Main sources: interviews by Alcyon Brenu realized with the concerned departments
CONTEXT
The frequency of journeys of persons, goods and services as well as their diversity reflects the dynamism of a town.
Yet their current organization relies mainly on car transportation. This trend has many undesirable effects: air, water and noise pollution, traffic congestion, the deterioration and misuse of public space...
This is why the Urban Community of Strasbourg (Communauté urbaine de Strasbourg - CUS) decided to look into the pattern of the transportation of persons, goods and services.
Four orientations arose from this reflection :
IMPLEMENTATION
The creation of a new traffic plan protecting the center from transit traffic.
In order to win back the town a new organization town-traffic was set up. The basis of this organization resides in the new balance of various means of transport. It was designed in view of the long term development of the town, so as to preserve the beauty of Strasbourg. Its objective is the minimization of negative impacts on urban life caused by traffic.
Before February 1992 two axes crossed the hypercenter. Figures assessing the traffic for the North-South axis amounted to 25,000 vehicles/day and for South-North traffic 20,000/day; the traffic on Place Kléber reached over 50,000 cars every day. The amount of exhaust gases measured on the spot were often as high as 56 mg/m3; i.e. nearly double the figure considered maximum by the standards of the World Health Organization... Furthermore, over 70 days a year weather conditions in Strasbourg do not allow the correct dispersion of pollution.
Pollution also includes continuous noise from cars on major axes in the center, as well as dust and filth on buildings, trees
Every day this dense traffic created traffic jams on the bridges connecting the hypercenter to the rest of town.
The idea of the new traffic plan is to eliminate transit traffic in the heart of town. The plan is called Strass. Its main goal is to liberate Strasbourg from the traffic of vehicles crossing the center to go from one section of town to another. Drivers must now bypass the center of town via the motorway or the outskirts of town. Eliminating the traffic in the center means it becomes a pedestrian area. This does not mean however that the center is no longer accessible to cars. If drivers are not allowed to cross the town, he/she still has access to the center. Four circulation loops enable access to various sections of town and to parking places.
(image)
The loop system
The loop system is accompanied by four initiatives:
The promotion and diversification of public transport offer
The arrival of the tram in September 1994 and the creation of a new traffic plan are the steps taken to deal with traffic's negative effects.
The tram compensates the restriction of the use of ndividual cars transiting through the center, It also ensures circulation in town. A 13 km line connects Hautepierre in the North, with Illkirchen-graffenstaden in the South via the center of town. This lines has 24 stops on its route and a tram is scheduled every 4 minutes during rush hours i.e. 20 million journeys a year since it first started. This first tram line will progressively be extended. The main goal of this policy is the creation, in the future, of a tram network to offer a real transport alternative to car drivers.
The implementation of this new circulation plan-elimination of transit traffic of individual cars in the heart of Strasbourg and the extension of pedestrian areas-will enable inhabitants to live differently in their city and to find new ways of communicating in a urban environment. The tram project is a strong lever to redesign the road infrastructure, and therefore have a fairer urban journeys in the future.
The construction of a network of bicycle tracks
In the frame of transport redistribution, the CUS encourages bicycling : hopes are that the bicycle will account for one fifth of all urban movements.
Cyclists are secured in Strasbourg
To favour such a means of transport the cus has had to set up measures against theft-since the latter constitutes an heavy handicap to daily urban cycling-as well as steps to improve the safety of cyclists on the roads.
Safe parking lots have has also been set up: they are either in the shape of half-circles or supervised and closed and situated at strategic areas and at connections with other means of transport. A 'Rent-a-bike' system is set up. The theft of bicycles is considered as an offence: so there is the possibility of lodging a complaint with some chance of success ...
A coherent, yet not necessarily homogeneous, network in terms of construction has been put up: creation of physically heavy and separated infrastructures (bicycle tracks) where potential areas of conflicts between vehicles are possible; elsewhere the road infrastructure integrates bicycles with special tracks and signposts.
Introduction of electric cars in this policy
In this series of choices and measures to progressively liberate the heart of the town from suffocation, the CUS gives all its attention to state-of-the art technologies serving this purpose. The electric vehicle is part of the initiatives already taken. The technical and environmental performances of electric vehicles are adequate for necessary journeys and give a new breath to urban life. These cars are quiet and do not emit any pollutants. The CUS is determined to use these advantages to the benefit of the community. The idea however is not to provoke a major comeback of vehicles, even electric ones, in the center of town, but rather to favour public transport and its diversification. The purpose is to offer a viable answer to all the expectations of the population.
Many the professional intervention 'journeys', many are made by vehicles from a fleet: i.e. cars belonging to private companies, to the administration or to the local communities. In order to meet Strasbourg's policy objectives in terms of urban journeys and protection of the environment, local communities have set an example by progressively introducing electric vehicles into their fleet. Out of 24 electric vehicles, the municipal fleet of Strasbourg owns 8 and the community's fleet owns 16.
Technical service' agents used normal cars that contributed to the degradation of the urban environment, air pollution, noise Classic collective transport is not the ideal means of transport for professional intervention journeys. Frequent stops, transportation of equipment necessary for the intervention, etc. are the reasons why a vehicle is still the most adequate means of transport to fulfill these urban services.
Personal journeys: they can be made by privately owned cars, by collective vehicles like the bus, or by vehicles integrated in a self-service system or a time-shared one. The CUS is preparing for the promotion of specific systems of organization for electric vehicles, as time-sharing systems or fleets, especially at a municipal level. Since June 1994, the CUS has launched an innovative type of organization of electric vehicles: a time-shared system. Individual vehicles make shopping and transportation of work equipment much easier. Now with the introduction of public individual vehicles, the CUS puts different public transport services to the disposal of the public to allow numerous types of journeys - while maintaining its goal of diversification of public transport.
At the 'Sainte-Aurélie' parking, near the main railway station, electric cars can be rented for 15 ecus for half a day. This car-rental business is a key point in the rental of a fleet of around 20 small cars-Microcar and Erad.
Electric vehicles are a flexible alternative to complete the collective transport network or to become a substitute to the individual car for certain uses.
The CUS is determined to achieve its goal. Two conditions will therefore be necessary:
CONTACT
| Mr. R. Schall President of the "Club de promotion de la traction électrique autonome dans la région strasbourgeoise", 44, route de la Fédération, 67100 Strasbourg |
Mr. P. Payement Chief Engineer- Parc des véhicules et ateliers Centre administratif, 1, place de l'Etoile, BP n1049/1050 S67070 Strasbourg Cedex |
EPE home | Workbook Home | Part 1 Contents | Part 2 Contents | Part 3 Contents
