Betteron footP O N T E V E D R A

Contents

Mayor presentationCare and sensibility

The Pontevedra territoryA compact cityMotorized circulation

The urban reform

The management of mobilityLess by cars, more on footA worthy public spacePedestrian preferenceIntermodality is focused on pedestriansBus and railway intermodal nodeSmart parkingSafe and integrated bikesInformation helpsTraffic cultureSchool Route

The resultsRecognition

Better on footConceptual framework of MetrominutoThe urban mobilityIs there a solution for urban mobility?The priorities of urban mobility modes are invertedPedestrian mobilityThe urban networkBalance between the different mobilitiesThe ʻrightʼ to parkThe concept of necessityAbout speedSocial dynamicsA total inversion of prioritiesAs an afterword

Natalie LeclercʻThe urban model of Pontevedrais what we recognize with the prizeʼ

Pontevededra has been selected to receive the INTERMODES 2013 Prizefor its exemplary intermodalpassenger transport policy. Intermodes wouldparticulary like to reward Metrominuto,the first ‘public-transport-alike’ pedestrian mapin Europe

This magazine has beencreated by the Mayorʼscommunications department,after having been awarded the2013 Intermodes Prize(Brussels, February, 6th 2013.Photographic credits by:Guillermo González andGustavo Santos. Englishversion: Osmundo Barros andTomás Costal. Printed by GTI.February 2013.

www.pontevedra.eu/movete

Care and sensibility

Believing in the internal strength this citycan generate was the main energy in-

vested on the transformation of Ponteve-dra. Treating its streets and squares, its

architectural heritage, and it natural wealth with care and sen-sibility was the starting point of this transformation that the cit-

izens aspire to and drive.

Inspired by a global model of alternative city, we made thenecessary decisions to place people at the centre of urban

life, being convinced that it was the best way to achieve opti-mum levels of quality in order to live in a harmonious and in-

teresting environment.

In this way, the different plans that permitted to increase thepublic space for people were created. Infrastructure plans,

such as the integral reform of the public space that improvedfootways, squares, pavements, services, and underground

conduits...

And also cultural plans such as the promotion of the walkinghabit and a whole culture in which people and their simpler

and more natural mobility are in the centre of attention, rele-gating cars to essential uses.

The prize granted by the European agency Intermodes is anhonour for contemporary Pontevedra. Thank you for your ap-

preciation and your attentions. It is a real incentive for us togo on working with humility, abnegation, and common sense.We know another world is possible, so we began by making it

possible for the city to live with the healthy and legitimate in-tention of improving.

Miguel Anxo Fernández LoresMayor of Pontevedra

Docks

Pedestrianhistoric centre

East: chaoticexpansion. Currentlyunder restoration

Campolongo: plannedexpansion. 1970's

Stations - Gorgullón.Expansion during the1980's and now

New suburbs. 1950's,1960's, and later

Public Motorwayto Morrazo

Moureiras. Historicsuburbs. Chaoticexpansion in the1970's-80's

Coastline ring road.Historic port. Lastinvasion in the 1980's.

School area andCampus. Invasion ofwetlands. 1970's

Xunqueira de Alba.Invasion in the 1970's.

O Burgo. Linearexpansion

Xunqueira do Covo.Invaded in the 1970's

Industrial facilities. Coastlineinvasion in the 1960's.Concession expires in 2018

New administrativebuildings

TerritoryThe city was erected on a not very highrocky promontory; it is surrounded by theriver Lérez, just at the point where it mergesinto the waters of the Estuary of Ponteve-dra, open to the Atlantic Ocean.

It is located at the centre of the Rías Bai-xas, on the Atlantic Axis, at the same dis-tance from Porto and A Coruña, and fromVigo and Vilagarcía, in the most densely po-pulated area in Galicia.

Apart from the Lérez, other rivers flow in thecapital city, such as Rons, Valdecorvos, andGafos. The salt marshes of Alba, Lérez, andMollavao, albeit reduced by landfills, createimportant wetlands very close to the urbanarea. The interior part of the estuary is anintertidal area with plenty of shellfish as wellas natural interest.

