1) How do you evaluate RESOLVE's first 2 years? What have you learnt so far?
We evaluate very positively the first 2 years of the RESOLVE project. In particular, the Exchange of Experience activities have been very interesting and useful for Almada, because it allowed us to identify and learn more about several good practices that might be replicated in our Municipality. The Peer Review in Almada that was organized in the framework of the project was also a great opportunity to provide the Local Authorities and Stakeholders with an “outside” perspective, which allowed us to see some aspects of our mobility strategy in a different way. The Peer Review, together with the presentation and discussion of the evaluation findings to other local stakeholders in the transport and mobility sector, will be important to deepen the work of the City Council the development of its SUMP. Finally, the Study Visits were also a highly valued activity. The opportunity to see and hear more about relevant good practices is surely one of the most relevant outcomes of the project – for example, Almada City Council technicians and other local stakeholders had the opportunity to learn more about the adoption of Urban Consolidation Centers in Italian cities, which is something our city wants to implement in order to increase the sustainability of the retailing activities in our urban center.
2) Which is your main focus and which are the main RESOLVE activities at local level? Which will be the main outcomes of RESOLVE?
The main focus is to increase the sustainability of the mobility related to retailing in the city center, which was pedestrianized in 2008 in order to prepare for the entrance of the light rail system, Metro Sul do Tejo. However, part of the pedestrianized area was revoked since then, due to pressure from the retailers of the city center, which associated the changes in car traffic circulation with the decline of customers and commercial activity that resulted from the financial crisis that affected Europe in general and, in a particularly strong way, Portugal. For this reason, Almada City Council hopes that the RESOLVE project might support us in engaging relevant local stakeholders like the Retailers Association in better understanding the Cities sustainable mobility policies and by having the opportunity to see for themselves how good practices like pedestrianization of city centers implemented in partner cities and regions, did not decrease retailing activities but instead contributed to less pollution and congestion, more vibrant and inclusive cities and most importantly, robust economic growth of local commerce. This feeling is also enhanced by the realization of the retailer and consumer surveys, which provide useful inputs and support us help us to demystify some generally accepted ideas. Having just finished the evaluation of the fist survey to about 90 shopkeepers and 390 customers, we see a clear discrepancy in the way that retailers perceive the modal slit of their customers (heavily favoring private car) and the actual way customers move to shops (which is mostly on foot and by public transport).
3) How do you see mobility in your city/region by 2021 and how will RESOLVE contribute to achieve these objectives and vision?
The entrance into force of the new Legal Regime of the Public Transport Service of Passengers (Law n.º 52/2015), the Municipalities are now faced with the challenge of being Local Transport Authorities. This new Legal framework defines how the competent authorities may intervene in the field of public passenger transport (in rail and road modes) to ensure the provision of services of general interest by establishing a new contracting regime. To prepare for the contractualisation of the regular and flexible public road passenger transport service from 3 December 2019. In this sense, although the general definition of the intermunicipal network is made at the level of the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, it will be up to the municipalities like Almada to have a word to say in the definition of the future municipal bus network and parameters of service, including the co-modality with other transport modes (tram, ferry and train). Therefore, in the short/medium term, the Municipality intends to take on its new competencies and capacities in the definition and planning of the transport network and in the development of its SUMP and SULP, in order to advance to a more sustainable mobility system in Almada, favoring soft modes and public transportation to the detriment of the private car. The RESOLVE project will assist us in the identification and definition of policies and measures to promote sustainable mobility for shopping and retailing activities, which are likely to be eligible for co-financing through the Regional Operational Program due to the integration between the INTERREG program and the Structural and Investment Funds of the European Union.
