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1950s 1960s Today

Relationship between Share of Urban Trips by Transit, Bicycle, and Foot and Per Capita Annual CO2 Emissions from Road and Rail

Transport in Australia, Canada, the USA and EU Countries, 2000-08

R² = 0.74

0.000

1.000

2.000

3.000

4.000

5.000

6.000

0 10 20 30 40 50

Ann

ual T

ons o

f CO

2 pe

r ca

pita

Percent of trips by public transport, bicycle, and foot

USA

Canada

Australia

Netherlands

Ireland

Spain

France

Sweden

Austria

Germany

UK Norway

Finland

Denmark

Belgium

Sources: (Bassett, Pucher, Buehler, Thompson, & Crouter, 2008; BMVBS, 1991-2008; IEA, 2009)

Walk, Bike, Transit Share of Trips Tran

spor

t CO

2 Em

issi

ons

per C

apita

More sustainable ground passenger transport in Germany

  ~3 times more CO2 emissions per capita in USA   U.S. households spend more for transport (~$2,700 p.a.)   Higher annual per capita government expenditures for roads and public transport in the USA ($625 vs. $460)   2.3 times higher traffic fatalities per capita in USA

Framework: Federal Policies in Germany

  Taxes and regulation make car use more expensive   Flexible funds for walking and cycling   Dedicated funding for transit investments   Regulations that guide land-use planning and require cooperation among levels of government   Strategic leadership in transport and land-use planning   Only the framework: most policies that make transport more sustainable are developed on the local level

Case Study Freiburg

• 220,000 inhabitants, 120,000 jobs, 30,000 students

•  Strong Economic and population growth

• Gateway to Black Forest Region (620,000 pop.)

• “Germany’s Environmental Capital”

• Important Eco-Industry (10,000 jobs, €500m GDP)

• Green Party mayor

Thanks to Bernhard Gutzmer, Uwe Schade, Wulf Daseking (all city of Freiburg), Andreas Hildebrandt (VAG Freiburg)

Stagnating levels of motorization in Freiburg (cars & light trucks per 1,000)

Sources: (BMVBS, 1991-2008; City of Freiburg, 2009b; FHWA, 1990-2008)

Declining share of trips by car

Sources: (City of Freiburg, 2007; University of Dortmund, 2001)

Share of Trips by Public Transport, Cycling, and Walking in Freiburg and Cities of Comparable Population Size

(~200,000) in Europe and North America, 2006/2007

Sources: (City of Freiburg, 2007; Gutzmer, 2006; Socialdata, 2009; StatCan, 2009; U.S. Census Bureau, 2009)

Freiburg: sustainability trends

  VKT Car use declined by 7% from 1990 to 2005  local roads only: -13%

  Per-capita CO2 emissions from transport: -13%  to a level that is only 29% of U.S. average

  Bicycle safety: Freiburg: 1.2; Germany: 1.7 , USA: 5.8 fatalities per 10 million km cycled   Transit operating budget subsidy per year: Freiburg10%, Germany 25%, USA 65%

Short summary overview of transport and land use planning history

1944: 80% of city destroyed in air raid 1950s/1960s: Rebuilding the city to serve the needs

of the car 1970s: Crucial decisions: laying the ground

work for sustainable transport 1980s: Improving public transport, walking

and cycling 1990s/2000s: Restricting car use and further

promoting the green modes

Muensterplatz 1960s Source: City of Freiburg

Muensterplatz 2000 Source: City of Freiburg

Integrated Land-Use and Transportation Planning

Expand Transit

Complete Bike Network

Traffic Calming

Bundling Car Traffic

Parking Management

(Source: adapted from City of Freiburg)

Complementary Goals of most Recent Transport and Land–Use Plans

  Goals of Transport Planning  Minimize car travel  Move car trips to other modes  Make car travel as environmentally friendly as possible

  Goals of Land-Use Planning:   Improve quality of life  “City of Short Distances”  Strengthening Freiburg as regional center  Preservation of City

Accommodating growth within the city limits

(Source: City of Freiburg)

Vauban & Rieselfeld Neighborhoods

(Source: Berkeley)

Integrated Land-Use and Transportation Planning

Expand Transit

Complete Bike Network

Traffic Calming

Bundling Car Traffic

Parking Management

(Source: adapted from City of Freiburg)

Expanding light rail

(Source: City of Freiburg)

Public Transport and Land Use

(Source: City of Freiburg)

Integration of modes

Heavy Rail

Light Rail

Bike Parking Garage

(Source: Google Maps)

Train Station

Bus Station

Regional coordination of services and ticketing

  Transferable “Environmental Protection” since1984

  Regional monthly transit ticket since 1991   Regional Transit Authority (75 towns, 187 operators, 3050km of routes)

  Annual ticket: 450 Euros   Ticket for students: 69 Euros for 6 months   RegioMobilCard including car sharing etc.   Signal priority for light rail

(Source: City of Freiburg & Pucher)

Integrated Land-Use and Transportation Planning

Expand Transit

Complete Bike Network

Traffic Calming

Bundling Car Traffic

Parking Management

(Source: adapted from Stadt Freiburg)

Freiburg bike facts

  Cycle journeys per weekday rose from 69,500 in 1976 to 140,000 in 1994 and to 211,000 in 2007   1972: only 29km of unconnected bike lanes in city; today 410km network   Roughly 400 kilometers of roads are “Tempo 30 Zones” (75% of all roads; 90 % of population)   89% of households have bicycles

Regional Bike Network

(Source: City of Freiburg)

Bike Parking Garage for 1,000 Bikes

(Source: Swearingen White)

Bicycle Infrastructure: Lanes, Streets, Paths, Boxes

(Source: City of Freiburg & Swearingen White)

Integrated Land-Use and Transportation Planning

Expand Transit

Complete Bike Network

Traffic Calming

Bundling Car Traffic

Parking Management

(Source: adapted from Stadt Freiburg)

Traffic calming of Neighborhoods

(Source: City of Freiburg)

BEFORE

AFTER

177 Home Zones in Freiburg

(Source: City of Freiburg & Pucher)

Pedestrian zone since 1973

(Source: City of Freiburg & Swearingen White)

Integrated Land-Use and Transportation Planning

Expand Transit

Complete Bike Network

Traffic Calming

Bundling Car Traffic

Parking Management

(Source: adapted from Stadt Freiburg)

Roads for cars in yellow

(Source: City of Freiburg)

Parking Management

Current Planned Extensions

(Source: City of Freiburg)

Lessons for Implementing Sustainable Transport Policies

  Implement controversial policies in stages   Plans should be adaptable over time to changing conditions

  Policies must be multi-modal and include both incentives and disincentives

  Fully integrate transport and land-use planning   Citizen involvement is an integral part of policy development and implementation

  Support from higher levels of government is crucial to making local policies work

  Sustainable transport policies must be long term, with policies sustained over time, for lasting impact

Integrated Land-Use and Transportation Planning

Expand Transit

Complete Bike Network

Traffic Calming

Bundling Car Traffic

Parking Management

Thank you!

Ralph Buehler, Assistant Professor

Urban Affairs and Planning

Virginia Tech, Alexandria Center

ralphbu@vt.edu

Phone: 703-701-8104 http://www.nvc.vt.edu/uap/people/rbuehler.html