Its oceanic climate offers temperature va-lues of between 13-6ºC in January and 26-15ºC in August. It rains an average of 15days in January and 5 days in August.

Highway. Riverinvasion. 1980's

Situation on theGalcian-PortugueseAtlantic Axis

The capital is a compact and flat city. It is the commer-cial and service centre of the Rías Baixas Area; its ter-tiary economy is based on services related to its capitalstatus (administrative, health, judicial, military), as wellas commerce and leisure.

In the district there are food, automotive, constructionand tourism industries. Several high level university andsport centres complete the socioeconomic scenario.The primary sector is mainly related to forestry.The population in the

surroundings of Pon-tevedra live in seve-ral small urbancentres, some ofthem very close tothe capital. The po-pulation is scatteredin small settlementsspread over thelandscape.

The River Lérez mouth, which forms the Pontevedraestuary, outlines the cityʼs profile

Seat of the Xunta de Galiza(Autonomic government)

A compact city

Distribution ofthe populationin the territorialarea

North7,9

Uruguai5,9

Dom.Fontán

5,6

East3,6

J.Malvar5,1

E.Pondal3,2

South5,1

Fdez.Ladreda

4,5Av.Marín

5,1

A Barca5,2

46Millions of motorized movements are studied inthe capital every year, mainly from the most po-pulated areas (North, South, and West)

54.741Total number of motor vehicles registered in themunicipality of Pontevedra

40.203Cars registered in the capital

6.533Mopeds and motorcycles registered

117Buses registered for collective transport of people

1.285Intermodal car/pedestrian parking spaces forfree, in the surroundings of the city, a few minu-tes walk distance from the central area

4.437Spaces in conventional fee-based parking lots

7.406Parking spaces in public roads, all of them forfree

19Daily bus lines to and from Pontevedra

XXPassengers using the Bus Station

762.000Passengers using the Railway Station per year

Millions of movements per year are registered indifferent points of the urban network

Asphalt speed bumps, very frequent around the city

Motorized circulation

Started in the late 90's, it meant a radical alteration of urban mobility,which until then had been based on the excessive use of private cars.

The urban reformPhotographs show the 'then and now' situation in different places of the city. They reflect thesignificant scope of the urban reform that started in 1999 and meant the recovery for pedestrians of a large space that was previously occupied by cars.

After pedestrianization, the spacepreviously occupied by cars is nowused by pedestrians; universal ac-cessibility was generalized to pro-mote the independent life ofpeople with mobility challenges.The strengthening of the centralarea for commercial and adminis-trative activities prevented theconstruction of shopping centres inthe surroundings and thousands ofmotorized movements.

A worthy public space

The transformation of Pontevedra was equally inspired bythe 'City of Children' of Francesco Tonucci, for the purposeof promoting a healthier, happier childhood, combined withthe generalization of 'traffic calming' in the whole urbanspace. The work 'Calmar el tráfico', by Alfonso Sanz, wasone of the main inspirations for the reform.

66% on

foot or

by bik

e

4% pu

blic tra

nsport

30%private

car

Universal accessibility ex-tends throughout the publicurban space.

Some schools in the HistoricCentre profit from the publicspaces and use them as aplayground, which is safe forthe pupils

The modality ofurban transport

Less by car,more on foot

The managementof mobility

Almost all the areas ofmunicipal managementare related to mobility

The administrativeorganizationof mobility

After limiting the presence ofcars in the city, a substantialamount of public space wasgained and big pedestrian rou-tes were created, with broadareas of preference for move-ments on foot.

Moving without an engine —onfoot or by bike— in Pontevedrais very easy, healthy, and safe.Cars are not a permanent threatany more, since streets arecrowded, roads have been na-rrowed and physical obstacleshave become widespread. Itwas the first city to reduce topspeed to 30 km/h.

Pedestrian preference

The intermodal system to transport people is based on the priorityof non-motorized movements. There is a big strip of free parkingspace at one end of the centre, with capacity for one thousand vehi-cles, which works as a car/pedestrian exchanger for people comingfrom out of the capital who can leave their cars at 10 minutes wal-king distance from most areas of civic activity.

Intermodality is focused on pedestrians

The city on foot:times and distances

Average walkingtimes in the city. A

speed of 5 km/h hasbeen estimated

Just by looking at thecolour of the lines the

average times anddistances become

more accessible

Bus and railway stations work as a single com-munications node, and the interdistrict collectivetransports that come into the city have stops atthe main points of their routes. The connectionbetween the city centre and the stations can bemade through conventional routes or through theGafos river park, a pedestrian route filled withvegetation.

Most bus lines coming into the city, with about 50stops in the urban area, have this passengercentre as their origin or destination.Public transport of passengersPedestrian path Gafos River Station-Centre

Bus and railwayintermodal node

RailwayStation

BusStation

Pedes- trian path

Gafos RiverStation-Centre

Public transport ofpassengers map

Apart from free intermodal parkinglots, the surface parking system per-mits 15 minutes stays during busi-ness hours in the whole city, as wellas broad supply hours in pedestrianareas. The whole urban centre issurrounded by fee-based under-ground parking lots, with easy ac-cess from the periphery. In total,there are 13,131 parking spaces.This parking system permitted a no-ticeable reduction in motor traffic inthe urban centre.

Smart parking

66% pa

rking s

paces

for free

(8,691

)

13,131parking spaces

34% pa

id park

ing

spaces

(4,440

)

There are more than one thousand free dissuasive intermodal par-king spaces for private cars. The main ones are located at just 10minutes walking distance from the urban centre, around the sportspavilion, the football stadium, the culture palace, the showgroundand the university campus.

Free, for all vehicles

Working days fromto 8.00 to 13.30 h.,and from 16.30 to21.00 h.Except services,15 minutes only

The infrastructure and organization policy is complete with a per-suasive communication policy, both through conventional mediaand direct efforts, electronic communication, computer graphics, orcreativity. In this sense, metrominuto was the main advertising ele-ment of the new pedestrian preference system of the city, whichwas aimed at demystifying the times required for movements onfoot between any point of the city.

Information helps

Bike circulation is com-patible with motor trafficin the whole city, so thesystem avoids specific

lanes for these vehi-cles. They circulate with

no incidents throughpedestrian areas and

they have clearly sign-posted parking areas

spread all over the city.

Safe andintegrated

bikes

1. ʻMove with your own energyʼ2. ʻOn foot, you live moreʼ3. ʻLife-saving measures for youʼ4. ʻSafe streets for youʼ5. ʻWhich wheels do you prefer?ʼ

A constant informative andadvertising effort for thecitizens to sympathise withthe transformations

1

2

3

4

5

A full traffic education system at the elementary and in-termediate levels provides school population with anintensive familiarization with mobility. Sessions with oldage people, pregnant women, sportspeople, and peo-ple who need road re-education are also organized.

There is a system with mobilityofficers at the main crossroadsof the city in school rush hours.Thus, children go to school ontheir own and they perceivethe city as a friendly environ-ment, with little risk. They ac-quire the values of sustainablemobility. Many retail outlets co-llaborate with School Route.Children can go there to askfor help, if necessary.

Traffic culture

School Route

School visits to the Mobility Centre of the Local police are frequent.

Several shops are involved in the School Route.The pupils can ask for help if need be

Literature on road safety has been incorporated.All pupils receive an illustrated childrenʼs novel,with a plot which has to do with road rage.

ʻSchool RouteʼʻThe city, accompaniesyou to schoolʼ

ʻIʼm mobile andmy head is inthe right placeʼ

ʻHelp here!ʼ

The resultsThanks to the new system, unnecessary motor traffichas been removed from the urban space, since 65%of movements are on foot or by bike.

Intermodality is based on the abandonment of motorvehicles for movements within the city. Most peoplecome and leave their means of transport (train, bus,private car) to go to any internal destination on foot.

People can move more comfortably around the citywithout the pressure from cars, the city is more habi-table and friendly for people, tertiary economic acti-vity is favoured and centres of attraction for tourismand commerce are created.

The environmental improvement is unquestionable,since eliminating engine gases reduces the damageto atmosphere and it contributes to a healthy andmore ecologically sustainable environment.

It improves road safety significantly, fulfilling the Eu-ropean objectives and the demands of a society or-ganized against traffic violence, eliminating deaths inthe transformed areas (virtually the whole urbanarea) and keeping a low level of incidents, with veryfew serious episodes.

The Pontevedra urban model, apart from being the sub-ject of public presentations, sessions and work mee-tings in different places of the Iberian Peninsula, hasbeen granted several awards.

Among them, the 2007 Cermi Prize, granted by theConfederación Estatal de Persoas con Discapacidade(CEPD; State Confederation of Disabled People). A me-aningful prize, since it was awarded by the very peoplewho face mobility challenges and have organised them-selves in the legal form of this state-wide association.

The 2008 Premio Nacional da Cultura Galega (Natio-nal Prize of Galician Culture), in recognition of theurban transformation and sensible management of thecityʼs valuable historic and architectural heritage.

The 2010 Fundación Fesvial de Seguridad Vial(Urban Safety) Award, granted by a jury in which themajor mobility and security-related institutions of theSpanish State were represented, as well as privatecompanies and road safety NGOs.

The Mobilidad Segura (Safe Mobility) Prize in the IIMeeting of Cities for Road Safety, held in Córdoba

under the auspices of the Dirección General deTráfico (DGT, the official Spanish body which su-pervises road safety), for having reduced roadaccidents in the capital to a historic minimum.

The current 2013 Intermodes Prize for an inter-modal transport policy based on pedestrian mobi-lity is the main recognition from an institutionlinked to the European Union in relation to the al-ternative city model represented by Pontevedra.

Recognition

The whole Historic Center has been declareda pedestrian area. Cars are only allowed to

circulate for essential services

ʻIntelligent Mobilityʼ, ʻHealthy Cityʼ,mottos for the European MobilityWeeks

1The urban mobilityIn our society, mobility needs are growing; roads,highways, subways, trains, ports, airports, are in-creasing their capacity and try to meet, separatelyor connected to one another, increasingly higherdemands; safety and comfort of infrastructures andmeans of transport are higher and higher.

This optimistic outlook radically breaks when weenter the urban world. Mobility problems, both forgoods and passengers, in the urban world are stillunresolved; furthermore, we could say that in thelast decades the situation has remained stationaryat best, and, generally speaking, it has evolved ne-gatively.

Mobility has improved a lot in the last decadesas regards infrastructures and means oftransport. The exception is urban mobility,which remains in the same poor situation, oreven worse

Better on footCONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF METROMINUTOPriority of the pedestrian mode in urban mobility and intermodalityCésar Mosqueira Councellor of Mobility and Infraestructure

2Is there a solution for urban mobility?Something, or a lot, must have been done wrong so that the big investments made and theactions of all kinds which have been taken have not had a positive impact on urban mobi-lity. All kinds of measures have been tested with unimpressive results.

Blue Zones, ORA, reversible lanes, reduction of footways, underpasses and overpasses forpedestrians, overpasses for traffic, green waves, dissuasive parking, smart traffic lights,charges to enter the city, parity of license plates, restrictions to pedestrian flows, publictransport improvement, ... and a long list of this kind of measures, were announced as solu-tions, and in certain cases they may have implied an improvement, but the general problemof urban mobility and urban road safety is still a serious unresolved problem.

When a problem like this, which has been addressed to with different and varied proposalsand approaches, with multiple resources and measures, still has no solution, it is certainlybecause there is one or more conceptual and structural aspects that are not being addres-sed.

We are not focusing on issues such as the higher demand of mobility, the increase in thenumber of motor vehicles, the population concentration and the activity in cities or metropo-litan areas, the longer distances between residential areas and work areas, the design ofnew cities, and so on. These facts are invariable parameters, or, at least, they change veryslowly and with difficulty; there have been attempts to design parts of cities, and evenwhole cities, for vehicles, and, over time, mobility problems ended up being similarly se-rious.

Some variable, deep, structural, conceptual root cause is still unresolved as regardsurban mobility. If these background problems are not addressed, specific measureswill fail as they did in the past.

3The priorities of urban mobilitymodes are invertedWe are thinking about the huge and deeply un-fair disproportion in the consideration, both realand official, of the different types of mobility, inthe supposed rights acquired by individual vehi-cles, by tourism, on each and every means oftransport. This is the big unresolved backgroundproblem that is hampering all the actions takento improve urban mobility and safety, as well asreducing urban quality, the quality of life in cities.

All the other means of transport have suffered aserious deterioration in their functionality: bikes,public transport, pedestrians, and even, indi-rectly, trains and subways. Of all these means ofmobility, those that suffered the most with thesupremacy of cars were pedestrians and bikes.The latter were about to disappear from our ci-ties (we are trying to recuperate them), and pe-destrians have been limited in such a way thatthey have almost become marginal (we are alsotrying to recuperate them, often following medi-cal advice).

The balance among the different modes ofurban mobility is deeply, radically andunfairly biased towards individual motorvehicles. This is the root cause that mustbe addressed

4Pedestrian mobilityPedestrian mobility is the most basic and natural ofthem all; it is the most important and, moreover, it isabsolutely irreplaceable. All the artificial forms of mobi-lity can be substituted, in cities, by other alternatives.The only one that is absolutely natural and biologicalcannot be substituted.

Motorized mobility was a huge advance that allowedus to get further away in less time, but its functionalitywas so invasive that it created the illusion that it couldreplace the natural ways of displacement.

Walking for some minutes, apart from being very natu-ral and healthy, is inherent to the human being, exceptwhen there is any physical impairment.

But, apart from these characteristics, it is the most lo-gical way to move in an urban environment, at leastwithin a reasonable range, distance and time.

And where walking is not enough to be the onlymeans of mobility, it must be important to combine itwith others.

Pedestrian mobility is the healthiest and most na-tural way to move in an urban environmentwhen the distances and times required do not ex-ceed some limits, for instance 3 km or 40 minu-tes. Considering that this kind of displacementsare done on foot would be the decisive factor forthe global improvement of urban mobility. Indisplacements that involve more distance ortime, the pedestrian mode must also be a decisivecomponent; it must be the central axis of inter-modality

5The urban road networkEfforts and attention were focused, al-most exclusively, on the improvement,always unattainable, of motor traffic,and the problems of pedestrian circula-tion were completely abandoned. Theresult was that urban roads became in-hospitable and dysfunctional for pe-destrians, which contributed decisivelyto the abandonment, or rather the res-triction, of pedestrian mobility. It cannever be abandoned, because that isnot possible. Bearing in mind howurban roads have been treated, if ithad been possible, then it would havebeen abandoned in the same way ascycle mobility.

Ridiculous footways, barriers and nonassumable detours, fences to confinepedestrians, dull overpasses and un-derpasses, invasion of footways byparked cars, lighting directed to theroad, leaving footways in the dark...these were the consequences of thisbackground approach, of the prioritygranted to motorized mobility.

Finally, we do not have to do a deepsearch in newspaper libraries to findout that a road in bad conditions is animportant public problem, while a foot-way in bad conditions is hardly ever asrelevant. Another symptom: publicworks are permanently criticized be-cause they affect motor traffic; pedes-trians, who suffer more due to publicworks, are seldom mentioned.

Pedestrian mobility should have atleast the same importance asroad traffic as regards regula-tions and design, sustainabilityand management of urbanroads. This is a big challengefor administrations and citizensalike if we want to recover a na-tural order in the different kindsof mobility. Pedestrians' needsmust be incorporated as an es-sential variable

The Lerez walkway, an eight-kilometre path along the river

6Balance between the different mobilitiesThe principle of treating pedestrian traffic and motor traffic equally must be put intopractice in a consistent way. The acceptance of this principle would be useless ifspecific measures are not implemented.

