Search Results (4)

Integrated transport and land-use planning and reduced car dependency proffers a pathway to mobility justice and reduced transport poverty, whilst providing opportunities for potential health benefits and reducing carbon emissions. In spite of this, smaller cities and towns face opposition to the reallocation of road space away from the private car. Traditionally, transport measures have been responsive to growing car-use. To accelerate a behavioural shift to sustainable modes, an evidence-based, transformative approach is required that is consultative in nature, and inclusive of all relevant stakeholders and nurtures innovation. The study aims to achieve this by co-creating a theory of change, with a broad group of stakeholders and the community. Systems science and co-creation techniques were utilised to enable informed decision-making and foster shared learning, resulting in a theory of change formulated by stakeholders with a shared vision. Sixteen objectives were identified under five broad categories, create sustainable systems; design healthy built environments; engage society; empower people and prioritise road safety, informed by the systems-based framework Global Action Plan on Physical Activity. Assumptions, risks and key performance indicators were key elements of the theory of change. Risks identified for successful implementation of the plan were lack of funding and human resources to deliver actions, political challenges, lengthy planning processes, entrenched social norms and resistance from the community. This process, which was adopted, synthesises scientific evidence, a participatory systems approach, informed decision making and the practical application of the embedded researcher, resulting in a pragmatic theory of change to reduce car-dependency and create a shift to sustainable travel modes. The process highlights the importance of stakeholder and community engagement, from participatory mapping of the system to the development of the theory of change to generate local solutions to identified challenges. The resulting theory of change will form the basis of a Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan for Kilkenny City. The theory of change can be adapted to new settings by the participatory processes outlined. Full article

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected our cities in monumental ways with no sector likely being more severely impacted than transport. Lockdowns, physical spacing, transport restrictions and stay-at-home guidelines have transformed personal mobility and highlighted the mistakes of an unbalanced pro-car culture that defined a century of urban planning. One immediate effect of the virus in relation to travel demand and supply was the emergence of active travel modes because of their unique ability to provide a socially distanced way of transport. Cycling is one of the modes that has enjoyed significant attention. Numerous cities have reallocated street and public space to cyclists and introduced pro-bike interventions like pop-up cycle lanes, e-bike subsidies, free bike-share use and traffic calming measures. This newly found outbreak-induced momentum creates an opportunity to establish a new ethos that allows the promotion of potentially permanent strategies that may help cycling to be (re-)established as a robust, mainstream and resilient travel mode for inner city trips and not as a second-class alternative operating under the automobile’s giant shadow. This paper provides a state-of-the-art description of the anti-COVID cycling-friendly initiatives that have been introduced globally, the successes and failures of these initiatives, the lessons learnt that can help us redefine the bicycle’s role in local societies today and a best cycling practice policy guide for planning a more bike-centric future. Full article

The Port of Dover is Europe’s busiest ferry port, handling £119 billion or 17% of the UK’s annual trade in goods. The Port is constrained geographically to a small area and faces multiple challenges, both short- and long-term, with managing the flow of five million vehicles per year to/from mainland Europe. This article describes some of the work that the Port is doing to minimize the impact of port road traffic on the local community and environment using discrete-event simulation modeling. Modeling is particularly valuable in identifying where future bottlenecks are likely to form within the Port due to projected growth in freight traffic and comparing the effectiveness of different interventions to cope with growth. One of our key findings is that space which can be used flexibly is far more valuable than dedicated space. This is supported by the much greater reduction in traffic congestion that is expected to be achieved given a 10% increase in freight traffic by reallocating space at the front of the system to temporarily hold vehicles waiting to pass through border control and check-in compared to extending the amount of space for ferry embarkation at the rear of the system. The importance of flexible space has implications for port design that can be applied more broadly. Modeling is also useful in identifying critical thresholds for vehicle processing times that would cause the system to become overwhelmed. Increasing the check-in time by just three to five minutes, for example, would completely exceed the Port’s capacity and produce indefinite queueing. This finding has important implications for Brexit planning. From a wider context, the research presented here nicely illustrates how simulation can be used to instill more evidence-based thinking into port masterplanning and support “green port” and other corporate sustainability initiatives. Full article

Redistribution of space from private motorized vehicles to sustainable modes of transport is gaining popularity as an approach to alleviate transport problems in many cities around the world. This article investigates the impact of a trial Complete Streets project, in which road space is reallocated to bicyclists and pedestrians in Trondheim, Norway. The paper focuses on changes in the travel behavior of users of the street, with a focus on route and mode choice. In total, 719 people responded to a web-based travel survey, which also encompassed an integrated mapping Application Programming Interface (API). Amongst the findings of the survey is that the average length of the trial project that was utilized by cyclists on their most common journey through the neighborhood nearly doubled from 550 m to 929 m (p < 0.0005), suggesting that the intervention was highly attractive to bicyclists. Respondents were also asked whether they believe the trial project was positive for the local community, with the majority (87%) being positive or highly positive to the change. The intervention had a considerable impact on users’ travel behavior in terms of both frequency and choice of active transportation modes, together with leading to a change in route preferences. Full article