piraeus it's citizens? One other question, from the report you attached (thank you for that) I read that the cruise ships, which dock in the city itself, cause air quality issues in the city centre: is this currently also a topic being discussed or actions demanded for from the people living in the city centre? I am curious, as I know this is a important issue for Amsterdam and Venice it's citizens for example.

In reply to Liard Kranen

Re: Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Maria Poulou -

Hello Liard,

Yes, Piraeus has pedestrian lanes as you well understood but they are fragmented and not well connected to an integrated network.

Unfortunately there are no cycling lanes at all right now in the city. We hope that there will be in the future. In the framework of a past EU project, we have formulated a sustainable mobility strategy, which included a complete network of cycling lanes for the city and a bike sharing system, but this is not adopted yet(it is still just a study). We hope to do that via the SUMP and reach an official decision for a cycling network accepted by all stakeholders. For now, cycling is not an option for Piraeus, in a sense that a cyclist do not have its space in the road(no cycling lanes). We also lack a cycling culture (if one can say that) as it not common for car drivers to meet cyclists in our streets. But... -very very very - few people use their bicycles in the city, as being more brave to move along with cars on the steers. The economic crisis has worked a bit positive, in favor of the bicycle use.

Yes, you are right. There are environmental - air quality -  issues in the city center but also in the wider area, coming from cruise shipping, as well as from regular ships, as Piraeus hosts all port connections between the hinterland the Aegean Islands. According to official air quality measurements, everything is normal but there are also doubts. I know there are similar issues in Amsterdam and Venice, maybe even more serious there.. Though, for now in Piraeus, I believe there are no official plans to minimize the number of ships or the no. of cruise ships visiting Piraeus, as we suffer a serious economic crisis and Port activity is extremely important to our economy. We need to focus more on using even more "greener" ships or host "greener" cruise ships and at the same time reduce harmful air emissions (as CO2) as much as we can, in the city and also the port area.

Maria.

In reply to Maria Poulou

Re: Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Liard Kranen -

Hello Maria,

Thank you for sharing more of Piraeus! I hope you will be able to include the outcomes from the cycling study into the SUMP!

Interesting to gain more insights on the air quality issues because of the harbour which is simultaneously an important or even the most important economic driving force of the city..I hope you will manage in the SUMP process to include some measures related to these issues. Even something 'small' such as the transport to and from the ships is something which could be paid attention to. All the best and a good E-Course for now!

In reply to Ana-Maria Baston

Re: Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Andreea Nagy -

My name is Andreea Nagy and I come from the City of Timişoara, Romania.

I am working as a counselor at Timişoara City Hall, in an European projects compartment (Generating and management of municipal projects bureau). My main duties are identifying national/regional/international programs adequate for accessing funding in order to implement local high priority projects regarding the construction, rehabilitation, consolidation and development of road infrastructure in Timişoara, initiating projects in order to attract additional national, regional and international funding to the local budget, as well as preparing the necessary documentation for these projects. The investments include roads, bicycle lanes, new buses and trams, public transport stations, as well as water public transport by vaporetto.

The City of Timişoara is situated in the western part of Romania and has about 320.000 inhabitants. The Growth Pole Timişoara has about 388.000 inhabitants and comprises the Municipality of Timişoara and 15 communes located in its neighborhood.

The modal split in Timişoara is as follows:

·  41,12 – car

·  24,44 – public transport

·  34,44 – walking

The SUMP for the Growth Pole Timişoara has been finalized in December 2015 and approved by the City Council of Timişoara in June 2016. The Goal of our SUMP is to tackle with the mobility needs of the citizens, as well as those of the businesses from the growth pole, whilst also contributing to the achievement of the European objectives in that which concerns energetic efficiency and environmental protection.

In essence, our SUMP covers the Growth Pole Timişoara over the 2016-2030 period, on five strategic objectives:

          i.           Accessibility & connectivity of the public transport options;

         ii.           Safety & security for the passengers of the public transport and community;

        iii.           Environmental protection and reduction of CO2 emissions;

        iv.           Increased economic efficiency in that which concerns the transportation costs for   passengers;

        v.            Increased quality of the urban environment in the benefit of the citizens, economy and society in general.