There is much to improve in the design characteristics and maintenance of pedes-trian ways, but there is more as regards the core concept. It is difficult to provide de-finite technical specifications for all cases, but it is very easy to establish a clear andequitable principle: in the streets where pedestrian traffic and motor traffic are se-gregated, the space, the surface devoted to motor traffic and parking should neverexceed a half of the total surface, with some exceptions that will be mentioned later.And it should be understood as a generous rule for road traffic, since all the otheruses of roads would have to be contented with the other half. Street lamps, dus-tbins, garbage containers, benches, cantilevers, terraces, disable almost 2 m; if wealso consider cycle lanes, where, that 50% subtracted from road traffic may leaverather precarious ways for pedestrians. Anyway, there should be at least 2.5 m to-tally free, that is, 4 m in gross. If the road cross-section is not enough for this kind offootways, the only alternative is that the road becomes a single platform, with redu-ced, slow traffic and preference given to pedestrians.

The different kinds of mobility, particularly road mobility and pedestrian mobi-lity, must receive an equitable treatment in urban roads; the reserve for roadtraffic should never exceed a half of the total street surface

7The ʻrightʼ to parkThe assumed principle thatʻsurface parking is a scarceasset that must be distributedequallyʼ usually involves a se-ries of actions that could besummarized as ʻonce all publicspace has been occupied forparking, this is still scarceʼ and,therefore, all the other usesand occupations of public spa-ces, some of which are moreinteresting for urban quality andmobility, are restricted in favourof parking. Going to the source,the approach should be ʻpublicspace is a scarce asset in highdemand that must be distribu-ted among the different uses inan equitable wayʼ.

The assumed right to parkin public spaces must be-come one of the rightsexisting in public roadsin equal terms, losing itsalmost monopolistic pri-vilege, through a regula-tion of the uses of publicspaces that is equitableand gives priority to co-llective interest againstindividual interest

8The concept of necessityThere is a universal consensus on the fact that motor traffic in cities causes serious problems and harm: atmospheric and acoustic pollution, sa-turation of urban roads, traffic jams, severe discomfort, if not impossibility for other kinds of mobility. On the other hand, the car is a part of ourcivilization and it has meant a substantial advance; it is necessary and cannot be prohibited in the urban environment; the solution should be arational use, that is, a more balanced alternative. We must search for and find a solution to this dichotomy.

A central issue, the nodal issue, will be to define the concept of ʻnecessityʼ or ʻnecessary serviceʼ in a reasonable, equitable, and assumableway. That is, establishing the line that separates when the use of motor mobility, particularly the private one, is necessary, and, therefore, is justi-fied and allowed. When driving or parking in public spaces is not necessary, then, it should not be justified or allowed.

The compatibilization, the balance between the use of the car in cities and the reduction of the problems caused by its abuse, is determined bythe clear, sharp fixation of the concept of ‘necessity’ in a socially assumed way and with operating solutions. Traffic is reduced to assumableand manageable intensities

9About speedsIn the traffic of a city, where contingenciessuch as children who separates from theirmother, an absent-minded pedestrian, a carthat manoeuvres incorrectly, sudden stops,forced or not, permitting maximum speedsthat may cause accidents with tragic conse-quences is a kind of Russian roulette thatshould be eradicated. With some excep-tions, top speed of 30 km/h seem appro-priate; danger and noise can be reducedsignificantly.

But effective compliance is even more im-portant. Traffic signs with a reasonablespeed limit are useless if a certain percen-tage of drivers, say 10% or 15%, do not res-pect them; they may produce even moredanger and noise: risky overtaking manoeu-vres, horn noises. The reality is that, in orderto ensure these moderate speeds, it is ne-cessary, at least at this moment, to resort tophysical elements to slow down traffic.

