Transport in rural areas
Oct 16th, 2009 by sophiefromaile
80 people, politicians and employees of rural communities, gathered in Guichen (France) to meet several french expert on transport. This conference was organised within PRACTISE, a partner project of RURENER.
The first point made during the debates, which were animated and interesting, is that transport issues have to be integrated very soon in land planning operation. For example, building a housing scheme outside the village multiplies short motorised journeys. Or, it was reported about a roundabout in a new business park which was too tight to let the public bus pass.
The second point was that communities can be active in their official role as Transport Organisation Authorities but that they can also create or encourage civic-minded initiatives. For example, a group of parents organizing “pedestrian buses” to the school can be supported by the mayor ; carpoooling can be boosted by the creation of secured car parks close to intersections.
The conference has been followed by an open day for citizens who could meet the carpooling and carsharing associations, and test fuel saving driving.
