Development and adoption of sustainable Urban Mobility Plan

Koprivnica has a long tradition of implementing sustainable mobility measures in the framework of the Local Agenda 21. In July 2015 Koprivnica’s SUMP was approved by the City Council, after an intensive process with stakeholders from regional and national level, including public participation and thorough cooperation between all municipal departments. The overall aim of the SUMP is to improve traffic safety while reducing noise and air pollution by promoting walking, cycling, public transport and electric vehicles.A SUMP competence centre ensures transfer of knowledge in Croatia and South-Eastern Europe.

Implementing sustainable mobility

According to a survey before the DYN@MO, the overall modal shift in the town centre was 57% vs. 43% but commuter transport is less sustainable (70% vs. 30%). The lack of public transport was seen as the main obstacle for improvement which could only be achieved by improved planning and stakeholder engagement at the regional, national and trans-boundary level.

By developing a SUMP, the city developed a mobility policy that met people’s needs, guaranteed accessibility for all and reduced the negative environmental impact of transport. The existing Koprivnica Transport Study as well as the Local Agenda 21 and the Covenant of Mayors’ Sustainable Energy Action Plan provided important input for the development of the SUMP. Successful development of local mobility strategies and implementation of measures based on the Local Agenda 21 has improved the local transport sustainability.

The innovative aspect of SUMP development in Koprivnica was the engagement of a wider community of stakeholders at the regional and national level, and involving them in the preparation and discussion. Furthermore, the development of a SUMP resulted in know-how, creating a SUMP competence centre for the wider international region.

The main objectives of this measure were to:

Develop a Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) in a participatory process involving citizens and stakeholders
Establish a local policy framework for long-term spatial and transport development
Establish a local and regional transport strategy based on cooperation between different levels of authority as well as with relevant stakeholders of urban mobility (incl. freight traffic to and from the industrial sites)
Anticipate future mobility needs based on public participation and prepare timely solutions in accordance with technological advances
Include the needs of sensitive social groups into the long-term transport solutions
Promote the new spatial and transport planning methodology in the region, fostering cooperation at regional and cross-border level in the common effort of developing future sustainable mobility solutions
Implement new ambitious mobility solutions based on the adopted planning document
Use the opportunity of the CIVITAS network to include foreign experts’ inputs into SUMP preparation

How did the measure progress?

The City of Koprivnica has developed and implemented its own sustainable mobility measures following the strategies adopted at the local level. Two four-year programmes of sustainable transport called “Town on the move” and “Streets for people” and the development of the Local Agenda 21 have included elements similar to a SUMP, such as public participation in decision-making processes referring to sustainable transport.

To prepare for the work on SUMP the following tasks have been performed:

Defining basic timeline
Determination of potential relevant stakeholders in the process, including sensitive social groups, businesses and industry partners, authorities and media
Organization of City Authority’s SUMP team
Presentation of the concept to all stakeholders and agreement on the work plan
In the implementation phase the following tasks have been executed:
Analysis of the mobility situation and development of options
Organisation of the workshops with stakeholders
Screening and reviewing of current transport situation in the view of two possible scenarios “business-as-usual” and “desirable outcomes”
Defining of the common vision, objectives and targets as well as the scope of measures
Development of SEE SUMP competence centre web platform and action plan
The following tasks were executed during the stages of implementation
Attribution of responsibilities, funds and other resources necessary for the development of the plan
Adoption by City Council
Presentation of the plan to the wider public
Training for the implementation of measures
Implementation of measures following the action plan
Monitoring of the implementation process
Establishment of an SUMP competence centre as part of the learning and training activity

What were the outcomes of the measure?

Tangible outputs:

10 workshops with stakeholders
8 awareness campaigns for the public
Status analysis produced
Draft SUMP presented to Transport Forum for further discussion and elaboration of the action plan
SUMP submitted to the City Council to be adopted
SUMP action plan published
SUMP Manual for regional use developed
SUMP competence centre established

Expected outcomes in the short- to medium-term: