Public Transport As a Key Factor of Urban Sustainability

BADANIA FIZJOGRAFICZNE R. II – SERIA D – GOSPODARKA PRZESTRZENNA str. 007 – 020 public tranSport aS a key factor of urban SuStainability. a caSe Study of freiburg Michał Beim, Martin Haag imove – Institute for Mobility & Transport, University of Technology, Paul-Ehrlich-Str. 14, 67663 Kaiserslautern [email protected], [email protected], www.imove-kl.de Abstract: Freiburg im Breisgau is shown in transport literature (e.g. Banister 2005; FritzRoy, Smith 1998; Kretschmer 2002; Nobis 2003) as one of the best examples of sustainable development. Recent decades have been a success story for this middle-sized Southern German city. Since the mid-1950s Freiburg has experien- ced big growth in both population (ca. 62%) and in the number of workplaces. This trend has continued in the last two decades (ca. 17%), which is not common among German cities. One of the results of growing population is a growing demand for transportation. The situation has forced the city to find a balance between the rising number of cars and the assurance of a high quality of life to attract new inhabitants and new investors, mostly in high-tech industries. The most important tool is an efficient and environmentally friendly transport system, called “ecomobility” (German: “Umweltverbund”). It consists of: walking, cycling, public transport and car sharing. A key role in ecomobility is played by public transport. The paper presents the history of transport policy in Freiburg, the development of public transport and evaluates the main keys to its success, like “flat rate” tickets, integration between public transport and urban planning and modern systems of suburban railways. Keywords: Public transport, urban sustainability, Freiburg, Germany introduction Freiburg is a medium-sized (ca. 220,000 inhabitants) city located in Southern Germany. The city is an important academic centre in Germany and hosts almost 30,000 students. The University of Freiburg is the most important academic in- stitution, but there are other important research institutes like the Max-Planck Gesellschaft and Fraunhofer Institute located there. Scientific institutions are the basis for the high-tech industry in leading sectors: biotechnology, solar en- ergy and so on. Workers in these companies, as well as academic staff, expect a higher quality of life – above all, a high quality of urban life both in cultural and environmental aspects. The main task of the city authorities is to maintain the environment, create an interesting cultural offer and provide attractive public spaces. What is beyond dispute is the fact that the city profits a great deal from its 8 Michał beiM, Martin haag location. The city straddles the river Dreisam, but the river is not an important barrier for transport. Although the city area is mostly flat, the built-up areas are surrounded by the Black Forest Mountains. The location makes living in Freiburg very attractive to people who put stress on high quality environment and easy access to tourist areas. It all creates a unique social milieu: Freiburg’s citizens are more interested in environmental protection, active forms of mobility and urban culture than in other German cities. Additionally, the low unemployment rate and high quality of living attracts many people to move to Freiburg. The rising number of inhabitants means a higher demand on transport. As a result the city must balance the rising number of trips and quality of life. The authority skilfully uses the social ambience and natural conditions and develops the public transport network, cycle infrastructure and improves conditions for pedestrians. These activities are favoured by existing infrastructure within the city limits and also by rail tracks in the suburbs. Simultaneously, the city tries to reduce car traffic, using traffic calming measures, creating an alternative to private cars (e.g. car sharing). Integration with urban planning keeps the city compact (“the city of short ways”). The city is located on the Mannheim-Basle railway also known as the Rheintalbahn which is one of the most heavily used railways in Germany. There is a special bypass for freight trains which allows them to avoid the main station. With the upgrade of the Rheintalbahn to four tracks, there is a plan to construct new track for freight trains outside the city. The limited capacity of railways is nowadays an important barrier to the development of suburban train networks. The city is also served by the A5 Frankfurt am Main – Basel motorway (located in the western suburbs) and three federal roads. Federal road B31 presents the main problem for the city – it crosses the city along the Dreisam River, through the city centre. The road spoils the quality of urban spaces, increases environmental pollution and strengthens congestion. The current solution to the problem is the limitation of the number of cars within the city limits