VULNERABLE, YET SUSTAINABLE

‘Mobility for vulnerable road users’

Benoît BEROUD
Saône Alpes Consultant, France
[email protected]

Pascal van den NOORT

Velo Mondial, The Netherlands
[email protected]

Background document prepared for a Special Session of the XXIIIrd

World Road Congress of PIARC, the World Road Association, on
‘Mobility for vulnerable road users’ in Paris, September 2007

Lyon / Amsterdam May 31, 2007

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 CONTENTS

Contents...................................................................................................................................... 2
Summary .................................................................................................................................... 3
Resumé ..............................................................................Fout! Bladwijzer niet gedefinieerd.
Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 4
1 Towards a sustainable mobility?........................................................................................ 4
1.1 Vulnerable mobility, yet sustainable!............................................................................... 4
1.2 Use of sustainable mobility in the world.......................................................................... 5
1.3 Road safety of sustainable mobility. ................................................................................ 6
1.3.1 Figures....................................................................................................................... 6
1.3.2 Analyses .................................................................................................................... 6
1.3.3 Consequences ............................................................................................................ 7
2 A better non motorized mobility supply for a higher safety............................................ 8
2.1 Understand the modal choice and current behavior ......................................................... 8
2.1.1 The modal choice ...................................................................................................... 8
2.1.2 Understand the itinerary choice................................................................................. 9
2.2 An adapted mobility supply ........................................................................................... 10
2.2.1 Traffic laws ............................................................................................................. 10
2.2.2 Infrastructure design................................................................................................ 10
2.2.3 Vehicles................................................................................................................... 12
2.2.4 Services ................................................................................................................... 12
2.2.5 Public health services .............................................................................................. 12
2.3 Soft information back up mobility supply...................................................................... 12
2.3.1 Mobility awareness and safety prevention campaigns ............................................ 12
2.3.2 Training ................................................................................................................... 13
3 conditions to success......................................................................................................... 13
3.1 Measures have to fit with the local context.................................................................... 13
3.2 Politics willingness and politic governance. .................................................................. 14
3.2.1 Politic willingness ................................................................................................... 14
3.2.2 Politic governance: which public planner? ............................................................. 14
3.3 Knowledge and expertise sources .................................................................................. 15
Conclusion................................................................................................................................ 15
References ................................................................................................................................ 15

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 SUMMARY

This paper focuses on road safety for sustainable modes, namely non-motorized
transports. To tackle with this topic, we consider the mobility reflection as the sine
qua none condition. Even though 90 % of road injuries occur in developing countries,
sustainable mobility and public transport passengers represents 90 % of them. 2020
forecasts are quite alarming as these figures may increase by 65 % while safety will
increase in high income countries. Nowadays, sustainable mobility users suffer of
barriers effects created by policies toward road motorized transport. Hence,
sustainable mobility became less safe and less competitive. A sustainable solution
could be low speeds with consistent road designs in order to get an equilibrate force
balance between all road users.

RÉSUMÉ

Ce document traite de la sécurité routière pour les usagers des modes durables,
nommés les modes doux ou non motorisés. Nous considérons que la réflexion sur la
mobilité est la condition sine qua none pour aborder ce sujet. Alors même que 90 %
des accidents de la route ont lieu dans les pays en développement, 90 % d’entre eux
concernent les usagers de la route les plus vulnérables que sont les piétons, les
cyclistes et les usagers des transports en commun. Et la tendance ne devrait pas
s’inverser puisque le nombre d’accidents devrait augmenter de 65 % en 2020 dans
ces pays alors que, dans le même temps, la sécurité routière est en progression
dans les pays riches. A cause des politiques en faveur des véhicules motorisés, ces
usagers vulnérables ont subit les effets de coupures qui ont diminués leur
compétitivité et leur sécurité. Une des solutions consisterait à diminuer à adapter les
infrastructures routières pour des vitesses réduites afin de permettre un rééquilibrage
dans le partage de la voirie.

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 INTRODUCTION

Around 1.2 million people dead and between 20 and 50 million people injured
worldwide in 2002! Road traffic safety nowadays is a major public issue. If casualties
decrease in high income countries, 2020 forecast for low and middle income
countries are very pessimistic whereas they already represent 90 % of victims [1].
Most of them are vulnerable road users who travel in insecure conditions, i.e. mostly
travellers without any body protections: pedestrians 1 , cyclists, people in wheel chairs,
and women with pushchairs. We are fully aware of the increasing risks for motorized
and even semi-motorized two wheelers or people who use motorized transport
although they do not know how to do that. Nevertheless, we focus our work only on
‘sustainable mobility safety’ which gathers non motorized, green, soft, or self driven
transport. Why?

