POLITICAL INTERVIEW

A Man On A Mission! Meet Frits Lintmeijer, Vice- Mayor of Utrecht

What are the top three priorities in your city with regards to Sustainable Mobility?

To keep Utrecht attractive and accessible, we are focusing on public transport and cycling. We are not banning the car, but will do everything to stimulate people to take the bicycle or bus. We will also re-introduce the tram in the near future: a clean and efficient means of transport. The minimum ambition of Utrecht is to decrease the growth of car use by 50% in 2030. The cars that come in to the city will have to be as clean as possible.

What are the challenges in implementing those priorities?

Utrecht and its region are expected to keep growing in the next twenty years. A lack of urban space requires new concepts of mobility: creative solutions are needed to keep the city accessible in the future as well. Combined with a tighter financial situation, this can surely be considered a challenge. Furthermore, Utrecht has the highest percentage of car ownership, when compared to Amsterdam, Rotterdam and
The Hague. We need a change in the way people think about car use, but old habits die hard.

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PROJECT NEWS

Tallinn – Utrecht Co-operation:

Give Your City The Best Sustainable Mobility Available – Grab A Partner & Work Together!

The combined approach of exchanging best practices between CIVITAS partners as well as carrying out individual mobility measures is key to ensuring cities are at the forefront of international sustainable mobility transport. The saying ‘No Man Is An Island’ certainly springs to mind. A good example of this is the 2 way co-operation between Tallinn and Utrecht on sustainable mobility, be it on a technological, communications and political platform.

Having embarked on a new ticketing system as part of the CIVITAS MIMOSA programme, a workshop on e-ticketing was organized in Tallinn in Spring 2010 to gain broader knowledge, analyze the pros and cons of different e-ticketing systems worldwide and meet the field experts. As the Netherlands were already in the implemention phase of a nation wide e-ticketing system, Tallinn was keen on having a Dutch expert showcasing Dutch system. Mr Jeroen Kok, the director of the Dutch agency that implemented a new Public Transport Card in Netherlands was invited as an expert. He shared his extensive knowledge about the policy and implementation of the e-ticketing system and explained the development of the Dutch system. Based on the information gathered, a ‘Terms of References’ was drawn up, a public tender on e-ticketing launched and a new system scheduled for 2011.

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MIMOSA CITY NEWS

Facebook: The Funchal Experience! - FUNCHAL MIMOSA CITY NEWS

When it comes to online communication and dissemination, we at CIVITAS-MIMOSA FUNCHAL have found an obvious need for different approaches. Firstly, there's the main website for the whole CIVITAS Programme. Secondly, there's the website for the MIMOSA project consortium.

Finally there's the need for a local CIVITAS-MIMOSA website which:
· Provides content in local language;
· Presents locally relevant news;
· Presents MIMOSA in short and directs to CIVITAS site for further information;
· Presents a Photo/Video gallery related to local activities and events;
· Provides blog space for citizen/opinion/suggestion participation;
· A place where locally relevant activities & events may be highlighted;
· Provides the contacts & external links for the CIVITAS Programme & MIMOSA project consortium website

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