On the other hand, danger and the lack ofsafety on urban roads cannot be measuredby the number of accidents and victims; thefeeling of lack of safety is not as tragic asthe effects on victims, but it seriously dete-riorates quality of life in cities and limits theautonomy of weaker people, particularly chil-dren, who cannot explore and dominate theirenvironment autonomously.

Moderate maximum speeds must be esta-blished in all urban areas where otherexisting uses may cause accidents and,most of all, these limits must be enfor-ced with the necessary physical measu-res

10Social dynamicsWhen a process to rebalance the uses of urban public spaces is started, a re-balance between the pedestrian mobility mode and the motor mobility mode,there is a reaction, in different degrees, that reminds people of that maxim ofthe late Franco period: ʻWe can have a democracy when the Spanish peopleare readyʼ.

The opponents to this rebalance of mobility are a minority; they use argumentssuch as: ʻyes, but when there is enough parking spaceʼ, “yes, but when there isa consensus”, ʻyes, but when public transport improvesʼ, when..., when...,when... The privileged mobility mode, the motorized individual mode, resists lo-sing its prebends even for the sake of a rebalance, a general improvement ofboth mobility and urban safety and quality.

The recovery of pedestrian mobility, the rebalance among the different mo-bility modes can never be conditioned to futures or other actions. Wewould be delaying the solution to an urgent problem without a time hori-zon

11Thirteen years of experienceIn Pontevedra, the implementation process hasadvanced considerably; the whole city has aspeed limit of 30 km/h with the correspondingphysical barriers. Clear principles and concepts,and coherence in their application, have beencritical for the success of the process; the factthat the process is in an advanced stage lets usdraw conclusions, many of them definitive, andsee things very clearly, although implementationis not complete.

Urban quality and the quality of pedestrian andcycle mobility are high, and this has not restric-ted the functioning of the city. On the contrary,the city is more attractive and safer, and itworks better; everyone who “needs” to movearound to deliver supplies or transport passen-gers can do it much more easily than in the pre-vious situation.

According to the Mobility Study 2011, two thirdsof urban displacements correspond to pedes-trians, and even so, the volume of car displace-ments can be reduced in favour of pedestrians,because there is still a lot of traffic that does notfulfil any of the reasons that can be consideredas valid, and, therefore, it cannot be incorpora-ted to the concept of “necessity”.

On the other hand, accident rates are very low;there have been no deaths or serious injuries inthe transformed areas for 13 years.

The improvement of urban quality, urbanmobility, and safety is huge when we actfollowing the criteria described above

Three large waterways surround the city: Alba, Gafosand Lérez, which originates in the Island of Covo

12A total inversion of prioritiesPrioritizing pedestrian mobility clearly, with the resulting restrictionof road traffic, taking action on parking, and establishing the con-cept of ʻnecessityʼ, motor traffic intensities become manageable,surface public transport stops having problems, and cycle mobilitygets comfortable, coexisting both on the road with slow traffic and inpromenades and footways.

We are aware that every city has a different size and different cha-racteristics, but we cannot see any convincing reason why theseprinciples of action are not valid for every city. At the most, biggercities would have to be divided into sectors and certain specificurban areas, which are delimited by the main roads and have inter-zone functions, should receive a special treatment; but most areasare wide, consistent, and have no bottlenecks in intersections withthese partially excluded roads.

Our experience shows that the solution to urban mobility and sa-fety results from absolutely prioritizing pedestrian mobilityamong all the other types of urban mobility

13As an afterwordOn a report about ʻWhat cities soundlikeʼ, the conclusion drawn by the au-thors was that, in the extensive areas ofPontevedra treated according to thesecriteria, the dominant sounds are birdtrills and the voices of children. It mayseem idyllic, bucolic, strange, and un-real, but the truth is that it really is thatway; visitors used to other urban envi-ronments are surprised about the preva-lence of the sounds mentioned, or, whenchildren or birds cannot be heard, thelow ambient noise.The advantages as regards urban qualityand road safety are so evident, deep,and verifiable that they largely make upfor the effort and remove the possible in-itial reserves. We are convinced that thisis the way to go for mobility and safety incities; that the solution will only resultfrom a clear primacy, albeit not exclusi-vity, of pedestrian mobility in urban envi-ronments.