Firstly, users of soft transport means don’t often expose themselves to the high
speeds that motorized means can. Secondly, the willingness of sustainable mobility
users to choose the shortest way, even when it is dangerous, is much higher as they
don’t want to make needless or superfluous efforts. In a way, they save their own
physical energy needed to move.

Non motorized transport is usually described as less safe than transport by car and a
majority of people would use it, if only it was safer. However, several surveys show
that cycling risks decrease if the cycling modal split increases [2, 3]. Road safety is
deeply linked with mobility! In this way, we will argue the needs for public authorities
to develop infrastructure and policy sustainable mobility. Then, we will show how an
adequate mobility supply could lead to vulnerable road user’s safety. Finally, we will
focus on the successful factors needed to implement such policies.

1 TOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY?

Nowadays, global warming, the dwindling of natural energy resources, the negative
external effects of motorized vehicles and the urban sprawl compel to develop
alternative mobility approaches, particularly as alternatives for the car. As defined on
the forum of the automobile and the society: “sustainable mobility is the ability to
meet the needs of society to move freely, gain access, communicate, trade and
establish relationships without sacrificing other essential human or ecological values,
today or in the future” [4]. A high quality mobility supply during the moving or parking
time leads to comfort and enjoy whatever the mean of transport chosen. In this way,
sustainable mobility, particularly cycling, contribute on many points to a sustainable
mobility.

1.1 Vulnerable mobility, yet sustainable!

From an economic point of view, sustainable mobility is relevant for individual mobility
budget, for spending within shops and the efficiency of public investments. Firstly,
sustainable mobility use is a low cost way of moving as no license is required,

1
We included children, as well as elderly people and people with cognitive, physical, auditory, visual
disabilities.

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vehicles are cheap and the energy use comes as part of the individual daily food
consumption. Cycling increases the autonomy and the mobility as it is a fast door to
door mode on proximity trips (around 5 kilometers). This is also relevant for
developing countries where walking is often the only available mode of transport [4].
Moreover, working conditions could be less painful and non motorized 2 or more
wheelers could increase the productivity in low and middle income countries (ex:
water head carriers). Secondly, contrary to popular assumptions, sustainable mobility
users spend more money in city centers than car drivers [5, 6 7]. Thirdly, public
investments in sustainable mobility are unitary cheaper than car or public transport
investment [5, 8]. Urban space needed for parking and moving is lower than for
motorized transport [2]. Even if most mobility external effects are mainly positive,
saving their lives seems not economically efficient. A whole economic circuit exists
around negative effects of motorized mobility. For instance, costs of road crashes on
average are equivalent to 1 or 2% of the GDP [9]. The PREDIT research program is
currently starting in France to bring a full road safety economic analysis [10]. If
increasing safety and use of sustainable mobility could lead to a decrease of the
socio-economical balance, incentives to decrease it are advocated towards a human
and more ethic way.

From the social point of view, sustainable modes of transport improve the quality of
the public realm with more conviviality and social equality. In fact, sustainable
mobility is healthy for the individual. Users are physical active and breathe in less
traffic related air pollutants than car drivers [2]. It improves public health by
contributing to a decrease in polluted emissions; walking is the natural way of
moving. On the safety side, the risk generated by sustainable mobility to other road
users is almost nil, certainly if compared to the damage motorized transport inflicts on
other road users.

From the environmental point of view, sustainable mobility use is a zero-fuel, zero-
emission, and almost zero noise mode of transportation. The development of these
means of transport ensures car congestion relief, oil energy saved and less energy
needs.

Many sources detail the positive contributions of sustainable mobility toward a

sustainable world. Global warming and mobility issues highlight the need to develop
a better public service to sustainable mobility users. As said before, the more cyclists
there are, the safer they will be. Before analyzing safety in a more detailed way, we
need a quick overview of sustainable mobility practice in the world.

1.2 Use of sustainable mobility in the world.

First of all, traffic surveys rarely include numbers for slow moving traffic or car
passengers. Figures below have been calculated in different ways (accounting
technical and seriousness to do it, population sample, kind of trips, ways of
accounting …). Globally, the modal split for sustainable mobility is higher in low and
middle income countries:

• In Africa and Asia, it represents appreciatively half of all trips, mainly

walking [11].

