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Sustainable mobility for all weeks and all neighborhoods (21/09/2017)

The European Mobility Week (SEM) represents an opportunity to show citizens the benefits of actions in sustainable mobility, while promoting changes in the habits of displacement in both the public and private spheres.

In addition to its educational vocation, the interannual balance of it should contemplate the increase in the number of people that access the urban nucleus by bicycle, public transport or walking, as well as the number of cars that have been eliminated from the city center, without forgetting the evolution of noise and the quality of the air we breathe.

The motto of the SEM of 2017 "Sharing you will go further" is a provocative bet that directly faces the all-powerful empire of the private vehicle to collective needs.

Spain is the country of the world in which there has been a greater increase of the users of the bicycle.

This phenomenon has been used by cities such as Seville, Valencia, Zaragoza, Vitoria, etc.

where urban transformation has begun to bear fruit in the economy and the quality of life of its neighbors.

However, in Murcia the recovery of public space for people collides first with the history of urban design.

From the creation of the Gran Vía sculptor Francisco Salzillo in the 1950s to the development of the shopping centers in the north of the city, past the expansion zones, all the city planning activities have had the car as the central axis.

Thus, in addition to the impact of these policies on historical and natural heritage, the car has occupied 80% of the public space, despite participating in only 29% of the urban movements of large cities.

At the same time, in all European cities, the presence of the railway in the urban core is a fundamental tool to guarantee intermodality and access to it from nearness, distance and distance.

On the contrary, to date the arrival of high speed to Murcia will be a shameful wall that condemns isolation to a population whose only crime has been to live south of the tracks.

In this context, with the worst cycling network in Spain (OCU, March 2017) and the unfortunate consequences on safety, the creation of a 7 km peripheral bike path is not a problem in itself, but to be part of the solution will have to be connected with the bicycle routes that go to the urban nucleus.

The reaction of a part of the users of the car in front of the creation of cycle lanes shows the need to clearly explain the objectives of a global mobility policy.

The new network of bike lanes projected, and presented with a certain nightlife last August, will allow the connection of the bike lanes in the northeastern part of the city.

Therefore, once the vacations are over, the municipal authorities must make it clear that in the face of the needs of pedestrians, bicycles, public transport and cars, it is necessary to prioritize without ambiguity those that benefit the community.

The pedestrianization, the loss of car parks and the limitations of access of the car have as main objective to diminish the presence of the car in the urban nucleus and must be accompanied by viable alternatives of public transport.

Thus, the ability to report the advantages of such an approach is the best vaccine against the short-term reaction of the citizen who has been stimulated secularly to park their vehicle in the center.

Because, beyond the logistical difficulties, the change of mentality is the main obstacle presented by the policies of sustainable mobility;

the individualism intrinsic to the use of the automobile erroneously turns into an acquired right the occupation of the public space, obviating its negative impact on the community.

And if sustainability is concerned, budget credibility is one of the fundamental pillars when prioritizing actions.

If the pedestrianization of the first phase of the walk of Alfonso X El Sabio finally reaches a cost of 3 million euros, it is possible to face to such amount the cost of all the bike lanes projected, the increase of the lines of public transport from the districts and the other measures that, despite not being so striking at the time of its inauguration, could facilitate the life to a great number of neighbors of different districts of the municipality.

Therefore, in the SEM of 2017 there is little to celebrate and much to explain to the residents of Murcia to get added individual efforts in favor of common benefit.

Source: Agencias

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