Pontevedra received the IntermodesPrize, a European award granted to the

best mobility policies. Nathalie Leclerc, one of the jury members,explains the reasons for the selection.

ʻThe urban model of Pontevedrais what we recognize with the prizeʼ

Intermodes started in 2009 to recognize the European communities that ʻstand out fortheir political will and their creativity to improve mobilityʼ. In 2013, for the first timethis prize was awarded to a city: Pontevedra. The executive director and co-founder ofthe organizing company (in conjunction with the European Union), Nathalie Leclerc,explains the reasons for this international recognition.

To start with, what kind of projects does de Intermodes award recognize?The main criteria are intermodality, originality of mobility policies, easy implementation, sus-tainability, eco-behaviour, interconnection of means of transport and organization.

You selected Metrominuto, designed by the Town Council,seemingly the first pedestrian map in Europe. Why?The well being of pedestrians and disabled people is an important step towards a better mo-bility and this is the first ecological network of mobility proposed in Europe. Pontevedra was

the first city that thought about it. This is a simple idea, yet a smartone, that must set an example for all Europe. Besides, it will letplanners rethink the city for pedestrians. In Pontevedra, the pedes-trian network integrates with the existing transport network, and itcontributes to intermodality in a significant way.

The Council understood the award as a recognitionof the Pontevedra urban model... Is this a correct interpreta-tion?Yes. The urban model developed by Pontevedra, which includesMetrominuto, is what we are recognizing with the prize. Intermoda-lity, including pedestrians, is one of the priorities of the city. Thesustainable mobility policy proposed by Pontevedra is what Inter-modes recognizes.

The Council says they did not send any proposal. How didyou get to know “Metrominuto”?The role of Intermodes is to ensure the monitoring of everythingthat is done as regards intermodality. That control is done throughparticipation in seminars, social networks, news about Europeancommunities on the Internet... That's how we knew about Metromi-nuto. We could not visit Pontevedra, but we got plenty of informa-tion through documents before choosing it as the best initiative.

Among the previous prize winners, we can find the mobilityplan of the Olympic Games, and other initiatives where thebeneficiaries are millions. However, this prize is awarded to acity with 80,000 inhabitants. Is this something accidental?At the intermodality level, there are no big or small projects. Someaudacious initiatives exist, and Metrominuto is one of them. Thisconcept can easily be transferred to cities with 80,000 inhabitants,which are more common in Europe than big conurbations. ThePontevedra approach fits well with the international commitmentsof the EU for the reduction of greenhouse effect gas emissionsand with the European laws on air quality. Walking is the firstmeans of transport, so pedestrians must have special areas tomove comfortably and in calm and safe conditions. Furthermore,walking is good for health and the environment. 83% of the Euro-peans still prefer to use their own car to move, but 30% of jour-neys in the city cover distances of less than 3 km, and 50% lessthan 5 km. Metrominuto is an alternative to short distance jour-neys, apart from being more ecological, cheaper, and healthier.

Do you think Pontevedra will benefit from this prize, beyondthe international recognition?The Intermodes prizes awarded previously had a significant im-

pact on the winning community, and in this case, bearing in mind that cities of this size aremore common in Europe than very big cities, we think that Metrominuto should serve as a re-ference for medium-sized cities, and even for small ones.

Does the prize include any kind of remuneration? Unfortunately, it doesn't, Intermodes does not receive any kind of subsidy, so it cannot affordto distribute economic prizes. However, the prize is supported by a media campaign wherethe city and its exemplary mobility policy in Europe will stand out.

Interview published by Diario de Pontevedra on 23 December 2012.

‘Walking is the firstmeans of transport’

‘Intermodality,including

pedestrians, is one of the

priorities of the city’

A city to be walked, with streets and sq

quares.. . not shopping centre corridors

pontevedra.eu/movete

Betteron footP O N T E V E D R A