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 • In China in 1995, cycling and walking represent both more than 30 % of
trips [12].

• In Japan, the bicycle modal split is 14% [13].

• In Delhi (India), more than 50 % of the trips are made by foot or by bicycle.

• Only 2% ride the bicycle in Egypt predominantly for cultural or religious

reasons [14].

• In USA, 9 % of trips are made by foot and only 1 % by bicycle [15].

• In Europe, the bicycle modal share is around 5 and 10 % [13] and the
pedestrians’ one is between 15 and 30 % [9]. The Netherlands (27 %) and
Denmark (18 %) are leaders of the most friendly bicycle countries.

In average, Dutch, Danish and Chinese people ride 1 000 km a year whereas
American and Spanish ride only 24 km a year [16].

We just want to highlight the main trends and show that some countries succeed in
reaching a high level of sustainable mobility use. Indeed, cycling is more popular and
safer where it had been encouraged by investment [17]. Now, focus on the road
safety situation.

1.3 Road safety of sustainable mobility.

It is often stated that cycling and walking are more dangerous modes of transport
than driving a car. Nevertheless, safety comparison is only relevant if all trips are
concerned. As non-motorized transports mainly uses public transport for long trips,
the whole safety balance is higher than for car drivers [18]. If it could be true for high-
income countries, where public transport is safe, mass transport security conditions
in developing countries are often deplorable. As for the modal split, data collection
and figures are different and often under reporter when accidents do not required
police or health services involvement [18].

1.3.1 Figures
Even though 90 % of road injuries occur in developing countries, vulnerable road
users and public transport passengers represent 90 % of them. Forecasts are quite
alarming as these figures may increase by 65 % while safety will increase in high
income countries. Males are mainly concern as well as elderly people who can’t
easily adapt their speed to the trough flows and are less resistant.

Urban pedestrians account for 55-70 % of deaths in these countries [19] whereas
they only represent 15 % in Europe [9]. For instance, 70 % of the 100 000 annual
deaths in China were users of sustainable mobility of which 38% are cyclists [12]. We
have to point out that private means of motorized transports are not the only means
responsible. In Kenya, motorized modes which create casualties to pedestrians are
not just private. Pedestrians’ accidents are caused car, bus, taxi or trucks.

1.3.2 Analyses

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Globally, countries in the “South” have less experience with safety management than
countries in the “North”. Differences are based on socio-economical characteristics,
mobility behavior and health systems.

Several surveys show that pedestrians' injuries risks are higher for less privileged
socioeconomic groups than for affluent groups [10, 20]. The growing motorization in
developing countries increases the gap between poor and rich and the vulnerability
of sustainable mobility users too. In the same time, pedestrians and bicycle friendly
countries record the highest vulnerable road users’ safety [21, 18]. A report of the
OECD ranks the main reasons of road accidents:

• Inappropriate speeds which are prejudicial to non motorized transport.

• Dinking & driving increase dangerous motorized behavior. Nevertheless,

alcohol also affects pedestrians. 20 to 30 % of Australian pedestrians killed
exceeded 0.15g/dl. Around 60 % of South African pedestrians killed were
drunk and 48 % of pedestrians killed in United Kingdom.

• Not wearing seat-belts,

• Young people behaviors. If young people’s probability to be killed is higher,

it is mainly due to hazardous behavior and considering their weak level of
mastering the skill of driving a car.

• Insufficiently safe design: The insufficiency safe design of infrastructure

means that design is not well adapted to mobility flows, particularly
sustainable mobility.

Even if corruption could make it weak or unfair, law enforcement could partly modify
behavior [19]. Rather controls, we consider the road design as the best prevention
policy. The degree of casualties per crash also depends on the quality and the
access to health services. In fact, developing countries don’t have all adequate
health services to tackle road injuries as high income countries can. Of great concern
is the time passed between the accident and the first assistance as well as the
available material. Then, the access to health care services is linked to the income.
Unfortunately, only 27 % of people injured in road crashes in Ghana received
hospital treatments [26].