As this SUMP is the first one ever made for the City of Timişoara and we lack the experience needed in its implementation and monitoring process, we are very interested in taking part in this course and learning about the best ways to tackle with the challenges which may appear.  


In reply to Andreea Nagy

Re: Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Liard Kranen -

Welcome Timişoara! We also hope that you can learn form this course for the implementation of the SUMP now that it was approved last year by the City Council. I had a look to the Timişoara SUMP from the SUMP registry and I wonder what actions did you take since the approval? Is there a specific 'SUMP team' created for example with colleagues from different departments of the city and external partners to implement the SUMP further?

In reply to Liard Kranen

Re: Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Andreea Nagy -

Thank you, Liard!

Timisoara City Hall has an European projects compartment (Generating and management of municipal projects bureau), particularly tackling with the projects included in the SUMP.

Furthermore, an Urban Authority was formed, in the scope of prioritizing the projects included in the SUMP, in order to see which ones need to be implemented on a first round; The Urban Authority is composed of employees from various departments of Timisoara City Hall, such as the Technical Direction, Urbanism, Environment, Development and Buildings -Terrains (i.e. all the important departments of the City Hall has a representative in the Urban Authority).


In reply to Ana-Maria Baston

Re: Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Cecilia Reis -

Hello. My name is Cecília Reis and I'm Head of Division for Traffic and Urban Equipment, in the Municipal Construction Department, Amadora Municipality. I've been in this position for about 20 years and our tasks resume to  developing processes for investing in new projects for roads, walking paths, sidewalks, cooperation with the private investment, etc.. We also have the duty of managing the transport network that crosses the city.

Here we talk about a city in the center of Northern Lisbon's Metropolitan Area (AMLN), with borders to Lisbon, Oeiras, Sintra and Odivelas. This is a city with about 24 m2 and 180 000 inhabitants. This is one of the most dense cities in Portugal, with about 7500 inhabitants per square meter.

About public trasportation services, Amadora is crossed by a train line, that connects Lisbon and Sintra. To access that line, we have three stations, Santa Cruz - Damaia, Reboleira and Amadora. Adding to this, Amadora also has access to the Lisbon Metro network, with three stations in the blue line: Alfornelos, Amadora Este and Reboleira. More, Amadora is served by three companies guaranteeing the bus service, in a total of 55 lines. More than the traditional means, Amadora is served by about 28 km of smooth mobility tracks, covering quite a lot of the city access. In this proccess, we predict to cover at least 40 km by 2018. We don't have specific numbers about the modal split.

The last Metro station opened in 2016, being the other stations inaugurated in 2004. The train line exists since the XIX century, but the main development occurred in the beggining of the 90's. That consisted in the construction of an underground station in Amadora in 1993, the building of Reboleira's station and the replacement of halts of Santa Cruz and Damaia for a big station, Santa Cruz Damaia, both in 1999.

Developing SUMP feels for us as a challenge. It will make us think, know and make the city known for its transportation and mobility, mainly soft and environmental friendly. We have the proximity to Lisbon as the main advantage to be motivated to plan ahead and in the same way as the bigger cities.


In reply to Cecilia Reis

Re: Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Lasse Brand -

Welcome to the course, Cecília! Thank you for introducing us to the situation in Amadora and great to hear you are motivated!
As you are in the centre of Northern Lisbon's Metropolitan Area, it would be very interesting to know if and how you cooperate with Lisbon in your planning activities? Does the Metropolitan Area have an institutional structure to coordinate activities in its municipalities? Do you regularly meet with planners from Lisbon?
And are there maybe modal split numbers for the whole Lisbon Metropolitan area or neighbouring municipalities to Amadora, just so that we could get a rough understanding about the car, public transport and walking share (from my visit to Lisbon I assume the cycling share might be limited)?

