The Municipality of Heraklion having set as a strategic goal, the implementation of interventions based on respect for the basic principles of Sustainable Urban Mobility and road safety, is preparing a plan for Sustainable Urban Mobility. This plan will prepare the framework on which the Municipal Authority will move during the coming years, to upgrade the level of service of the movement of residents and to ensure a safer, more efficient and environmentally compatible transport and traffic system, which will focus on the transport of the citizen. In this way, the concepts of mobility and accessibility are upgraded and give priority to pedestrians, bicycles, the use of public transport and then the car, describing how this dimension of interventions designed.

What is SUMP ?

Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans promote mild means of transport, such as walking, cycling and public transport and reduce the dependence on cars and motorcycles.

SUMPs are Strategic Plans that organize the movement of citizens and the distribution of goods mainly in urban areas. They focus on servicing the movement of PEOPLE as a priority over servicing vehicles in the available urban space, aiming at a better quality of life.

SUMP is a strategic plan and not an urban, traffic, transport or environment planning study. This strategic plan must produce a specific vision for transport and mobility in a given intervention area, with specific goals and detailed description of measures, considering the opinions of the citizens and its stakeholders. This vision can have a horizon of 5, 10 or 20 years and must be constantly monitored and evaluated in terms of its completion.

SUMP should generally include an analysis of the current situation, the configuration vision of goal and priorities, the configuration of the whole policies and measures, the clear demarcation of positions of responsibility, roles and funding for the proposed interventions and finally its evaluation and monitoring during its implementation.

What is sustainable mobility?

Planning for Sustainable Mobility is a strategic way of facing transportation and transport problems in a modern way of life. Sustainable mobility primarily concerns the three main pillars of transportation walking-cycling-public transport.

Plan Steps

SUMP in order to be developed and to be completed properly must follow the procedure which is described in the European Directives and in the Greek legal framework.

A series of steps and activities must be done in four phases. The first three phases concern the development of the plan until its adoption and the last phase concerns its application in the future. SUMP is developed by the Working Group of the Municipality of Heraklion with the support of an external contractor.

PHASE A: Plan preparation

During the first phase of the Preparation, all the required actions are made must be completed by the accelerator / stakeholder of the SUMP process, ie, the stakeholder of local government body (Municipality, Municipal Unit, Region, Peripheral Unit) before the development of the SUMP.

The SUMP stakeholder should set up a Working Group of staff and / or external partners.

At the same time, processes of information and awareness of the institutions, collectives and organizations as well as the public active in the study area should be started. The stakeholders / collectives that will participate sign a relevant pact of bodies and form the Network of Stakeholders which will participate in the design and then in the evaluation.

The network of Stakeholders should be staffed by bodies such as: the local government where the intervention takes place, the Region, the Decentralized Administration, the Chambers, the Professional / Scientific Associations, the Transport Work Providers, the Academic Institutions, the associations of pedestrians, bicyclists, cyclists, the people with disabilities and so on.

The Network of Stakeholders co-designs the vision of SUMP, participates in consultation processes, participatory workshops, workshops, the formulation of action plan and measures, monitors and controls the developers of SUMP (working group and contractors) and remains active in all individual steps both the SUMP and the actions that will follow its elaboration.

A key point in the Preparation stage is the signing of the members of the Network Stakeholders and the Local Government of the Participation Pact.

In Phase A is made the analysis of the current situation in the municipality.

PHASE B: Goals and priorities of the Plan | Measures to promote sustainable mobility

            In this phase, the vision for sustainable urban mobility in the intervention area is formed. The vision should be in line with the key pillars of sustainable development and the pillars of sustainable mobility. The problems that exist in the study area regarding pollution, noise, car dominance, road safety, accessibility, etc. should also be made clear and recognize the contribution of BAK measures as important for travel and quality of life. The wording of the vision should be comprehensive and perceived to the general public and take into account the views of the members of the Network Stakeholders.

According to the analysis of the current situation, a framework of priorities is formulated below.