1.3.3 Consequences
From the point of view of loss of human potential, road traffic would become the third
leading cause of the annual Disability Adjusted Life Years lost for low income and
middle income countries [22]. Casualties affect injured or killed people themselves
and lives of their relatives. It could create orphans. Injuries decrease individual
earning capacities during the time of convalescence or more for long time physical
disabilities [20]. On top of that, spending on health care services or burial ceremonies
often damages social situations.

Regarding to these information, deep attention has to be urgently paid to vulnerable road users
worldwide by providing them safer mobility conditions. These needs are reinforced by the
increasing population that would generate more mobility flows and by the ageing process that
would lead to more vulnerable road users.

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A better non motorized mobility supply for a higher safety

Understand the modal choice process and behaviours of vulnerable road users are
the unavoidable steps to reach a higher safety. After that, a master plan can be
implemented by acting both on supply and demand of mobility.

1.4 Understand the modal choice and current behavior

1.4.1 The modal choice

The modal choice is interconnected to the individual position in the cycle of life and to
external space – time (political, economical, social, technological and transport
networks…). It results in a complex decisional process depending on the activities
and related locations choice, transport budget, moving capacities (physical, license,
level of master and mean of transport accessibility), habits, perception (safe,
ecologic, fast…) and past experience [23]. The way how people do live their trip is
often under estimate. The degree of satisfaction of using a mode mainly depends on
the individual resources used ….

• Physical: efforts to provide and the capacity to transport people or good,

• Cognitive: to drive or be driven,

• Emotional: convenient with the individual philosophy,

• Financial: cost of investment and of use,

• Time: speed performance, reliability and autonomy,

And on the way of re-appropriation of the travel time (Table 1 p 9):

• Productive

• Mental transition

• Social moment

Depending on resources used, daily sustainable mobility is competitive on short trips,

proximity trips (around 5 kilometers). 30 % of car trips in Europe are fewer than 3
kilometers and there are 50 % fewer than 5 kilometers. The potential development of
sustainable mobility is real even if some of these trips are included in a mobility
chain. That’s why sustainable mobility use public transport for longer distances.

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 Table 1: Feedbacks and time re appropriation ways for pedestrians and cyclists
Time Re-
sustainabl Activities that can be done (cannot
Feedbacks appropriatio
e mobility be done)
n
Drive a To phone with a free hand kit , to
vehicle, Productive practice physical activity, to reflect (to
speedy/autono read, to write)
my, risky, To dream, to listen to music or radio,
fatigue, Mental (to play cards, video game, to read a
transpiration, transition novel, to smoke). to be lost in his
By Bike
being wet, mind
look at the
urban or rural To speak with other cyclists or with
landscape, to Social children or with pedestrians when the
stop wherever moment ride is slower or stopped, to play with
and whenever. friends
Be free hand, To work (reflection, work discussion),
Chose the to phone, to read for learning (news,
trajectory, Productive books…), to listen to radio (news,
Perception of cultural (broadcasting), to drink, to
the risk, eat. To practice physical activity
fatigue, slow To dream, to listen to music, to read
On foot Mental
and relax, for slipping by time (novel, comics…),
transpiration, transition
to smoke, to observe around.
view of the
landscape, To speak with other moving or
Social parked pedestrians or cyclists, to
feel common moment
human … Phone.

Vehicles have also annex functions as protected area against weather conditions,
violence or accident. Once the modal choice made, the road users has several
itineraries to reach the final destination.

1.4.2 Understand the itinerary choice.

Whatever the legal framework, sustainable mobility itinerary choice is often based on
what they think the shortest way is. Cyclist’s and pedestrian’s comfort is to go on and
look freely around him and not be always focus on potholes, stairs, dog mess, water
ponds. Of course, they have to get information about the trajectory of other people
flows to adapt them.

As the degree of hardness increases with distance, slope climbs or speeds change, it
is so crucial to decrease natural and artificial barriers effects [8, 24]. We list some
actions to cancel it:

• Avoid too much raised and slope pavements or stairs to enter in buildings
improves the accessibility of disabled people and people who drive good
transport wheels vehicles.

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 • Pedestrian or/and cyclist ways through, under or over motorized transport
networks (highways or railways) (high speed roads, railways or
transportation multimodal hubs unable to link different districts.

• Safe areas in front of traffic lights or low number of traffic lanes enable
cyclists to choose safely his/her way. As they are more visible, car drivers
pay more attention to them.

• Vulnerable road users prefer flat surfacing to gravel, holes or cobblestones.

• Footbridges enable to cross water ways.