In reply to Ana-Maria Baston

Re: Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Ciprian Gabriel Barna -

My name is Barna Ciprian and I work at Transregio Intercommunity Development Association which represents the transport authority in charge of organizing the public transport in the City of Oradea and 2 other communes (Bors and Sinmartin) situated in the metropolitan area (Public Transport services ensured for approx. 238.000 inhabitants). Transregio Transport Auhtority was setup in 2012 and has the role of expanding the public transport from the level of the City of Oradea to the metropolitan one, by promoting an integrated service via a regional operator represented by Oradea Local Transport Company and owned by the 3 associated local authorities.

Concerning the City of Oradea, it is the 10th largest City from Romania, being situated in the North-West region of Romania, at only 10 km from the border with Hungary and having a population of 223.000 inhabitants.  In terms of economic development, of jobs’ creation, of providing the health, educational and social services, the catchment area of the City of Oradea, calculated in relation with other urban centers from the region, stretches up to 50 km distance from the City.

In this sense, it is to be mentioned the main socio-economic indicators that illustrate the territorial impact of the City in the region, such as: 42,43% out of the total population of Bihor County live in the 1st area of influence of the City of Oradea (at max. 15-20 minutes by car from Oradea City ), 63,28% out of the total number of employees from Bihor County work in the City of Oradea whilst 34,22% out of the total population from  Bihor County live in Oradea, 72,38% out of the total number of employees from Bihor county are concentrated in the 1st area of influence of the City of Oradea (15-20 minutes travel time by car from the City of Oradea), 65,12% out of the total Gross Domestic Product from Bihor County is generated in the City of Oradea and 418 bus travels/day on the relation between the City of Oradea and the other localities from Bihor county.

Regarding the modal split, the City of Oradea has the following values regarding the various transportation modes:

Cars- 39%

Public Transport- 35%

Walking-23%

Cycling- 1%

Based on the important increase in motorization rate from 2008 (71.000 cars) to 2016 (104.000 cars) at the level of the City of Oradea and taking into account the challenges to contain the urban sprawl, to promote the mixed land use in all areas of the City and to integrate mobility in a larger spatial planning and development policy, there is a need to develop and implement a sustainable urban mobility approach that would enable to ensure a balanced distribution of travels and transportation modes across the City.

In this respect, the City of Oradea started in 2015 the elaboration of the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan which was approved in May 2017 by the Local Council.

This elaboration of this strategic document was the occasion to improve various specific analysis regarding major circulation network, public transport, transport of goods, alternative means of transport, traffic management, identification of areas with a high level of complexity but also to develop a transport model in order to prioritize the necessary measures to be taken at the level of the City of Oradea in order to improve its mobility. Regarding the financing of the CUMP selected measures, the most part of projects to be developed will be financed through the Regional Operational Programme 2014-2020, Priority axis 4-Sustainable Urban Development (ERDF).


In reply to Ana-Maria Baston

Re: Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Paulo Noronha -

Hello all

My name is Paulo Noronha, and I’m the 1st Executive Secretary of the Intermunicipal Community of Douro (CIMDOURO). We are an association of 19 municipalities ranging from 2 800 inhabitants to 50 000 inhabitants, in a total of 209 000 inhabitants in 4100 km2 of land located in the NE of Portugal.


It covers an area of ​​exceptional beauty and heritage excellence along the Douro River and anchored in the Douro Wine Demarcated Region (the oldest regulated wine region in the world and home of the Port Wine), which includes the Alto Douro Wine Region area and the Prehistoric Rock Art Sites in the Côa Valley, classified as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. You can watch a promotional video of the region:

We are a structure similar to AMP (Metropolitan Area of Porto) and we also have developed an Douro’s Action Plan for Urban Sustainable Mobility similar to that of the AMP and carried out for the same reasons (only projects enrolled in a SUMP could be financed by ERDF funds for mobility), and like in the AMP the time to design this plan was to short and with some options that were not really sustainable mobility, nor urban!