Indicatively, the following priorities are mentioned below: Improving the accessibility of pedestrians, vulnerable users, addressing traffic congestion, improving road safety, enhancing bicycle traffic, improving public transport services and so on.

The 5th and 6th steps define the objectives and the packages of measures that constitute the means to achieve the goals. Objectives must be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-defined (SMART), indicative: % increase in bike use share, walking choice, public transport, % reduction in traffic congestion, etc.

The choice of measures depends on the goals and concerns the formulation of interventions and actions to achieve the vision and the goals.

• Such measures may be:
• Expand the network of sidewalks and low traffic streets
• Expansion of bicycle network
• Redesign network and public transport services
• Control of illegal parking
• Promoting car sharing
• Local traffic ban / heavy vehicles
• Incentives for walking, cycling, public transportation

PHASE C: Preparation of a plan

In this phase, the action plan of SUMP is developed, ie the tables that describe WHO does what, with what FUNDING, in how much TIME and what procedures required for the maturation of the individual measures.

The following describes how the course of an SUMP is evaluated and the indicators who used for monitoring.

At the end of this phase, the development of SUMP project has been COMPLETED and approved by the municipal council, while all those responsible in accordance with the legislation give their opinions.

PHASE D: Implementation of the plan

In this phase we have passed to the implementation of the plan so special emphasis is given to the management of individual projects and measures, the maturation of studies, the search for funding and special importance in informing citizens and stakeholders about the progress of SUMP.

CITIZEN PARTICIPATION

How can we participate in SVAK Heraklion?

In order for a Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan to work properly, residents and component stakeholders must be involved from the beginning in recording their habits. It is very important that the parents of the students who move every day and the students themselves participate.

Answer the following questionnaires and help the municipality to properly record your habits and needs.

If you are a parent or guardian of a student, answer here about your child’s movements.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeHAFcY8-9rYRchQBpQAOeUqRSARBNWk0WGUIsQgV9oEXCNsw/viewform

If you are a student, answer here about your transportation.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeG8tHnAo5fiXW5pygR_JnHf6oqxXKEo1Y4Sixyy03JHzKLZw/viewform

If you are a resident of the city of Heraklion answer here.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfaIcQCz73oJXe9jllz_3qBU9KQz5r1bWCSBmI-JF6JPSkQTQ/viewform

What to expect from SUMP in Heraklion?

            SUMP in Heraklion will contain proposals and a comprehensive set of technical measures, infrastructure measures, policy measures and soft measures to improve transportation in the city. SUMP for Heraklion is a strategic plan that describes projects, measures and actions to be funded and implemented over a period of 15 years.

Analytically it will contain interventions and actions on the following issues:

• Public transport (for example new bus routes, new stops or terminals, new fleet of non-polluting vehicles, introduction of new public transportation vehicles, incentives to enhance the use of public transportation, etc.)
• Walking (for example new sidewalks in the center and neighborhoods, new sidewalks, areas to enhance pedestrian safety, enhance accessibility for the disabled and vulnerable users, restrictions on cars, etc.)
• Bicycle (for example new mixed roads, bike lanes, bicycle parking spaces, incentives to strengthen the bicycle, etc.)
• Movement of cars and motorcycles (for example one-way, reversals, areas with limited car entry, reduction of throughflows, etc.)
• Service of other means of transport (eg better taxi service, electronic applications for enhancing the use of taxis, better distribution of service points and interoperability with other MMMs)
• Servicing of public transport (for example import public bicycles and small mobility vehicles)
• Parking for all (suggestions for better organization of parking for bicycles, public transport, cars and bicycles)
• Road safety for all users (for example interventions that reduce the speed of vehicles, improve the visibility of all commuters, enhance the choice of using mild means of transport)
• Catering (for example, implementation of catering hours, development of small centers of goods around the city and service with clean vehicles, location of catering stations, systems for monitoring and catering, etc.)
• Intelligent transport management and monitoring systems