Constanta

Constanta (Romania)

Constanta has a strategic geographic position, being located on the route of 3 Trans-European Transport corridors (Corridor IV, Corridor IX and Corridor VII Danube) and also at the junction of commercial routes that link the markets of countries which do not have sea access from Central and Eastern Europe with the Caucasus, Central Asia and the Middle East regions.

Mamaia resort (one of Constant's neighbourhoods) is the most vibrant Romanian resort on the Black Sea attracting more than 883.900 tourists each summer and for the past 10 years these numbers are continuously growing by 10-15 % per annum.

Constanta Port, the biggest on the Black Sea, is one of the main economic players in the region and together with the hospitality industry and the tertiary sector shapes Constanta`s economic environment.

Both the City and the Port are well connected to al modes of transport: rail, roads, inland waterway, maritime transport and air.

Regarding sustainable urban mobility issues, the city is fully committed to its principles and is trying to create an accessible, safe, secure, healthy and liveable urban environment for its citizens, visitors and business. 

City area124.89 km²
Metropolitan area1,013.5 km²
Population: city area317 832  inhabitants  
Population: metropolitan area491 498 inhabitants  
Population density: city area2,273  inhabitants/km2
Population density: metropolitan area532 people/km2
Climate

Borderline humid subtropical (Cfa)

Humid continental climate (Dfa)

Oceanic and semi-arid influences. 

Gender balance

51% Female / 49 % Male

Average life expectancy75.6 years (2014 national statistics)
Car ownership rate

227 cars/1000 inhabitants

In the past 10 years, car ownership in Constanta has been growing by at least 4.5 % per annum.

Accident rate

1321 accidents causing injuries in 2015 (1698 injured people and 72 deceased).

Modal Share

 

     Bus (25.22%)

     Minibus (11.13%)

     Train (0.12%)

     Walking (26.49%)

     Bicycle (0.58%)

     Motorcycle (0.16%)

     Car driver (27.75%)

     Car passenger (7.12%)

     Taxi (1.36%)

     Light truck (0.08%)

 

 

 

Challenges

Governance: 

  • Different forms of government/administration. –  the city is governed in a decentralized way by the Local Council and the Mayor that are locally elected while the Port authority is a national company under the Ministry of Transport authority.
  • Lack of a common development vision
  • Lack of integrated policies
  • Lack of common initiatives
  • Lack of communication

People:

  • Private cars dependencies
  • No sustainable mobility habits
  • Not enough citizens involvement – lack of communication skills

Transport system:

  • An old transport system that is not adapting to the new changes in people growth and inward urban sprawl mostly because we lack good sets of data and also trained and motivate staff to operate with these data sets.
  • Lack of trained staff
  • Lack of data
  • Not adapting to the new changes/technologies but interested to introduce them into the local market

Freight:

  • Lack of freight delivery planning, especially in centre area of the City, the proximity of the Port and main commercial areas.
  • Lack of data
  • Lack of institutional framework regarding freight delivery in the area

 

Transport Infrastructure

Car network

Data provided from the Public Services Department of Constanta Council has outlined that Constanta has a total of 377km of roads, which are broken down in to the following categories

  • Category I (motorways)                    39km
  • Category II(state roads)                    18km
  • Category III    (provincial roads)       285km
  • Category IV (rural roads)                  35km

The overall highway network is dominated by local level access, with relatively short lengths of strategic roads providing access to other counties and neighbouring towns.

Types of junction within Constanta:

  • Traffic Signals
  • 35 signalised intersections
  • 35 lights with countdown timers
  • No adaptable signals (i.e. fixed time system)
  • No public transportation activation
  • No priority for public transport
  • Roundabouts

30 roundabouts

 

Cycling network

With only 6,2 km of bike lanes, 1,2 km of bike lane in the city centre and another 5 km in Mamaia resort,  the city is not so well developed when speaking about the cycling network.

In 2016 the city has just finished the Bike sharing project, a project that was co-funded through the CBC Romania – Bulgaria programme 2007 -2013.  

But within the new developed SUMP the city established one ambitious target and this is to build at least 20 km of bike lanes by the end of 2023.

 

Public transport network

The public transport network is pretty well developed - about 36% of population in Constanta is using the public transport network.

 

”Regia Autonoma de Transport in Comun Constanta” (RATC) is working under the authority of the Local Council,

RATC provides around 80% of the public transport in Constanta city.

RATC operates 196 buses

  • 186 Euro II, III or IV standard MAZ buses (the oldest vehicles are 12-13 years old)
  • 10 Euro III standard, open top double deck Volvo Ayats (operating during the summer season for touristic purposes)

RATC operates on 22 routes:

  • Shortest is 8,8 km of length
  • Longest 38,2 km of length

 

There are another 3 private companies that operates 9 mini-buses routes. Most of these routes are operated jointly with RATC buses. 

 

Constanta after PORTIS

 

Number of port employees: - 1%

Total employment in city: +6,7%

Unemployment rate in city: -23,1%

New jobs thanks to docks redevelopment: +100

New businesses thanks to port redevelopment: +15

City-port commuters by car: -4%

Commuting travel time: -10%

Modal share in city: PT  +6,9%, Cycling and walking +36,4%

 

Projects

Mobility solutions

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