Mobility development plan for rural areas NEW BRIDGES Project Workshop Kaunas 8.-9. June 2010

1. Mobility development plan for rural areasNEW BRIDGESProject WorkshopKaunas 8.-9. June 2010 Raitis Madžulis Zemgale Planning Region

2. Priority challenges identified • - Weak mobility of inhabitants in rural areas • - Insufficiently used infrastructure in cities • - Bad accessibility of services in rural areas

3. Mainissues • Main problem is weak mobility of inhabitants in rural areas with following other consequences like not used infrastructure in cities and bad accessibility of services in rural area. • By the Pilot Action will tackle such tools like planning method, investigation and study, probably exchange of experiences. • As result of Pilot Action will be elaborated common mobility development plan of Zemgale Region which include elaborated Regional public transport network and programme for reconstruction and building roads.

4. Mainissues • Closed traffic routes of buses and railway lines, therefore people can not come to cities and centres and as consequences is insufficient use of infrastructure. • Weak maintenance of roads due to lack of financial sources and public transport cann’t use those roads, inhabitants break private cars. • Weak mobility to trouble solving of unemployment problem • Bigger municipalities after administrative territorial reform, longer distance to administrative centre and bad rouds to trouble rural inhabitants • Not linked different systems of public transport – no linked bus routes with railway lines, for example. • Due to decreasing of population rural municipalities cann’t offer services brecause it is so expensive

5. DECREASE OF POPULATION Source: Central statistical bureau of Latvia

6. Roads

7. Decision process (Summary) • Decision about pilot action in Zemgale Region was taken by 1st and 2nd Local Stakeholder Meetings • Stakeholders – municipalities (decision makers and planning specialists), University, entrepreneurs, questionnaires, interviews with politicans • Analysis of the Individual preferences – interviews with NGO’s • Discussion – working groups within Stakeholder meetings, validation of proposed model

8. Mobility development plan for rural areas • Main aim(s):To increase opportunities of inhabitants in rural area to access services, other places with improvement of road infrastructure and developed public transport system in countryside • Geographical scope:All territory of Zemgale Region (with possible including of directions of service to other regions and cross-border roads to Lithuania) • Target group: inhabitants 285 000 (50,3% in rural areas)

9. Mobility development plan for rural areas • Strategies and programmes: • 1.Mobility development plan will be in one line with existing: • Development Programme of Zemgale Region 2008 – 2014 • Spatial Plan of Zemgale Region 2006 – 2026 • 2.Mobility development plan will be Mid term planning document in Zemgale (like 2012-2018) with part of identified concrete actions

10. Mobility development plan for rural areas • Institutions and stakeholders to be involved: • Zemgale Planning Region administration; • 22 municipalities of Zemgale; • Bus companies operating with public transport; • State Road Directorate (state level); • Public opinion (inhabitants, NGO’s...) • Experts

11. Mobility development plan for rural areas • Main implementation steps (timeframe): • July 2010 – December 2010 • Investigation of road quality between municipal centres and service centres in rural area • Investigation of traffic needs and posibilities between municipal centres and service centres in rural area

12. Mobility development plan for rural areas • July 2010 – December 2010 • Investigation of accessibility of municipal centres with bigest cities and national centres • Investigation of traffic needs and posibilities between municipal centres and bigest cities, national centres • Study about possibilities to create common multimodal public transport network (bus, railway, plain, ferry, other)

13. Mobility development plan for rural areas • January 2011 – June 2011 • Elaboration of public transport network – integration and development of existing local networks • Including school bus system in the common transport network • Individual cases – terminal “into shop or hotel”, other • Proposals for empty territories • July 2011 – October 2011 • Public discussion, approval

14. Perspective of Regional roads

15. Mobility development plan for rural areas • Potential obstacles and risks: • 1.Lack of financial sources to implement plan in life; • 2.Decisions from responsible ministries side can made situation more worse than today. • 3. Changes in regional administration statuss and functions (political risk). • 4.Bad demographic situation can made another settlement structure in region. (Long term perspective).

16. Mobility development plan for rural areas • Main questions to discuss with the project partners • and the Project Steering Group: • 1.Existing experiences in other regions to develop mobility in rural areas (both – positive and negative).empty • 2.Experiences from plan to action (implementation of such plan).

17. Thank you for your attention!Feedback and comments are very welcome! Raitis Madžulis Zemgale Planning Region