Final Report Summary - TRANSPOWER (Supervised implementation of sustainable urban transport concepts)
The bigger cities have been the focus of discussion on the question of sustainable urban mobility for many years now, a preoccupation which arguably reached its peak in the discussions surrounding the European Commission's Green Book 'Towards a new culture of urban mobility'. With TRANSPOWER the goal was to create an analogical forum for smaller and medium-sized towns and cities so that we might address the specific problems they face and, on the basis thereof, elaborate upon and generalise positive experiences. The starting point of the international project TRANSPOWER was discussing the effects of sustainable mobility solutions and achieving a change of paradigm in urban mobility by assisting nine cities in seven countries in implementing their already existent transport plans in an efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally-friendly way. The objective of TRANSPOWER was to assist major actors in the field of urban transport - municipal and regional authorities - in implementing concepts for an environmentally friendly, resource efficient, safe and clean urban mobility.
TRANSPOWER was coordinated by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH on behalf of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Urban Planning of the Federal state of Brandenburg.
The project worked on five technical work packages (WPs):
WP 1: Public transport
WP 2: Integrated planning
WP 3: Traffic management
WP 4: Non-motorised transport
WP 5: Mobility management.
The cities studied during the TRANSPOWER project were:
- Groningen, the Netherlands. Since Groningen is a pioneer in developing sustainable transport policy, the city contributed to the project mainly as an advisor for other cities that still have a longer way to go, for example by presenting the city's transport policy which aims at keeping travel distances as short as possible to as many destinations as possible ('compact city approach'). In the course of the project a 'municipal case study' was launched with the aim of planning two tramlines (investment of approximately EUR 300 million) which mainly connects the central train station with the university campus and P+R Kardinge.
- Graz, Austria. The city features a comprehensive city-wide parking management system, with blue and green parking zones. There is also a blanket speed limit of 30 km/h in all residential areas and side roads and of 50 km/h for all priority roads. The 'Bicycle training for children in real traffic conditions' programme in Graz prepares children for dangerous situations. Children learn to cycle not only in their school surroundings but also in genuine traffic in small groups guided by cycle instructors. In Graz, the first Austrian mobility centre 'Mobil Zentral' (MZ) was established in 1997. The MZ offers mainly information on various aspects of public transport such as prices and timetables, but also offers visitors the possibility to buy and reserve tickets.
- L'Aquila, Italy. For the case of l'Aquila three provincial cities (l'Aquila, Chieti and Teramo) have come together in order to cooperate on the project 'Safe on the streets, safe in the city'. The project objectives are to improve street circulation, raise awareness among citizens of urban traffic issues and to increase road safety standards through actions carried out in tandem with all three participating provinces. In 2004, the Municipality of l'Aquila entrusted a group of technicians with the planning of the above-mentioned project. They came to the decision that it had become fundamental to revise the structure of the street node around the Fontana Luminosa, in order to separate the urban traffic flow from the non-urban one and give the entire area the role of a square that it had once enjoyed.
- Ni, Serbia. Ni features a parking management system operated by a private firm with the aim of regulating parking in the city. People can pay for parking either by a parking ticket or via SMS. Dimitrija Tucovica street is an important junction point. Because of safety problems at the access and exit points of Dimitrija Tucovica street, it was necessary to reconstruct these crossings. It was decided to build several roundabouts. However, this was not deemed a practical solution because of the local traffic patterns and driver behaviour. Under this case study the aim was to conduct a traffic analysis and to make an optimised proposal for the redesign of the boulevard. A microscopic traffic flow simulation of the whole area is to be developed in order to show that the system is able to cope with the traffic flow. The microscopic simulation allows a precise evaluation of differing approaches to this particular case study.
- Sibiu, Romania. The city ordered a traffic study for parking management in cooperation with Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH. The basic idea was to restrict parking in the historical centre, mainly to residential and short-term parking, and to encourage visitors to park at the edge of the city centre. Two years after implementing the study, the number of cars has been reduced, 1 000 parking spaces built and 50 % of invested value has been amortised. In 2007, Sibiu was to become the European Capital of Culture, i.e. numbers of tourists and cyclists were expected to rise significantly. By the beginning of 2009, the municipality was able to implement the following: a bicycle lane of approx. 1 500 metres, a one-way street system, speed limits for cars in the historical city centre and bicycle storage facilities in the city centre. In collaboration with the TRANSPOWER network the municipality was able, over a period of three years up to the beginning of 2009, to plan and implement the first bicycle lane in the city. Along the two-way lane, bicycle signs and bollards were installed in 2008 in order to improve cyclists' safety. The main idea was to link the railway station to the city centre and then to the existing bicycle lane.
