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Transportation InnovationFreiburg, GermanyBy Rachel Island, Jacqui Harvey, and Hasang CheonCornell University December 2008Figure : City of Freiburg. Image acquired from: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/german/yearabroad/cityguides/freiburg.shtmlIntroduction“Freiburg is one of the "greenest" cities in Germany, not just from the political perspective, but also in terms of nature. No other city of comparable size has more forests and vineyards and such a diversity of landscapes, which range from the rough heights of the Black Forest down to the alluvial forests by the River Rhine. The geographical location, the mild sunny climate and the relaxed way of life all contribute to Freiburg’s image as a truly green city” (Climate 2007). The focus of our paper is however a different aspect. Freiburg has a policy that gets people out of their cars and into other modes of transport. So how did Freiburg get people out of cars? It started with the ‘green’ movement in response to both the citizens’ demands and policies initiated by the local government. Freiburg’s transportation policy of mixed land use and the ‘five pillars’, car discouragement, and highly convenient public transportation, biking, and walking, make it all work together. In studying this city, one cannot avoid also taking a look at the Vauban district, where there is an even greener approach than the city itself has taken.Transportation Policy In 2007, Freiburg was named the “Gold Star” winner of the Osmose Awards for its success in the area of transportation management (Osmose 2007). Freiburg achieved this award by integrating policies on land use with policies on transport planning. By developing residential areas into areas of mixed use, people were able to access more services closer to home, and by combining this with improvements to public transit and cycling services, as well as restrictions on car traffic, Freiburg found that it was able to drastically reduce the use of automobiles in thecity. Freiburg’s goal was to strengthen the city center and the district centers through urban planning and transport policies, creating a more walk-able city. Freiburg’s transportation policy was developed around five main pillars (see Figure 1). These five pillars are: extension of the public transportation network, promoting cycle traffic, traffic restraint, channeling individual motorized vehicle traffic, and parking space management (Osmose 2007). By using this integrated approach to transport policy, Freiburg manages to make the use of automobiles less appealing while at the same time turning public transit and cycling into more appealing and viable forms of transportation. This two sided approach to the problem makes it easier for people to make the shift from cars to greener modes of transportation. But so far we have not discussed many specific policies. So what does Freiburg actually do to implement the five pillars of its transportation policy? The first part we will focus on is Freiburg’s car discouragement policies. In Freiburg, severe restrictions are imposed on cars. Laws restrain automobile traffic by reducing the speed Figure : Five Pillars of Transport Policy (Osmose 2007).limit on many roads to 30 kilometers per hour (approximately 18 mph) and on a growing number of “home zones” and “bicycle streets,” the speed limit has been lowered to 15 kilometers per hour (Melia 2007). This creates a safer environment for pedestrians and cyclers, as well as children playing in the streets. It also makes traveling by car less appealing because it is no longer the fastest and most efficient way to get to your destination. The inefficiency of the car is increased by the fact that many streets and urban areas are blocked off to automobile traffic. Freiburg has created an extensive traffic management system that channels as much automobile traffic as possible onto a few main streets in order to keep traffic light on the majority of other streets (Melia 2007). This is mainly accomplished by lowering the speed limit to 30 kilometers per hour (kph) or less on streets that are not meant for car traffic to encourage drivers to stay on the main roads and by using one-way streets to reduce the traffic volume in local street networks and channel through traffic onto arterial routs. In total, Freiburg has 120 one-way streets (Transport 2008). Another method Freiburg uses to channel automobile traffic is to close certain areas off to car traffic all together. For example, the historic center of the city, which was built in the medieval style with narrow, winding streets, was traditionally plagued by congestion and exhaust from cars, but because of Freiburg’s transportation initiative, the city center (shown below) has been progressively pedestrianized and is now closed to all private vehicles (Melia 2007). Freiburg also restricts automobile use through parking space management. In Freiburg, on-road parking has progressively been replaced by multi-story and underground parking garages, which are often expensive to use (Melia 2007). By limiting the number of parkingspaces and making it more expensive to park, the city of Freiburg further reduces the appeal of driving a car. However, making it more difficult for people to use their cars will not produce a change in behavior unless there is an alternative form of transportation that people can use to replace their cars. That is why Freiburg has put a great deal of money and effort into improving their public transit system and making it easier for people to walk and bike around the city. Freiburg already had an extensive public transportation system before the city started the initiative to become greener, but having a good public transportation system is only the first step. One of the most important things Freiburg did to increase walking, cycling and public transit use was to create stronger city and district centers and to promote areas of mixed use. This made it easier for people to access supplies and services closer to home, and it gave Freiburg the Figure : Freiburg City Center. Image acquired from: http://shizzyinfreiburg.blogspot.com/2007_04_01_archive.htmlnickname “city of short distances” (Osmose 2007). Also, since cars are forced to travel slowly on most city streets, Freiburg was able to create a public transit system that is faster and more efficient than cars, and the city trams run frequently so


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CORNELL CRP 384 - Study Notes

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