CIVITAS Centro di formazione

This webinar, which was hosted by Frederic Rudolph from the Wuppertal Institue, gives small- and medium-sized local authorities advice on how they can build their capacity to create innovative transport schemes. 

Today, many trips that are carried out using conventional cars could be done by light electric vehicles (LEVs). This would make urban transport much more sustainable. Emissions would “evaporate”, congestion would be reduced, transport would become safer, quieter and cheaper and public health would improve. Overall, replacement of car trips by LEV trips would make our cities much more liveable.

The concept of sustainable urban mobility planning goes beyond traditional transport planning, emphasising the involvement of citizens and stakeholders, policy coordination between sectors and authority levels, and between neighbouring authorities. This interactive webinar offers an overview of the SUMP concept, with further group discussion focused on case examples and transferability to a variety of local context conditions.

Many cities strive for a cleaner vehicle fleet, whether the aim is to improve the municipal fleet (including public transport vehicles) or to encourage residents to choose alternatively fuelled or electric vehicles over conventionally fuelled vehicles. This interactive webinar will provide an introduction to EVs as well as guidance on how to increase the use of EVs in urban environments. Options on fostering EV deployment and examples from cities around the world will be discussed.

The main point to address in ‘city logistics’ is how to respond to freight requirements while decreasing environmental and social impacts. The ultimate goal being to decrease the flows of commercial road vehicles without increasing other flows like consumer car flows, to decrease commercial vehicles’ emissions and to prevent traffic congestion caused by vans and lorries double-parking during delivery. SOLUTIONS will look at policy options for public authorities to achieve these goals, including regulations (traffic restriction, low emissions zones), transport pricing and taxes, transport planning and the development of infrastructure dedicated to urban freight (lorry lanes, delivery and loading spaces, urban consolidation centres). Public authorities and private operators, both of whom have an interest in improving their vehicle fuel efficiency, consolidating of urban freight, and improving the efficiency of deliveries, have to work together to define the best urban freight schemes.

SOLUTIONS will look at clean vehicles to consider readily available fuels, technologies, and energy-efficient options that offer substantial greenhouse gas emission reductions potential. The suitability of different option of clean vehicle technology depends not only on the local circumstances, but also on the national framework. The measures and solutions selected will cover a spectrum of technology options and vehicle categories to offer clean vehicle solutions to the variety of cities in the different regions. Important considerations will be the prerequisites for the application of different technologies and fuels, their feasibility in the local framework and the side effects that might be associated with their application. By building on experiences gained by other cities as fostered in the SOLUTIONS project, municipalities can reduce the risk of implementating clean vehicle technology, by determining potential investment costs and possible side effects. With regards to CO2 emitted by energy consumption, SOLUTIONS will take into account the full life cycle and Well-to-Wheel phase to ensure sustainability of the solutions suggested.

SOLUTIONS will focus on infrastructure for public transport (tramways, bus lanes, passenger waiting and boarding areas), infrastructure for soft modes (e.g. cycle routes, pedestrian facilities) and infrastructure for urban freight systems. Quality passenger transport is highly dependent on improved infrastructure whilst continued efficient operations are reliant on adequate and timely maintenance. This element will also include better sharing of road-space between guided vehicles (e.g. trams and guided buses) and bus lanes as well as separate dedicated public transport routes. With respect to walking and cycling, easy substitutes for trips of less than 5 kilometers, improvements in infrastructure quality and safety, design of cycle ways and pavements, parking spaces for bicycles, and more will be addressed. Freight transport infrastructure issues to be considered will include loading areas, appropriate access control including signage as well as other measures to improve productivity with reduced disruption.