• Guides alongside stairs enable to push bikes instead of carrying them.

• Street lighting makes more secure public space.

Once the sustainable mobility universal behaviour is understood, it is possible to

complete an adequate mobility supply that needs to be backed up by soft
information.

1.5 An adapted mobility supply

The mobility supply is a complex system composed by a legal framework,
infrastructure, vehicles, services as well as health care services in case of casualties.

1.5.1 Traffic laws

The related traffic laws are obviously a main part of the mobility supply as it gives a
legal framework. In opposition to Scandinavian or Germanium countries, related
traffic laws are rarely strictly respected in Latin or many low and middle income
countries. In fact, people behave in function of their individual needs and the crossed
environment. If the pedestrian’s traffic light is red and there is no car, pedestrians will
cross the road. In many countries, road traffic laws have been created around the car
use and don’t fit with sustainable mobility behavior. We consider the Belgium traffic
law as the most promising law which integrates a new speed balance between all
road users is implemented. Speed limitations in cities are 30 km/h and cyclists can
almost use all “one way streets for cars” which decreases the length of trips.

If law enforcement is required for speeds control, alcohol, drugs or non respect of red
lights, behavior could be better oriented by infrastructure design and related
signalizations.

1.5.2 Infrastructure design

Road design has been deeply influenced by the motorization and congestion models
that consider 45 km/h as the speed which optimizes the motorized traffic. The main
consequence is the separation of the public realm between motorized vehicles and
other road users: the vulnerable ones. Hence, it creates barrier effects that
sustainable mobility users still suffer (see 1.4.2). By improving road design and put
lower speed limitations consistent with all road users’ behavior and traffic flows,
safety is better achieved. The first step is to identify the flows related to the activities
of the street, of the district or of the road. Then, the road network could be classified
in two main categories: mixed or separated.

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Mixed road

In order for motorized vehicles to adapt their speed to the slowest travelers, two
combined measures lead to mixed areas as in 30 km/h zones or Woornerf:

• Low speed increases the field of vision and decreases the reaction time.
Hence, sustainable mobility can cross safer roads as the probability to be
killed is lower [2, 20 and 25]. To make speed limitations respected,
infrastructure designs have to be consistent.

• Infrastructure designs as island, slow point, protected parking or green

area, roundabouts, road narrowing, rumble strips or speed bumps [2,
25,26] urge drivers to go slower.

Within these conditions, care of motorized transports toward sustainable mobility is

complete. Moreover pedestrians and cyclists cohabitation is successful as they can
easily avoid each other which is not often the case on pavements or cycle tracks.
Some evaluations of 30 km/h zones show that these kinds of measure have a direct
positive impact on safety. In Graz, the first city with a wide urban concept of 30 km/h
zone, there was an increase of 20 % of trips by bikes between 1990 and 1998
although accidents decrease 1988 and 1996 [27]. A decrease of 48 % of casualties
has been observed in The Hague (The Netherlands), of 39 % in Toulouse (France)
and of 50 % in Nantes (France) within 30 km/h zone [25].

As sustainable mobility is closer to their environment and need less attention to drive
than boxed means of transport. They are more likely to be strollers. In order to attract
sustainable mobility users, the road design has to be a three dimensional space.
Functions of the street have to be related to aspects in which sustainable mobility
users, rural and urban structures/ architectures play a main role [28]. The landscape
art could even influence the itinerary choice. In this way, enhance a local identity by
an urban space design (infrastructures, urban furniture, vegetation, parking/moving
people/vehicles, building architecture, hills,…) could lead to an increase of soft
means of transport.

Separated roads:

When flows related to activities are not relevant, road users could be separated. It
mainly concerns some urban roads and rural roads. In Copenhagen, the building of
cycle tracks resulted in a decrease of 35% of injuries. For rural roads, separated
alongside the main carriage way have to be built where speeds differences are too
high. If the two ways are on the same side, link to other roads at each crossroad
have to be anticipated. The Netherlands and Germany show good examples of rural
roads. The development of interurban public transport lines is also a good alternative
to reach faster and safer the final destination.

As a finely woven bicycle network is not easy to maintain, it is recommended from an

economic point of view to build high quality cycle paths and put smaller street in 30
km/h zones in smaller street. These tools are relevant but their implementations need
a legal framework.

