Sustainable Transport in Central and Eastern European Cities
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SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPEAN CITIES 1996 ECMT, 1996 1 FOREWORD As central and eastern European countries continue their transition to market economies, cities in the region are struggling to cope with growing car ownership and use; rising motor vehicle traffic, chaotic parking; congestion; and consequent air and noise pollution. At the same time, municipalities are seeking ways to adapt their public transport systems to evolving requirements and severe budgetary constraints; national and local policy-makers pursue new policy approaches and stable sources of financing. In June 1995, a Workshop on Transport and Environment in Central and Eastern European Cities was held in Bucharest, Romania to examine urban transport trends, related environmental, economic and social problems and possible policy approaches for cities in the region. The workshop was jointly organised by The European Conference of Ministers of Transport (ECMT), the OECD Centre for Co-operation with the Economies in Transition, the Urban Affairs Division of the OECD Territorial Development Service, the Non-Member Countries Branch of the OECD Environment Directorate and the Romanian Ministry of Transport and the City of Bucharest. Drawing on the recently completed work of the OECD/ECMT Project Group on Urban Travel and Sustainable Development, the workshop participants -- more than 50 transport, environment and urban experts, public transport operators, ministry representatives and municipal officials from both central and eastern Europe and OECD countries -- explored lessons to be learned from the experiences of OECD countries, and discussed the problems and conditions specific to central and eastern European cities. This publication is a collection of the principal papers presented at the event, preceded by a summary of conclusions based on workshop discussions. It is divided into five main sections: ECMT, 1996 1 • Mobility in Urban Areas • Managing Traffic Growth • Organising and Financing Urban Public Transport Services • Implementing Urban Transport Policies • The Case of Bucharest The conclusions provide a synthesis of the predominant challenges facing central and eastern Europe in the development of their urban transport systems -- challenges to which many cities in OECD countries continue to seek solutions as well. 2 ECMT, 1996 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.............................................................................5 I. MOBILITY IN URBAN AREAS.........................................................15 Urban Travel in East and West: Key Problems and a Framework for Action P. Güller ................................................................................................16 II. MANAGING TRAFFIC GROWTH.....................................................44 Parking Management and Pedestrianisation as Strategies for Successful City Centres R. Monheim ..........................................................................................45 Managing Traffic Growth in Polish Cities W. Suchorzewski ................................................................................136 III. ORGANISING AND FINANCING URBAN PUBLIC TRANSPORT SERVICES..................................................................168 Integrating Urban Transport and Land Use Planning Policies S. Owens .............................................................................................169 Financing Urban Public Transport in OECD Countries A. Méyère ...........................................................................................203 Regional Railway Transport In Germany: Changing Conditions; New Services J. Völker..............................................................................................238 Organising and Financing Urban Public Transport in Krakow A. Rudnicki .........................................................................................250 ECMT, 1996 3 Organising and Financing Urban Public Transport in Budapest K. Tánczos ..........................................................................................309 IV. IMPLEMENTING URBAN TRANSPORT POLICIES.....................337 Achieving Public Approval for Innovative Transport Policies B. Peterson ..........................................................................................338 V. THE CASE OF BUCHAREST...........................................................358 The Metro: An Essential Part of the Bucharest Public Transport System and its Future O. Udriste............................................................................................359 Integrated Public Transport in the Municipality of Bucharest and Agro-industrial Suburbs C. Popescu...........................................................................................372 4 ECMT, 1996 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In Central and Eastern Europe, rapidly rising numbers of motor vehicles are crowding urban roads and city centres, causing congestion, serious air and noise pollution problems and safety hazards. Confronted with this situation, decision-makers in the region face difficult choices regarding the design and development of their urban transport systems. Saddled with the legacy of transport networks conceived under central planning, they must find ways to address the economic, social and environmental pressures caused by rapid growth in car use. At the same time, urban public transport authorities must reconcile a decline in demand for public transport with tight budgetary constraints and pressure to increase cost recovery through fare increases. This publication, a collection of expert analyses on the urban transport problems facing central and eastern European cities, is a follow-up to the recently completed work of the OECD/ECMT Project Group on Urban Travel and Sustainable Transport. This group devised a policy plan for addressing urban transport problems that would promote "less congestion, reduced energy consumption, improved access for those without cars, higher environmental standards and reduced overall costs." OECD cities acknowledge that they have made mistakes in managing the evolution of urban travel, resulting in exponential growth of car traffic, congestion in city centres and serious air pollution. In order to attack these problems, substantial amounts of resources are now being committed to “un-doing” the mistakes -- to rethinking transport systems and influencing user behaviour. The countries in transition in Central and Eastern Europe now have the opportunity to learn from the mistakes of western cities -- as well as from the experiences of other cities in the central and eastern European region -- and move forward toward more economically and environmentally sustainable development of their urban centres. Managing Traffic Growth Since the economic and political reforms of the late 1980s, motor vehicle use has soared in Central and Eastern Europe. Under central planning, private car use was extremely limited because of restrictions on imported vehicles and minimal domestic car production. In 1980, automobile ownership in Warsaw amounted to 157 cars per 1 000 population. By 1989, however, this figure had ECMT, 1996 5 grown to 247, and by 1992, to 322. As Wojciech Suchorzewski of the Warsaw University of Technology states in his paper, “Warsaw has already entered the vicious circle of more cars, more traffic, worsening public transport.” Because of this growth in car traffic, public transport use is declining. For example, Budapest has experienced an evolution in modal split from 80 per cent public transport in 1985 to 60 per cent public today. Existing urban road networks and parking structures have proven inadequate to handle the increasing volume of traffic and greater demand for parking space brought on by higher motorisation. Delays are worsened by traffic-control systems that are out of date. It has been difficult to obtain public and political approval of proposals for car traffic restraint, parking charges and public transport priority measures; as a result, traffic congestion and subsequent air pollution levels have reached serious proportions in regional city centres. In OECD cities, where car traffic doubled between 1970 and 1990, parking control measures have been widely applied to address traffic growth. Charging for on-street parking and controlling development of new parking capacity have been instrumental in alleviating traffic congestion in city centres. In addition, parking fees have proven to be an important source of finance for municipalities, providing resources for improvements in the urban transport system and attracting private parking suppliers, thus relieving some pressure on municipal provision. Enforcement is the key, however, to the effectiveness of these measures, and enforcement remains a problem in central and eastern European cities. With few controls in place, parking in many cities is chaotic. Unrestrained parking in streets and on pavements is common, partly because no policy exists for time limits or charges. Therefore, policies aimed at controlling parking -- such as the introduction of parking fees for use of existing space, assessing and enforcing fines for illegal parking, and limiting construction of new parking facilities -- may prove effective in addressing the traffic problem. Determining the right level of parking supply is a major factor in effective parking management. Rolf Monheim of the University of Bayreuth explains in his paper that parking demand and supply are inter-related in