- Skopje, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). The standard of road safety in the city of Skopje is very low. Important aspects thereof are the relatively run down technical level of private and public traffic facilities and the low level of discipline of road users. In 2003, the city of Skopje developed a bicycle master plan. The city's activities for implementing the plan are focused on the improvement of the existent infrastructure and on the general promotion of cycling. For this reason, the city of Skopje works together with the NGO Proaktiva. The long-term goal of the project is to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and to assist citizens in changing their primary mode of transport from cars to bicycles. If congestion occurs, advanced traffic management systems, consisting of computer-controlled traffic signals and message displays, direct drivers. To meet the objectives, one has to identify and assess the most promising technologies and systems for improving traffic flow and capacity, and for reducing traffic accidents and environmental pollution; set the conceptual framework for realising the traffic management system.
- Volos, Greece. The City coach company of Volos is taking part in a pilot project carried out as part of a programme by the University of Thessaly and is operating a bus using coleseed oil as fuel, used directly without refining into biodiesel, reducing processing and disposal networks. Recently, local stakeholders adopted a measure for plastic bollards which act like barriers along the street edge and separate traffic lanes. This action seems to produce benefits in the form of preventing illegal parking and normalising flows of traffic along the main routes. The measure was implemented in 2007 and has achieved its purpose insofar as it is a flexible, quick and cost-effective way to reduce traffic congestion and illegal parking. Local stakeholders have planned some supportive measures to accompany efforts for mobility planning in the city. The plan will consist of a city model, which re-associates the city centre with the outskirts, connecting them by means of pedestrian and cycle routes, so as to enable car / bicycle 'cohabitation'. The plan will reflect strong emphasis on public transport and on intermodality with inter-urban transport.
- Municipality of Halandri, Greece. An extensive pedestrianisation of the commercial district (historical city centre) together with the implementation of off-street parking facilities and the introduction of an on-street parking management system is being formulated. The redesign of the municipal bus lines and the creation of a network within the limits of the municipality in order to upgrade mobility for citizens in regions hitherto not sufficiently served by public transport, as well as a decrease in the use of motorised vehicles within the shopping centre are some of the elements of the traffic study. There is a plan for a new controlled parking system. The implementation area is the commercial and historic centre of the city. It is separated into distinctive zones allocating separate parking areas for residents and visitors. The residents' demand has been estimated at 2 000 spaces, whilst visitors are to be allocated 3 200 spaces. To try and cover this demand an extra 2 400 spaces are to be created with the implementation of the new controlled parking system.
- Municipality of Timisoara, Romania. The most frequently used form of public transport in Timisoara is the tram. The tram infrastructure, however, found itself until recently in severe need of repair after several years in neglect. So the tram line was restored between 2002 and 2006. As an alternative solution to the constant growth of traffic in Timisoara, cycling as a cheap and environmentally friendly way of transportation over short distances has been promoted by the municipality. The establishment and interlinking of cycle lanes was the goal of the municipality. Only a few cycle lane sections have as yet been implemented and, as such, one problem is that what has been built so far is isolated. In 2008, the Municipality of Timisoara initiated an integrated master plan process with particular focus on the questions of increased urbanisation and mobility improvement. The approach is two-sided: on the one hand an informal strategic plan for the metropolitan area, including an action plan describing the core urban development projects implemented with the help of structural funds; on the other hand, a detailed municipal district plan. In parallel, individual sector-based plans will be drawn up. The main results expected are: the development of a sustainable urban and traffic policy for the city and the surrounding areas, identification and preparation of the key measures for sustainable urban and transport development and also a raised awareness of metropolitan development and marketing.
Certain partners were of great importance helping with the project, taking up responsibilities of leading and coordinating the activities. These were:
- GTZ - Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit GmbH (Germany);
- PTV AG, (Germany);
- Ernst Basler + Partner Ltd. (Germany) and
- Austrian Mobility Research - AMOR, (Austria).
