Plans to improve sustainable mobility in Vilnius
The fourth Regional Stakeholder Meeting (RSM), organized by the Municipal Enterprise “Susisiekimo paslaugos” (JUDU), took place on 4th December in Vilnius. 24 participants attended the meeting to discuss the recommendations for improving sustainable mobility plans and the latest developments in procedures.
The process of developing the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan, the Policy Instrument that the City is improving through EMBRACER, was presented by Kęstutis Vanagas, advisor of the Future Transport Policy Group at the Ministry of Transport and Communications. He provided an overview of the situation regarding SUMP developments in Lithuania and Europe: today recommendations require to cover not only cities but also districts and surrounding areas. In Lithuania, the preparation of SUMPs is still ongoing: 14 of the 23 available plans have already been updated, and six have been fundamentally revised. A SUMP expert commission is actively working, aiming not only to assist cities in preparing plans but also to evaluate them. A sustainable mobility data platform is expected to start operating soon, including a section for the public transport.
A fruitful discussion followed and participants shared their thoughts on the challenges of preparing SUMPs in the regions such as the importance of involving the public throughout the plan preparation process, the complexity of planning activities or measures, differences in the level of innovation, and the challenges of planning public transport in large cities and small towns. Criticisms were discussed as well: the plans often lack transformational and innovation value. Sometimes, operational matters overshadow the overall vision when striving to adapt.
A further focus of the meeting was walkability.
The topic was presented by Nemunas Abukauskas, advisor of the Future Transport Policy Group at the Ministry of Transport and Communications. Currently, the ministry is actively developing a walkability concept, most probably officially submit for approval by the end of 2025. Simplicity and economic benefits of walking were emphasized as well as the importance of the Vienna Ministerial Declaration, signed by 46 European ministers, and encouraging to develop a national walking policy and corresponding action plans, integrate walking policy into the overall national transport policy, enhance pedestrian safety, and improve pedestrian infrastructure. Lithuania is already working on all this.
A new discussion followed and participants underlined some key aspects such as the need to integrate public transport into the mobility system, the need to improve walkability plans, the importance of effectively implementing small-scale infrastructure and correctly identifying attraction points.
Last but not least, the meeting was also the occasion to share experiences gained from other EMBRACER partners: many useful, both technical and communication-related, insights regarding the testing of autonomous buses in Tampere were important for the pilot JUDU implemented within EMBRACER.