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1.5.3 Vehicles
The characteristics and the quality of all vehicles influence the safety prevention of
drivers and of all roads users. First, vehicles need to have good breaks, wheels with
good stickiness lights to be visible and components to show directions to other public
realm users. This last need specifically but not exclusively is required on rural roads
like in Africa where bikes often share roads with motor vehicles during night time
without road lighting [29]. Nowadays, motorized vehicles are more and more
designed to limit damage to limit pedestrians’ collision impact. Drivers have to choose
the vehicles which fit with their master of driven and find ways to keep it in a good
shape and to lock it.

To make the access to bicycles easier, the price of bicycles has to be accessible. As
it is a sustainable mobility mode, we could imagine decrease of taxes or/and removal
of importation restrictions [30].

1.5.4 Services
Main breaks to bicycle use as theft, property, maintenance and parking can be
overcome within services. Some services keep bikes safe in a rental systems (street
based or traditional rent a bike service [8], OV-fiets), parking (on the public realm or
safe kept areas, private parking on private or public location as in Rotterdam). The
implementation of an automatic street-based rent-a-bike service can bring lot of bikes
to the street and modify the behavior of motorized vehicle users. Retailers or cycle-
taxis are also part of services. For pedestrians, services are benches,
distractions/events or bus shelters when they are parking and escalator, public
transport or taxi for longer trips when they are moving. For disabled people, it is
mainly on demand transport services that spread their accessibility. Other services
are required to decrease safety risks as public health services.

1.5.5 Public health services

As human errors occur, it is required to anticipate it by carrying out health cares
services that can deal with traffic injuries. First health cares have to be done as soon
as possible after the accident. Hence, improve communication ways as mobile phone
could be effective. Then policemen or firemen who are likely to arrive first on the
crash area point have to be trained in consequence. After that, health care services
need adapted materials which are costly. However, road accident materials could be
used for other health cares.

1.6 Soft information back up mobility supply.

Once the mobility supply is organized, soft information as awareness campaigns or
training can encourage behavior toward sustainable mobility.

1.6.1 Mobility awareness and safety prevention campaigns

Mobility awareness and safety prevention campaigns aim to modify the attitudes of
people by promoting sustainable mobility. Campaigns could focus on future and
present mobility needs. If speaking about ecological issues increase the awareness
for green transport, the current mobility behavior depends on current factors (report
to 1.4). That’s why, we consider that campaigns on the rapidity, on the autonomy, on
the re appropriation of the travel time or on likely satisfactions could be more
successful.

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Additionally, it could be campaigns towards a better share of the public space by
explaining the required respect between all road users or how they could
communicate between each other. There are also prevention campaigns to avoid
dangerous behavior like alcohol abuse, speeding, drug uses or being tired and
driving.

1.6.2 Training
Despite if bike ownership is higher than car ownership in many countries; bikes are
less used even though more people would like to use it [14]. The perception of the
risks strongly depends on the level of mastering a vehicle in flows of people and
goods.

Having the right equipment that fits weather conditions puts the sustainable mobility
users in good position to travel (ex: gloves, bonnet, parka…). Some cyclists wear
helmets which might reduce head injuries by 63 % and loss of consciousness by 86
%. Currently, Australia is the only country where helmets are compulsory but no
materialized benefits have been noticed [21, 31].

Mastering a means of transport varies on habits created by experience within the

traffic. If traffic training for car drivers is often establish, traffic training for pedestrians
and cyclists is very poor or not available. Learning how to adapt the right speed at
the right moment is an indispensable step towards a high use of sustainable mobility.
This know-how demands experience could start on the way to school (Pedibus
initiatives) or at school. If in France children learn in teaching circuit, in Denmark they
ride in the real traffic which is more propitious to a daily use. Recently, the city of
Odense within an EU initiative CIVITAS has created an interactive cycle simulator to
help children to anticipate unpredictable events. Foreign language versions are
currently running [32]. If there is no training cession, another way to learn is to ride or
walk with others who daily cycle or walk. The master learning process of sustainable
mobility is often easier and safer within traffic calmed zones.

Additionally, training of all motorized users should pay more attention to share the
road with vulnerable users and increase their reflexes towards their natural behavior.
Behaviors that motorized user have when they are pedestrians.

To conclude, infrastructure design and speed limitation have to be consistent with

soft means of transport users. Moreover, communication and training enable a better
know-how of moving. Nevertheless, safer and more comfortable mobility conditions
for sustainable mobility users can’t appear without any public master plans.