The project cities collaborated to compile a database in order to assess the status of transport infrastructures, services and policies in TRANSPOWER-cities. As parking fees are a topic of interest in many cities, TRANSPOWER widened the scope of this survey by compiling parking fees and single bus fares from European capitals. The survey highlighted substantial differences in the application of parking fees as a demand management tool: differences in scope, level and in price relative to bus fares.
TRANSPOWER was coordinated by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH on behalf of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Urban Planning of the Federal state of Brandenburg.
The project worked on five technical work packages (WPs):
WP 1: Public transport
WP 2: Integrated planning
WP 3: Traffic management
WP 4: Non-motorised transport
WP 5: Mobility management.
The cities studied during the TRANSPOWER project were:
- Groningen, the Netherlands. Since Groningen is a pioneer in developing sustainable transport policy, the city contributed to the project mainly as an advisor for other cities that still have a longer way to go, for example by presenting the city's transport policy which aims at keeping travel distances as short as possible to as many destinations as possible ('compact city approach'). In the course of the project a 'municipal case study' was launched with the aim of planning two tramlines (investment of approximately EUR 300 million) which mainly connects the central train station with the university campus and P+R Kardinge.
- Graz, Austria. The city features a comprehensive city-wide parking management system, with blue and green parking zones. There is also a blanket speed limit of 30 km/h in all residential areas and side roads and of 50 km/h for all priority roads. The 'Bicycle training for children in real traffic conditions' programme in Graz prepares children for dangerous situations. Children learn to cycle not only in their school surroundings but also in genuine traffic in small groups guided by cycle instructors. In Graz, the first Austrian mobility centre 'Mobil Zentral' (MZ) was established in 1997. The MZ offers mainly information on various aspects of public transport such as prices and timetables, but also offers visitors the possibility to buy and reserve tickets.
- L'Aquila, Italy. For the case of l'Aquila three provincial cities (l'Aquila, Chieti and Teramo) have come together in order to cooperate on the project 'Safe on the streets, safe in the city'. The project objectives are to improve street circulation, raise awareness among citizens of urban traffic issues and to increase road safety standards through actions carried out in tandem with all three participating provinces. In 2004, the Municipality of l'Aquila entrusted a group of technicians with the planning of the above-mentioned project. They came to the decision that it had become fundamental to revise the structure of the street node around the Fontana Luminosa, in order to separate the urban traffic flow from the non-urban one and give the entire area the role of a square that it had once enjoyed.
- Ni, Serbia. Ni features a parking management system operated by a private firm with the aim of regulating parking in the city. People can pay for parking either by a parking ticket or via SMS. Dimitrija Tucovica street is an important junction point. Because of safety problems at the access and exit points of Dimitrija Tucovica street, it was necessary to reconstruct these crossings. It was decided to build several roundabouts. However, this was not deemed a practical solution because of the local traffic patterns and driver behaviour. Under this case study the aim was to conduct a traffic analysis and to make an optimised proposal for the redesign of the boulevard. A microscopic traffic flow simulation of the whole area is to be developed in order to show that the system is able to cope with the traffic flow. The microscopic simulation allows a precise evaluation of differing approaches to this particular case study.
- Sibiu, Romania. The city ordered a traffic study for parking management in cooperation with Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH. The basic idea was to restrict parking in the historical centre, mainly to residential and short-term parking, and to encourage visitors to park at the edge of the city centre. Two years after implementing the study, the number of cars has been reduced, 1 000 parking spaces built and 50 % of invested value has been amortised. In 2007, Sibiu was to become the European Capital of Culture, i.e. numbers of tourists and cyclists were expected to rise significantly. By the beginning of 2009, the municipality was able to implement the following: a bicycle lane of approx. 1 500 metres, a one-way street system, speed limits for cars in the historical city centre and bicycle storage facilities in the city centre. In collaboration with the TRANSPOWER network the municipality was able, over a period of three years up to the beginning of 2009, to plan and implement the first bicycle lane in the city. Along the two-way lane, bicycle signs and bollards were installed in 2008 in order to improve cyclists' safety. The main idea was to link the railway station to the city centre and then to the existing bicycle lane.