For that reason we intend to propose to our mayors a new SUMP in the next month, since we have new mayors as a result of general municipal elections in the beginning of the month.

In reply to Ana-Maria Baston

Re: Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Olaf Lewald -

My name is Olaf Lewald.  I am working for the City of Bielefeld (Germany). I am staff of the Head of Department of Economic Affairs, Urban Planning and Mobility. Furthermore I am the Commissioner for European Affairs of the City of Bielefeld.  

Bielefeld is a city of currently 338.000 inhabitants and it is growing (some 2.000 citizens each year). We have a current modal share of 54,0 % car -  15,7 % public transport -  15,4 % cycling – 14,9 % walking.


Bielefeld is Lead Partner of SUMP project "CityMobilNet" which is financed by the European EURBACT-program. Within the project Bielefeld has started the development of an SUMP and I am member of the working Group.


 


 


In reply to Ana-Maria Baston

Re: Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Maria Siti -

Hi all! 

My name is Maria Siti. Born in Athens and brought up in Heraklion Crete. I have a first degree in Surveying Engineering from the Polytechnic School in Athens and an MSC in Urban Design.

Specialized at transportation planning, I am assisting the Municipality of Heraklion to make the … big shift in terms of urban mobility. I’m also a researcher at the Sustainable Mobility Unit (NTUA).

Heraklion is the biggest urban agglomeration in Crete in terms of population and the fourth in Greece. The Municipality of Heraklion is inhabited by 173.993 permanent residents (2011) however several people are travelling to the city from nearby settlements for work/education/ leisure/ shopping etc. The metropolitan city expands in an area of 120 sq.km. The city consists of two key parts, the historical city intra muros (developed in the inner area of the Venetian Walls) and the new urban expansions/ suburbs. The historical center is characterized by compactness, where important regeneration projects have been recently implemented along with several automobile restrictions.

Urban mobility and SUMPs were unfortunately brought at the Cretan urban discourse during the last 5 years. Car-dependency is constantly on the rise in the city, residents use their cars for trips less than 3km and urban sprawl is apparent due to several urban planning and environmental inadequate frameworks. Walking conditions are gradually improving, however only in the historical city center. Few bike lanes are implemented but remain underused due to scattered planning.

Public transport is managed by KTEL, a private consortium of bus drivers, as in all Greek cities apart from Athens and Thessaloniki. Public transport lacks several aspects to become competitive and attract residents for their daily trips, hence is mostly used by students and the elderly.

In this video you may see a collage of before/ after photos in key landmarks of the city where automobile domination is apparent. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Nzf5NgX98I 

There is no accurate data for the modal split in the city as it was never measured by a formal authority. If you allow me a rough comparison I would say Heraklion’s modal split is close to that of Messina and Palermo as indicated in the EPOMM’s tool, so it would be 73-78% car, 12-18% walking, 8-10% PT and less than 2% bike. Heraklion does not have a SUMP but has several Traditional Traffic Studies focusing mostly in the historical parts of the city, their data concerns flows, road volumes, junction counts etc.

Regarding your latter question… I think we are at a critical ‘turning point’ where we either let the automobile to completely conquer the city and our lives, or follow the evolving European trend and shift to walking, cycling, use of public transportation, intermodality etc. The key reasons that justify our need to develop a SUMP include:

-  Increased air and noise levels in vulnerable areas (i.e. neighborhoods, city center),

Traffic congestion and delays especially during peak hours,

Severe issues with illegal parking on major urban thoroughfares (in sidewalks, road turns, crosswalks etc.),

Inadequate monitoring of traffic conditions – emphasis on monetary fines,

Inconsistent pedestrian network (severe inconsistencies for the accessibility of disabled), absence of sidewalks in numerous suburban roads,

Scattered bicycle network, poor travel conditions, absence of bike parking facilities, absence of cycling mentality,

- Inadequate mobility management in public transport and absence of intermodality options,  

- Many more…


The funds for the development of the SUMP have been ensured and our city has managed to be approved and get on the national list. Recent public participation meetings for the Local Plan for Urban Interventions/ Sustainable Development have showed quite promising trends and political will is well ensured. Several stakeholders ask for improvements in terms of mobility and many groups of people (i.e. disabled, mothers, cyclists etc.) are activated to demand better mobility conditions.


