Public and residential sector
References/sources
- Agenda 21 Escolar Vitoria-Gasteiz
- PUMAS project in Venice
- The Traffic Snake Game in Bulgaria
Who needs to act?
- City council (Environmental Department, Urban Planning Department, Air Quality Department, Mobility and Transport Planning Department, Educational Politics Department or similar)
- Regional Environment Agency
- Teachers representative of the Schools
- Parents representative of the Schools
- Local Municipality Police
- Traffic body
- Public transport
- External experts
- NGOs
- Students
Who is affected?
Students, teachers and parents, drivers
Solution
The participating schools in the School Agenda 21 of Vitoria-Gasteiz and PUMAS project (City of Venice) and Traffic Snake Game are working on the promotion of active and autonomous mobility in commuting to schools with the aim of reducing the environmental impact of car use, improved public health, encouraging sustainable transport solutions, intervening in the public space, in the collective perception of the relationship between the city and childhood and education of children to build their capacity to discover the immediate environment and to remove obstacles that limit children's autonomy.
Investment
For the Vitoria-Gasteiz case the 50% could be financed by the city council, up to 2000 euros per participant school. Cost could include: Organization of courses, lectures and workshops in relation to promoting active and autonomous mobility in commuting to school. Performing works or works directly associated with the promotion of the pedestrian or cyclist mobility. Example: creation or expansion of safe bicycle parking. Communication campaigns directly associated with promoting active and autonomous mobility in commuting to school. Purchasing bicycles for the transfer to staff to develop their work in the workplace that holds the requesting entity of the grant.
The Traffic Snake Game has started in Belgium as a small project and has evolved into a European wide campaign with more than 2,000 schools involved in a network in 18 countries across Europe and abroad. 20 national contact points and 46 local actors support the implementation of the game in their countries. The investment is considered as low highlighting the importance of the human resources availability and at the foremost the personal attitude and willingness.
Return of investment
The investment return is measured in significant improvement of environment protection, health, children autonomy, traffic decongestion and CO2 emissions savings, as well as changing transport behaviour and high level of positive social participation and impact along the SUMP/SEAP processes.
Other resources to be used
Schools' own funding, parents' association, etc.
For the Traffic Snake game: sponsorships by the school boards, funding from the municipality and other relevant authorities.
Available tools
Common:
- Stakeholders meetings.
- Participatory activities in the schools with parents' involvement.
- Participatory analysis and stakeholders' involvement (cognitive questionnaires, double interviews, etc.)
- Participatory planning
Victoria-Gasteiz, as results:
- Week of the active and autonomous mobility for children.
- Mobility card to register the mobility actions per child.
- Safe mobility course/Bicycle maintenance course.
- Vial signs.
Venice, as results:
- Energy Performance Certificate, it is related to the most virtuous means of transport to get to school: by bike and on foot.
- TOOL BOX containing and describing all the activities able to carry on the plan in all schools of the City
- NEW SCHOOL MOBILITY OFFICE
- AGREEMENT between Schools and Administration
- New RULES and EFFECTIVE MEASURES to be inserted in the City Urban Traffic and Mobility Plan
Traffic Snake Game, as results:
- Two weeks mobility campaign, organized preferably within the EU Mobility week
- Toolbox with materials for the campaign - manual for teachers, letters for parents, set of materials to be used by the children, stickers and gadgets as rewards for participants
Main steps of implementation
Preparation:
- Current situation analysis
- Stakeholder involvement
- Develop scenarios
Goal setting:
- Develop a common vision
- Develop smart targets
Plan elaboration
- Budget
- Elaboration
- Approval
Implementing
- Monitoring
specifically for PUMAS project at Venice:
Starting point: “We want to improve mobility and quality of life for our citizens!”
- Determine your potential for a successful SUMP
- Commit to overall sustainable mobility principles
- Assess impact of regional/national framework
- Conduct self-assessment
- Review availability of resources
- Define basic timeline
- Identify key actors and stakeholders
- Define the development process and scope of plan
- Lock beyond your own boundaries and responsibilities
- Strive for policy coordination and an integrated planning approach
- Plan stakeholder and citizen involvement
- Agree on workplan and management arrangements
- Analyse the mobility situation and develop scenarios
- Prepare an analysis of problems and opportunities
- Develop scenarios
- Develop a common vision
- Develop a common vision of mobility and beyond
- Actively inform the public
- Set priorities and measurable targets
- Identify the priorities for mobility
- Develop SMART targets
- Develop effective packages of measures
- Identify the most effective measures
- Learn from others’ experience
- Consider best value for money
- Use synergies and create integrated packages of measures
- Agree on clear responsibilities and allocate funding
- Assign responsibilities and resources
- Prepare an action and budget plan
- Build monitoring and assessment into the plan
- Arrange for monitoring and evaluation
- Adopt Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan
- Ensure proper management and communication
- Mange plan implementation
- Inform and engage the citizens
- Check progress towards achieving the objectives
- Learn the lessons
- Update current plan regularly
- Review achievements- understand success and failure
- Identify new challenges for next SUMP generation
Expected results
- Improving road safety in local home-school trip,
- reducing traffic congestion during the rush hours,
- improving public health and safety,
- promoting new forms of sustainable accessibility and traffic urban planning,
- reducing pollution,
- increasing the use of bicycle among scholars and rest,
- promotion use of sustainable means of transport - public transport, bike use, car sharing, “walking buses” to and from school
- decreasing in carbon emissions.
Contribution to SEAP & indicators
- Direct mean to gather information related to consumers, citizen use of resources and opinions regarding energy use in transport.
- Indirect mean to promote awareness, inform citizens and raise acceptance of future actions which could have been conflicting.
How to integrate in SEAP?
The whole measure scheme is applicable to any public open process, so it can be directly applied to a SEAP/SECAP process.
Contribution to SUMP & indicators
- Direct mean to gather information related to mobility, citizen use transportation habits, and opinions regarding urban mobility, urban wellbeing and sustainability.
- Indirect mean to promote awareness, inform citizens and raise acceptance of future actions which could have been conflicting.
How to integrate in SUMP?
It can be integrated easily as the steps followed can be similar to the ones when planning the City SUMP.
Lessons learned
The main obstacle that in the opinion of parents makes it difficult for their children and daughters to go to school walking is the long distance to get there by active way (by foot, bicycle or scooter) and traffic-related impacts for pedestrian crossings, bicycle paths, etc., which put under risk children. In this sense measures reducing this risk and giving more autonomy to children should be achieved, mainly by means of partnerships of children, parents and school representatives.
Therefore, the impulse of projects/measures such as "school road", "pedibus or bicibus" could have a strong impact on the choice of active modes of transport and on the increase of the autonomy of children in the trips to school with the positive impacts of reducing CO2 emissions and health improvement.
In children words they have learnt under these initiatives:
“Improves our health, as we move and do not spend so much time sitting
Makes us more responsible and less dependent on the elderly
We are more fun the way to the school
There is less air and noise pollution
And we got a safer city for everyone”
As from the Traffic Snake Game: local partnerships with strong student participation can make a significant change towards more sustainable transport and less pollution.
