Sustainable urban mobility plans for smaller communities

Katja Miklič, Gregor Pretnar, Matija Nose, David Trošt

Last modified: 2024-05-06

Abstract


Sustainable urban mobility plans are widely considered to be one of the most important and effective tools for transforming urban infrastructure from car-oriented to more inclusive, non-motorised modes and public transportation. As the name suggests, it was developed primarily for urban areas (larger cities), but the methodology itself can be useful for smaller communities and settlements as well. Southeastern Europe is typically a less densely populated area with few large cities compared to other parts of Europe. In the last 5 years, about 100 municipalities in Slovenia have developed and adopted their own SUMPs, many of them with a population of less than 10,000 or even 5,000 inhabitants. Experience shows that a transport strategy for smaller municipalities brings many benefits, but the measures need to be adapted to their size. The focus is on demand responsive transport instead of public transport, sharrow space instead of pedestrian zones, safe access to school instead of cycle paths, synergy of commuter and tourist traffic... Updated methodology for smaller cities, settlements was also reflected in the updated national guideline that include cost-efficient and budget-friendly analysis tools (manual counts, online survey, smaller stakeholder groups etc.). The article describes the adapted methodology, practical examples of goals and measures and conclusion with suggestions for further work.

Keywords


SUMP; sustainable transport; smaller cities

Full Text: PDF