through the use of traffic lights. Traffic lights allow only so many cars to enter so that the traffic flows through the city without causing any traffic jams. In future there is a plan for a tunnel for cars, which should be paid for by the state. froM balanced developMent to SuStainable developMent In general, German cites were heavily destroyed during World Word II. However, many architects (e.g. Krier 1983) think that much bigger destruction to architecture and – above all – urban structures was done by urban planners during three decades after the war than during the fighting. The main pattern of urban reconstruction in Western Germany was car-oriented development, whose public tranSport aS a key factor of urban SuStainability 9 theoretical backgrounds and justification were formulated some years later by Reichow in 1959. The main goal of modern urban planning in these times was improving the accessibility of all districts, including city centres, to cars. Subor- dination to these goals led to demolition of historic urban quarters, conversion of backyards to parking places and broadening of streets, and so on. Usually, it all but annihilated the unique character of German cities, making public spaces in all cities homogeneous: pedestrian unfriendly, void of greenery and full of modern architecture. Freiburg had more luck than other German cities. The old town was destroyed only partly and the reconstruction took into account the old city struc- ture, not improvement of accessibility to traffic. It was an important legacy, which allowed a more environmentally friendly urban policy to be created in the following decades. The city centre was not scarred by the construction of inner- city motorways and similar infrastructure, although whole old town used to be open to cars, and cars had right of way across the whole city and until the 1970s the federal route B3 led through Kaiser-Joseph-Straße. The city of Freiburg was one of the first German cities to introduce a transport master plan, respecting the interests of non-motorised inhabitants. In 1969 the city introduced the first Integral Traffic Plan, although the main form of transport planned for was private cars. In these times in Germany it was a small breakthrough. The first transport plan of Freiburg could be described as “balanced development”. This term was originally used for the description of John F. Kennedy`s transport policy, which was a minor revolution in the USA because it didn’t focus exclusively on cars (see: Mees 2010). The first Integral Traffic Plan was a good basis for further documents. Two years later the Cycle Path Network Plan was drawn up and passed by the city council. Cycling became an important part of transport policy. In 1972 the city decided to retain and expand the tram network. The development of the tram network was not only seen as a social role of public transport but as an alternative to cars, and an instrument of the urban development of the west parts of Freiburg. The new tram network was to be based on modern concepts: separate tracks, right of way at intersections with traffic lights, a higher average speed. To under- line the new nature of the tram network the name was changed to “Stadtbahn” (“urban rail”), instead of “Straßenbahn” (“tramway”). Additionally, in 1973 the entire city centre was converted into a pedestrian zone. This created good conditions for pedestrian traffic and started a new urban culture with a significant role for shopping in the Old Town and the rising importance of walking and cycling in transport behaviour. The changes made and the new project put the city in a privileged position during the 1973 oil crisis. The next Integral Traffic Plan was passed by the city council one decade after the first one. The plan reflected the experiences of the oil crisis and changes in public opinion. The biggest change compared to the 1969 plan was the 10 Michał beiM, Martin haag introduction of equal priorities to all road users: pedestrians, cyclists, public transport and individual motorised vehicle traffic. The next transport document was also approved a decade later. The Compre- hensive Traffic Plan 1989 already had different objectives. The main goal was to reduce the negative effects of car traffic in order to lead to an improvement in the living and environmental conditions of the city. Consequently, the plan set up as an objective a reduction in the volume of car traffic. The plan suggested two main tools: the promotion of environmentally friendly modes of transport and distinct restrictions for car traffic. The newest Transport Development Plan (2002) is a continuation of the 1989 policy. The same objectives are still on the agenda: better quality of life, better public transport, better conditions for pedestrians and cyclists and high quality urban spaces, although the plan adjusts the goals to new conditions: the growth of the population and spatial development.

Load more