Port cities make urban mobility more sustainable and “car-free”
Through CIVITAS PORTIS, five European port cities are innovating and implementing solutions to drive a shift towards sustainable mobility and away from private car usage.
Through CIVITAS PORTIS, five European port cities are innovating and implementing solutions to drive a shift towards sustainable mobility and away from private car usage.
One of these is the City of Klaipėda (Lithuania), which is upgrading its cycling infrastructure. Through PORTIS, the city is installing four new bicycle storage facilities. These will enable residents to lock their bikes up during the day – protected from theft and poor weather – thereby making it easier for them to commute using their bikes.
Three of these will be multistory storage facilities designed for public use, with a fourth one installed in a block of flats for residents. In each case, bicycles will be stored in “lockers” controlled by mobile phones. In addition, facilities will include a small repair station with tools for carrying out “bicycle first aid.”
Klaipėda also understands the importance of data collection in fostering sustainable urban mobility. Two counters are being installed in the city to track the number of bicycles that pass by – ignoring motorised vehicles – and thus to measure cycling flows. The data will be publicly available.
Trieste (Italy) – another PORTIS Living Lab city – is supporting car-free lifestyles by extending walking and cycling routes. Areas of particular focus are Porto Vecchio – Trieste’s old commercial port – and the city’s outskirts: this should enable more people to reach the city centre sustainably.
Porto Vecchio covers 66 hectares along the city’s seafront, and only recently became part of the Trieste municipal area. Its renewal is now in full swing, including repurposing its facilities and ensuring its attractiveness for visitors and locals by creating space for cycling and walking.
Intermodal solutions are also on Trieste’s agenda, with the city’s public transport company, which also manages boat connections, leading this process. Visitors will be able to move from their bikes to buses to boats and beyond as they navigate the area.
Through PORTIS, the city aims to implement a SUMP extending to this new area. Alongside the pedestrian and bike lanes, whose construction is ongoing, a customised PORTIS bike-sharing station is being installed. With support from PORTIS and other EU projects, municipal bike-sharing will expand to offer 106 traditional and 42 electric bikes.
Find out more about what Klaipėda and Trieste are doing in CIVITAS PORTIS.
Author: Ingrid Briesner
