Regions Working Group meeting: Commuter traffic planning and demand management

14 October 2022; 14:00-16:00 CEST (Online)

The Regions Working Group will meet to discuss ‘Regional traffic planning and transport demand management to reduce car commuting’.

Regional governance plays a central role in creating sustainable commuting mobility planning- and reducing the need for private motorised transportation.

From Multi-modal hubs to improved public transport and long-distance cycle routes, POLIS member regions are developing real alternatives to the private car. However, as accommodating flexible working patterns are cemented post pandemic and tackling air quality and congestion become increasingly critical - we must find new and rigorous ways to scale up many of these solutions.

This was a topic identified at our AGA last year as a priority topic for this working group, and affirmed across our meetings this year, as well as in the International Transport Forum’s ‘Innovations for Better Rural Mobility’ report (presented at our March meeting).

We will explore:

·     Which regional strategies help in road transport management between main cities and their surrounding municipalities?

·     What role do regional authorities, formal plans and informal cooperation play?

·     What is the role of new mobility services, mobility hubs and public-private partnerships in reducing car-depence in suburban areas?

We explore the solutions being tested and implemented, looking at tools including; design priority routing, access regulation, Park & Ride and the role of SUMPs in these.

Cities and regions on the move

We hear from Brussels Capital Region about SmartMove-Brussels' distance-based tolling as well as Barcelona's LEZ and Catalonia on how new technology is being used to support public transit passengers.

The province of Vlaams-Brabant presents Regionet Leuven and how the project is supporting regional mobility through better coordination of regional spatial policy.

The Amsterdam Region also explores their regional approach to mobility hubs, examining governance approaches driving these.

Finally, the Dynaxibility4CE project, provides key insights on UVARs for Function Urban Areas.