In reply to Ana-Maria Baston

Re: Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Alexia Spyridonidou -

Hello, dear colleagues and facilitators,

I am Alexia Spyridonidou, Spatial-Urban Planner, specialised in Transport Planning  (MSc) and Spatial Analysis - Cartography  (MSc). Since 2009 I have been working as an Urban and Transport Planner in Greece, France and Slovenia. At the moment I work in Athens as Sustainable Mobility Expert, supporting DAFNI Network of sustainable Greek Islands regarding small-medium island municipalities and PLA.C.E. regarding urban (non-island) municipalities of various sizes in adapting alternative, greener mobility strategies, mainstreaming European practices and becoming active in European initiatives, such as CIVITAS.

I would also like to introduce you Ms. Ioanna Kotti, as she will be the one attending the upcoming 1st SLP1 workshop in Thessaloniki. Ioanna is a Spatial-Urban Planner, specialized in Spatial Analysis - Cartography  (MSc). She has research and professional background in the field of European integration and spatial inequalities, while in Brussels she was trained in place making and participatory planning. Currently she supports Greek municipalities in shifting towards sustainable mobility, focusing on their participatory planning approach.

In this SLP on behalf of PLA.C.E. we will be supporting the municipalities of Kalamaria (Thessaloniki), Byron (Athens) and Nea Filadelfia-Nea Chalkidona (Athens). The last one has been selected for the case studies of this SLP, and I am briefly presenting you its main characteristics concerning mobility:

The Municipality of New Filadelfeia - New Chalkidona is located in the heart of Athens metropolitan area, on the north side of Athens central ring. It covers 3.730 km^2 and has 35.556 inhabitants. It accepts heavy daily traffic directed towards Athens center and towards the National Road Network, through Kifissos motorway. It accommodates one metropolitan park, one of the biggest sport facilities: the football court of AEK football team, four districts of social housing and an old refuge settlement. These elements attach great importance to the diversity of the mobility patterns and the street planning. 

It should be noted that aside of the above mentioned ‘special’ land uses, the area is also crossed and split by a national highway which connects the north of Athens metropolitan area with the city center. This has great impact on the continuity of the urban area, road safety issues, noise, and more. Moreover, the area accepts high traffic flows through Deleklia’s Boulevard, which is often congested during the peak time. A completely different pattern is observed in the old refuge settlement and in the four districts of social housing, where the blocks have their own pedestrian friendly design, consisting of low speed narrow roads, many of which are only accessible by pedestrians, bikes and motorbikes.

Looking forward to working with you soon!

In reply to Alexia Spyridonidou

Re: Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Alexia Spyridonidou -

One more comment, as you understand, SUMP development is an absolute necessity as the specific challenges of the area affect heavily the travelers’ safety and quality of life. The area is heavily burdened by special challenges, however, it also demonstrates a great potential for sustainable mobility promotion due to the social housing districts and potential places that will enable sustainable mobility design.

In reply to Ana-Maria Baston

Re: Task 1 - Introduce yourself and your city

by Ciprian Gabriel Barna -

     My name is Laura Suciu. I am from Oradea in Romania.I am employed by the Transregio Intercommunity Development Association in Oradea.

    The Transregio Intercommunity Development Association was established on 13.03.2012 with the purpose of establishing, organizing, regulating, operating, monitoring and joint management of the local public transport service through regular services within the association, within the competence of the administrative units -teritorial members, in accordance with the provisions of the Community Public Utilities Act no. 51/2006 and the principles of decentralization and local autonomy.