2 CONDITIONS TO SUCCESS

Planning mobility for vulnerable road users has been done in several cities as
Amsterdam, Geneva, Odense, Tokyo or Bogotá… that lead to positive results. We
consider that three main conditions have to be fulfilled to reach safety targets:
policies have to fit with the local context, politic willingness is indispensable, enough
public funding and necessary skills to do it [1, 20].

2.1 Measures have to fit with the local context.

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As mobility occurs in a particular space time, policies have to be consistent to the
local context. Planning mobility and improve safety is a transversal policy that
concerns several sectors: land use, transport, architecture as well as health, law
enforcement, education and finance. We learned from Dutch cities that an increase of
bicycle use required [33]:

• A control of the urban sprawl with a land planning strategy that keeps short
distances between different activities locations,

• Drastic conditions against car parking (reduction of allocated space, high

pricing policy),

• A bicycle master plan which could be a part of a sustainable policy (report

to part 2).

In many countries, these policies are often taboo for politicians but their agreement to
implement it is indispensable.

2.2 Politics willingness and politic governance.

2.2.1 Politic willingness

Involvement of politicians is the main impediment to safety intervention [34]. Although
implementation of effective measures is a long time frame, measures are often non
popular on the short term which match with electoral time frames. That’s why;
politicians have to be courageous, have to well communicate to citizens and have to
organize public consultation to implement such policies.

Two ways could be imagined to prompt them to take measures in favor of vulnerable
road users. Firstly, recent experiences show that commitment at the highest level of
government leads to a higher national awareness of safety issues” [13]. Secondly,
lobbies have to show them how they could get more votes thanks to road safety
measures. To analyze the safety economic circuit enable to identify the keys actors
[10]. For instance, households with children or elder parents would appreciate safety
measures for their vulnerable relatives. In fact, 73 % of Europeans were in favor of
cyclists’ promotion instead of the car in 1999 [2]. The implementation of the 30 km/h
zone in Graz was agreed by 58 %. Two years later, 80 % of those interviewed were
satisfied! Globally, public authorities have to create a positive safety culture within a
road traffic system that involve road traffic planners, vehicle manufacturers,
engineers, police, educator, health profession, insurers and associations [20]. But
which institution will handle with these policies?

2.2.2 Politic governance: which public planner?

We consider that spending for public space management is a mobility investment. In
fact, road design investments contribute to better mobility conditions and higher
safety of sustainable mobility users. Create a leading road safety agency could lead
to a road safety system and plan actions Good experience have been made in
Sweden (vision zero), in The Netherlands (sustainable safety) and in England (Settle
urban safety management) [20, 35]. The aim is to bring together all concerned parties

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as public authorities, private companies, consumer associations, shop keepers … If
they decide targets and ways to reach it together, safety measures are more likely to
get supports, resources and to be effectively implemented. Researches centers could
also be included as INRETS in France or TRIPP in India. The accomplishment of a
specific policy demands resources as funding and human skills.

2.3 Knowledge and expertise sources

If local authorities often don’t have the knowledge, the expertise and funding to
implement sustainable mobility policies in house, many institutions or international
programs have been created to provide them expertise:

• World Governmental Organization like the World Bank, the World Health
Organization, UNESCO or United Nations Programs.

• Non Governmental organization like Velo Mondial (Movers for mobility),

I-ce (Locomotives or Bicycle Partnership Program) or ICLEI.

• Dissemination of researches projects on the EU level like Spicycles,

BYPAD, Promising, Prompt, Niches or on the national level.

• International conferences like Velo Mondial, Velo-city, World Road

Congress of PIARC or Walk 21 conferences.

• Public authorities associations as “Club des Villes cyclables” or GART in

France

Then, they can benchmark successful sustainable policies and try to implement a
sustainable culture within the economic circuit to get more socio-economic agent
involved.

CONCLUSION
Considering the spread action field of this topic, we didn’t have the pretension to
show an exhaustive worldwide overview. More than figures, we tried to show a way
of thinking for better attention towards the safety and the comfort of sustainable
mobility. The main conclusion is that non motorized transports have to be considered
as a particular means of transport in that needs adequate infrastructure design to
improve the quality of life. This awareness is incontrovertible, mainly in developing
countries where mobility and safety needs will increase in the next decades. Further
assessments of 30 km/h speed areas should confirm the benefits of mixed roads in
urban areas from economics, safety and mobility points of view.

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