In the provincial government’s new Plan for Sustainable Mobility and Logistics, direct citizen participation is a key asset. For a chance to have your say, take part in an online survey open until 22 May.
For weeks, preparations have been in full swing to draft a new Plan for Sustainable Mobility and Logistics in South Tyrol – a crucial planning tool for the development of mobility as a whole throughout South Tyrol. The Plan is all about sustainability and connectivity – with the aim of including the entire population. “We are shaping the process of drafting the Plan for Sustainable Mobility and Logistics in South Tyrol as a joint effort: together with stakeholders, with councils, municipalities and district authorities, but above all with the citizens of South Tyrol themselves. Our goal is to assess the population’s mobility habits, patterns and needs in order to incorporate local realities into the new Plan,” South Tyrol Minister for Mobility Daniel Alfreider emphasised upon presenting the online survey, which can be found at 2030.suedtirolmobil.info.
Integrated mobility planning
The planning documents are many and varied, ranging from a multi-year road construction programme to climate policies and a hydrogen master plan. Building on this and other preparatory work lays the foundation upon which to think and plan in a cross-linked, interconnected manner, as Martin Vallazza, head of the Provincial Government’s Mobility Department, explained. The aim is to develop the current Plan into an all-new, integrated and comprehensive Plan for Sustainable Mobility and Logistics in South Tyrol.
Outlining the Provincial Government’s overarching objective, Mobility Minister Alfreider added: “Mobility must simply become more sustainable. Our guiding principle has to be: avoid, shift, improve.” For the Minister, the future of mobility is sustainable and interconnected, both in terms of (digital) processes and (Europe-wide) accessibility – which is why mobility planning amounts to much more than just creating new bus services or providing funding for cycling paths: “In order to reduce motorised private transportation, there needs to be an interplay between all forms of mobility as well as infrastructures, taking into account each and every one of the factors that influence the mobility decisions of our citizens,“ he continued.
Tomorrow’s mobility is sustainable and connected throughout Europe
In a first step, the fundamental objectives and operational fields of the new Plan have already been defined in collaboration with a number of interest groups. Now it is time to get the population on board, with a view to ensuring that the plan is widely accepted and supported. Or, to quote mobility expert Stefano Ciurnelli, who coordinates the Plan: “We need innovative solutions to master the challenges of mobility in the future and to better connect to and with each other across all of Europe.” The ambition is therefore to ensure the provincial government’s new Plan for Sustainable Mobility and Logistics has a sustainable impact not only in terms of climate, but also with regard to social and economic matters. (LPA)