ECOMM 2010. PARALLEL SESSION B City centres give space for slow modes Towards a liveable and vibrant Vitoria-Gasteiz through a new public space scheme.

ECOMM 2010. PARALLEL SESSION B

City centres give space for slow modes

Towards a liveable and vibrant Vitoria-Gasteiz through a new public space scheme based on "super-blocks"

Mr. Juan Carlos Escudero

CEA - Vitoria-Gasteiz City Council


ECOMM 2010 5-7 May 2010 Graz (Austria) Juan Carlos Escudero

BASIC FACTS

Population: 233,399Population growth: 1.27%Municipal area: 277 sq kmUrban area: 35 sq km (65 h/ha)

A COMPACT CITY,Pedestrian scale until recent growth and latest urban developments.



Year Private Car

Public Transport

Other Walking

1982 33.6% 66.4%

1996 29% 8% 7% 56.0%

2002 31% 8% 6% 55%

2006 36.6% 7.9% 5.6% 49.9%

MODAL SPLIT 2006

49,9%

36,6%

7,9%

3,3% 2,3% walking

private

public

bicycle

others

MODAL SPLIT



• To reverse the upward trend in the use of the private car. To transfer car users to public transport and the bicycle.

• To increase the quality of public space in terms of accessibility by way of car traffic reduction.

• To implement innovative access and transit schemes according to the Super-blocks philosophy.

• To consolidate and extend the network of pedestrian and cycling reserved paths.

• To redefine the overall PT network in order to improve the efficiency of the system in terms of accessibility and coverage.

• To set up a new traffic control system giving priority to PT.

• To test a new regulation scheme for freight distribution.

SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY & PUBLIC SPACE PLAN. GOALS:



MOBILITY NETWORK:BASIC ROADS AND SUPER-BLOCKS



SUPER-BLOCK SCHEME CHARACTERISTICS:

• Inner streets become LOW TRAFFIC areas.

• NOT necessarily pedestrian streets.

• Pedestrians and cyclists share space with resident vehicles, freight distribution and emergency services.

• Inner streets become single platform and the maximum speed is set at around 10-20 km / h.

• On-street parking tends to decrease gradually.

• Freight distribution is subject to new regulations.



SUPER-BLOCK SCHEME ALLOWS US:

• To free public space for mobility activities, accommodation and respect for pedestrians.

• To ensure the diversity of activities in a re-qualified public space.

• To improve accessibility.

• To reduce noise and polluting gas emissions in the city.

• To not significantly affect traffic capacity, neither in the super-block district, nor in the rest of the city.









PHASE 3

PHASE 3PHASE 2

PHASE 1



Public transport journey evolution

(relating to the tram implementation in 2008)

New bus network implementation



starting ending

Sustainable Mobility and Public Space Plan (Phase 1)

Bicycle Master Plan Public Transport Master Plan

Public Space Master Plan

Operational Programs:-Regulations-Infrastructure-Participation-Management-Communication-Public Bicycles-Control

Operational Programs:-Regulations-Infrastructure-Participation-Management-Communication-Intelligent bus stops-Control

Operational Programs:-Regulations-Infrastructure-Participation-Management-Communication-Urban trails-Control

Operational Programs:-Regulations-Infrastructure-Participation-Management-Communication-Car-sharing-Control

Parking Master Plan

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Dec 2011

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Central Super-block

• Located in the central area of the city, its 86 ha. contain 17.5% of total activities in the city.

• The area includes some of the densest neighbourhoods, with 11,751 houses and 21,613 inhabitants.



CENTRAL SUPER-BLOCK.Proposal of implementation

Objectives:

• Implementing the proposals for a new organization of public space in the Central Super-block.

• Considering the requirements related to all mobility modes. • Assessing the accessibility requirements and improving the

quality of public space.

• Based on the guidelines raised from the Sustainable Mobility and Public Space Plan and its operational plans (Public Transport, Parking, Bicycle Master Plan, ...).

• Drawing on the PERI Medieval Town and on the URBAN project for urban regeneration.



Public Space habitability

• Improving the overall quality of public space is part of the benefits of implementing the pilot Super-block.

• A habitability index has been calculated for the public space, taking into account several variables that determine the degree of ergonomics, the attractiveness and comfort in the streets.



Pedestrian• The area is crossed by several of the proposed

urban paths.

• The Medieval Town is mostly pedestrianized or crossed by low traffic streets.

• The quality of the public space is affected by the coexistence with the through traffic.

• The proposal seeks to make inner streets, more peaceful once through traffic is restricted.



Implementation Strategy

The proposed implementation of the Central Super-Block is divided into three main phases, which respond to the order of priority to be followed by different processing actions:

• Immediate Term: Reorganize private car traffic.

• Short-Medium Term: Improving the quality of public space.

• Long Term: New car park and freight distribution infrastructures construction.



First Term: Reorganization of private car traffic

• Once the main entry points have been identified, after the reorganization of the private car traffic inside the super-block, new access control systems will be established.



Traffic flow (Before vs. after Super-block implementation)

Before After



First Term: Other supporting actions

• Together with the access restrictions, new loading and unloading schemes and on-street parking policies will be studied and implemented.

• Public space improvements will be focused mainly on the redesign of the entry points.

• On the other hand, the UDCs and planned car parks designs should be started, together with the implementation of supporting programs for the commercial activities in the area.



Second term: Improving public spaces

• It is proposed to gradually remove on-street parking lots needed to enable the bicycle and pedestrian networks.

• The renovation works of many of the inner streets will be started.



Third term: New service infrastructure

• The main objective of the third term is the construction of the planned service infrastructure:

• New underground car parks for residents.

• Urban distribution centre (UDC)

• Other public facilities (elevators, civic centres, ...)

• Together with the new underground car parks, on-street parking is eliminated within the super-block.



Thank you

Mr. Juan Carlos Escudero

Environmental Studies Centre

Vitoria-Gasteiz City Council

[email protected]

http://www.vitoria-gasteiz.org/movilidad

ECOMM 2010. PARALLEL SESSION B City centres give space for slow modes Towards a liveable and vibrant Vitoria-Gasteiz through a new public space scheme.

Documents

new public space scheme

superblocks slide

superblocks ecomm

free public space

quality of public space

vibrant vitoriagasteiz

public space plan phase

requalified public space