- Skopje, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). The standard of road safety in the city of Skopje is very low. Important aspects thereof are the relatively run down technical level of private and public traffic facilities and the low level of discipline of road users. In 2003, the city of Skopje developed a bicycle master plan. The city's activities for implementing the plan are focused on the improvement of the existent infrastructure and on the general promotion of cycling. For this reason, the city of Skopje works together with the NGO Proaktiva. The long-term goal of the project is to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and to assist citizens in changing their primary mode of transport from cars to bicycles. If congestion occurs, advanced traffic management systems, consisting of computer-controlled traffic signals and message displays, direct drivers. To meet the objectives, one has to identify and assess the most promising technologies and systems for improving traffic flow and capacity, and for reducing traffic accidents and environmental pollution; set the conceptual framework for realising the traffic management system.
- Volos, Greece. The City coach company of Volos is taking part in a pilot project carried out as part of a programme by the University of Thessaly and is operating a bus using coleseed oil as fuel, used directly without refining into biodiesel, reducing processing and disposal networks. Recently, local stakeholders adopted a measure for plastic bollards which act like barriers along the street edge and separate traffic lanes. This action seems to produce benefits in the form of preventing illegal parking and normalising flows of traffic along the main routes. The measure was implemented in 2007 and has achieved its purpose insofar as it is a flexible, quick and cost-effective way to reduce traffic congestion and illegal parking. Local stakeholders have planned some supportive measures to accompany efforts for mobility planning in the city. The plan will consist of a city model, which re-associates the city centre with the outskirts, connecting them by means of pedestrian and cycle routes, so as to enable car / bicycle 'cohabitation'. The plan will reflect strong emphasis on public transport and on intermodality with inter-urban transport.
- Municipality of Halandri, Greece. An extensive pedestrianisation of the commercial district (historical city centre) together with the implementation of off-street parking facilities and the introduction of an on-street parking management system is being formulated. The redesign of the municipal bus lines and the creation of a network within the limits of the municipality in order to upgrade mobility for citizens in regions hitherto not sufficiently served by public transport, as well as a decrease in the use of motorised vehicles within the shopping centre are some of the elements of the traffic study. There is a plan for a new controlled parking system. The implementation area is the commercial and historic centre of the city. It is separated into distinctive zones allocating separate parking areas for residents and visitors. The residents' demand has been estimated at 2 000 spaces, whilst visitors are to be allocated 3 200 spaces. To try and cover this demand an extra 2 400 spaces are to be created with the implementation of the new controlled parking system.
- Municipality of Timisoara, Romania. The most frequently used form of public transport in Timisoara is the tram. The tram infrastructure, however, found itself until recently in severe need of repair after several years in neglect. So the tram line was restored between 2002 and 2006. As an alternative solution to the constant growth of traffic in Timisoara, cycling as a cheap and environmentally friendly way of transportation over short distances has been promoted by the municipality. The establishment and interlinking of cycle lanes was the goal of the municipality. Only a few cycle lane sections have as yet been implemented and, as such, one problem is that what has been built so far is isolated. In 2008, the Municipality of Timisoara initiated an integrated master plan process with particular focus on the questions of increased urbanisation and mobility improvement. The approach is two-sided: on the one hand an informal strategic plan for the metropolitan area, including an action plan describing the core urban development projects implemented with the help of structural funds; on the other hand, a detailed municipal district plan. In parallel, individual sector-based plans will be drawn up. The main results expected are: the development of a sustainable urban and traffic policy for the city and the surrounding areas, identification and preparation of the key measures for sustainable urban and transport development and also a raised awareness of metropolitan development and marketing.
Certain partners were of great importance helping with the project, taking up responsibilities of leading and coordinating the activities. These were:
- GTZ - Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit GmbH (Germany);
- PTV AG, (Germany);
- Ernst Basler + Partner Ltd. (Germany) and
- Austrian Mobility Research - AMOR, (Austria).
The project cities collaborated to compile a database in order to assess the status of transport infrastructures, services and policies in TRANSPOWER-cities. As parking fees are a topic of interest in many cities, TRANSPOWER widened the scope of this survey by compiling parking fees and single bus fares from European capitals. The survey highlighted substantial differences in the application of parking fees as a demand management tool: differences in scope, level and in price relative to bus fares.