              The members of the Transregio Intercommunity Development Association are:   Oradea Municipality 201,983 inhabitants

                     Bors commune 3.993 inhabitants

                     Sanmartin commune 10097 inhabitants

              Of the 216073 inhabitants of the Transregio Intercommunity Development Association, 98% of them live in Oradea, the city having the role of polarizing center of the region due to the multiple (social, cultural, economic) links it has with all members Transregio Intercommunity Development.

        Oradea is the residence of Bihor County being located in the west of Romania in the immediate vicinity of the Hungarian border. Located at only 13 km from the western border of Romania, Oradea occupies a privileged Central European position, constituting an important communication node, which is at a distance equally sensitive to the capitals of the region: Bucharest (651 km), Vienna (518 km), Budapest (248 km), Prague (676 km).

      Oradea has always been one of Romania's prosperous cities and one of the most significant centers of the economy, largely due to its proximity to the Hungarian border, being a gateway to the West. GDP per capita is about 150% of Romania's average. After 1989, due to the large number of consumers, Oradea experienced an economic revival, not so much in the industrial sector as in the service sector. Oradea is also one of the main educational centers in Romania.

The scheme for organizing the main traffic network in Oradea is a radial one with 5 main directions (DN 1 towards Cluj Napoca, Vama Borş, DN 76 - towards Hunedoara, DN 79 - towards Arad, DN19 - towards Satu Mare), and the circulation tends to focus on several major arteries that cross the central area of ​​the city.

Inappropriate relationship between load level and cross-sectional profile leads to over-demanding or non-use of capacity (narrow street with no transit traffic but oversized profile). Breaking out important links to the traffic network and deviating traffic leads to overstraining links and intersections. The presence of heavy traffic in residential areas or recreation areas has pollutant (noxious, noisy) effects on the environment, leads to rapid deterioration of road infrastructure and is a risk factor for pedestrians. The sinuous route, with inappropriate angles and the overlapping of car, heavy vehicles and public transport traffic, creates bottlenecks and overloads.

As a result of the explosive growth of the motorization degree and, implicitly, of the three categories of traffic: interior, penetration and transit, the circulation is developing with increasing difficulties. From the analysis of the network configuration of the streets and the routes used by the vehicles to cross Oradea, it was found that most of the transit traffic uses the network of streets, passing through the central area.

     We want to develop a sustainable urban mobility plan because:
ü - Oradea will experience a significant development of the local economy by attracting capital by stimulating investment and RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, BY MATCHING BUSINESS European standards, by exploiting geographic location advantages and local resources SPECIFIC AND THE QUALITY OF INCREASED OF HUMAN RESOURCES FROM THE AREA
 - ORADEA WILL PROVIDE YOUR LOCUITORS WITH FAVORABLE LIVING CONDITIONS, INCOMPLETE ENVIRONMENT, PUBLIC QUALITY SERVICES AND GOOD REMUNERATION
   -  THE ORADEA IS TO BE INCLUDED IN THE EUROPEAN TOURIST CIRCUIT BY THE CONSOLIDATION OF THE TOURIST DESTINATION STATUS WITH PUTERNIC HISTORICAL, CULTURAL AND NATURAL HOLIDAYS: "ORADEA - THE CAPITAL OF BALNEAR TOURISM IN ROMANIA", "ORADEA - THE ROMANIAN CULTURAL CAPITAL" AND "ORADEA - MERIDIAN O".

One of the goals pursued by a Sustainable Mobility Plan is to improve the living conditions of urban residents subject to numerous aggressions due to increased motoring, polluting factors (especially noise and noise caused by road traffic), congestion traffic etc.

A good planning of urban mobility also leads to an increase in the quality of life in the urban area. Measures that are the subject of such a plan can consist of several attractive public spaces, improved personal safety, better traffic and other aspects of life, better air quality, less polluting emissions or noise.

In Oradea, the quality of life is generally good, but there is a desire to improve the ways of alternative travel (including public transport), the attractiveness of public spaces, the conditions of travel and the existing road infrastructure.