Announcements

• In my city the top 3 challenges were the following: …

- "old paradigm" mind set amongst politicians, decision makers, urban planners, traffic engeneers 

-  the change in the parking policy and citizens travel habit: the use of car for short distance trip and to park the car in front of the shop/office/store/coffee shop etc. To park the car on the sidewalk without thinking of the needs of other road users. 

- public participation in planning process. It is necessary to encourage the involvement of the public in the early planning stage.

• What are the decision maker’s current priorities for reducing congestion?

- construction of roundabout instead of traffic lights on junctions in order to inrease the traffic flow.

• Are your decision makers worried when introducing walking/ cycling measures?

- The decision makers started to change their attitude about walking and cycling in the past few years. The organization of the activities during the European mobility week (2015, 2016, 2017) helped a lot in raising awareness. 

• Did the responses you received surprise you? Why/ why not?

- I was not surprised, because recently we have developed the SUMP and I spoked with different stakeholders during this process. In previous period there were no advocasy groups for walking and cycling, so all the funds were oriented for the car users. But that started to change. First improvements were noticed for pedestrians with introduction of pedestrian zones, speed limit zones, widening the sidewalks and introduction of tactile pavement. And for the improvements in cycling infrastructure the things start to change. The City council for traffic safety planned some funds for the development of the project documentation for the main cycle routh through the city center in order to connect the existing two cycle lanes. This route is a part of the international cycle route EuroVelo 11 that goes through the city of Kruševac.

•   decision maker interview:

I have interviewed the Director of the City Administration.

• In my city the top 3 challenges were the following: …

- Changing the mindset amongst politicians, decision makers, urban planners, traffic engeneers about traffic and impact of the active modes of transport on congestion.

-  introduction of cycling infrastructure in main corridores

- raising awareness about impact of walking and cycling on life quality and congestion

• What are the decision maker’s current priorities for reducing congestion?

- construction of roundabout instead of traffic lights on junctions in order to inrease the traffic flow and construction of new roads

• Are your decision makers worried when introducing walking/ cycling measures?

-  The organization of the activities during the European mobility week (2015, 2016, 2017) have the impact on awareness raising among the decision makers about cycling.

• Did the responses you received surprise you? Why/ why not?

- I was not surprised with responces, because I'm familiar with history of infrastructure interventions in the city.

1.In my city the top 3 challenges were the following:

-Utrecht is in the beginning phase of “new paradigm”. Many roadworks in the city center are causing traffic jam. New roadwork procedure and process are not propagated thoroughly to citizens.  

-Transport mode shares are shifting quickly. More and more to cycling and electrical vehicles. Infrastructure and facilities are not planned far ahead to the changing conditions.

-Different parties have conflicting interests on the priorities of each transport mode, causing a long time to make decisions and the results often lag behind instead of predict forward.

2.What are the decision maker’s current priorities for reducing congestion?

Years of ongoing city planning and roadwork in the city center and around train station. Promote Public Transport, such as trains and trams. Improve accessibility to PT by constructing new bus plaza at central train station and providing bicycle storage at train station.

3.Are your decision makers worried when introducing walking/ cycling measures? ‘

No. Actually they are really interested in new measures for introducing walking and managing cycling together with other traffic modes.

4.Did the responses you received surprise you? Why/ why not?

Not really. A lot of attention has been put to cycling since it has a 34% mode share in Utrecht. An interesting point would be what new and effective measures of cycling/walking can be introduced here.

Task 2.1: Interview your decision makers and get to know your local policy context

Now it’s your turn to interview your decision makers to know your local policy context.

1. Fill in the survey together with 1 or 2 local decision makers (one political decision maker and/or one technical decision maker, at the city official level). You can either have them fill in the online survey or complete a paper version and enter their responses into the online survey yourself afterwards. (If you cannot find a decision maker, interview a person who has most understanding of local decision making processes within your circle of contacts.

I interviewed the Vice Mayor and City Councilor of Safety and Mobility; Mr. Fernando Salguero.

2. After completing the survey, describe and apply the following conditions to your local situation:

• In my city the top 3 challenges were the following: Creating synergies between the different means of transport; performance of public transport; road safety.

• What are the decision maker’s current priorities for reducing congestion? Improve cycling facilities; improve walking facilities; improve public transport services.

• Are your decision makers worried when introducing walking/ cycling measures? More than worried I would say concerned, since walking and cycling measures are demanded by population.

• Did the responses you received surprise you? Why? / Why not? No, because nowadays we work close together with decision makers, we already know their opinions and we exchange ideas with them before implementing any action.