The Municipality of Maribor organizes on April 10th and 11th RESOLVE Peer Review where several experts from Netherlands, Czech Republic, Sweden and Slovenia will provide advice to the city of Maribor on retail related traffic and revival of city centre.
Maribor City Council adopted ordinances and Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) with the aim to reduce carbon emissions. The city administration is searching for solutions on how to achieve those goals. There is too much motorized traffic generated by delivery and other services in the city centre. The issue is how to achieve reduction of emissions without harming the local economy, which is already in decline.
The city administration is planning also new pedestrian areas but retailers, restaurants, bars as well as inhabitants living in city centre are not in favour to new pedestrianization.
Maribor city administration would like to learn about projects where successful measures have been taken to reduce carbon emissions in city centres and pedestrian zones, how to overcome communication problems with the private sector in the city centre. More interaction between municipality and retailers is needed, what methods should be taken to communicate successfully with small shop keepers, cafés, restaurants, how to build trust and how to persuade them that less carbon emissions attract more visitors.
Important questions will be discussed with experts such as:
- How to involve inhabitants, retailers and owners of restaurants in mobility solutions and gain their support to the mobility strategy
- How to motivate decision makers and city councillors to make progress in improving the SUMP
- How to communicate benefits to inhabitants and retailers about more sustainable ways when visiting city centre and shopping
- How to demonstrate to inhabitants that public space can be improved by introducing new pedestrian areas at the riverside Drava
- How to accelerate revival of historic city centre since inhabitants prefer shopping in a nearby shopping centre where they have free parking and events are organized, while less people are shopping and visiting the old city centre.
RESOLVE partners will be helping with their experts to understand better sustainable mobility solutions and new opportunities for economic growth of the city.
