A plan to improve the transport situation in Polotsk will be developed by the end of 2016
The final version of the Polotsk Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan will be developed by the end of 2016, and the main provisions of the document are planned to be incorporated into the city's master plan in the future. This was reported to BELTA by the "Interaktsiya" Foundation.
A round table dedicated to improving the transport situation in Polotsk was held on November 20, bringing together representatives of city authorities, the public, and experts. The event was attended by representatives of the Polotsk District Executive Committee, the State Automobile Inspectorate, the Housing and Communal Services, Bus Depot No. 2, and the city's Capital Construction Department, as well as experts from UP "BelNIIPgradostroitelstva" and the Belarusian Association of Transport Experts and Surveyors (these organizations won the tender for the development of the sustainable urban mobility plan). Participants discussed the organization of a unified bicycle rental system in Polotsk and Novopolotsk, the creation of public garages where residents of Polotsk and Novopolotsk could store bicycles in winter, and the optimization of Polotsk's fixed-route taxi schedules with the publication of these schedules online.
To ensure that the interests of cyclists, drivers, and pedestrians are reflected in the plan, a public working group on urban mobility issues has been established. Anyone who wants to make Polotsk a city convenient for living can join it.
Currently, the group includes many public organizations: BRSM, the Committee for Public Self-Government, "Ecodom," and the Belarusian Society of Disabled People. Business has also expressed interest in the project: a Polotsk bicycle shop and a Novopolotsk bicycle rental service. A major Polotsk radio station, which organized a bicycle race in Polotsk this summer, has also joined the community.
The development of a sustainable urban mobility plan was launched in Polotsk in the spring of this year. The document is intended to be a long-term strategy for solving the city's transport problems. For example, already now there are more than 320 cars per 1,000 Polotsk residents, while in 2004 there were less than 160. The mobility plan will set directions for the creation of new roads, interchanges, public transport routes, and bicycle paths.
The project budget is 334 thousand euros, 90% of which is funded by the European Union. The partners in the project are the Polotsk District Executive Committee and the "Interakcia" Foundation.
The local non-governmental organization "Interakcia" for the promotion of international dialogue and cooperation is based in Minsk. It specializes in the development and implementation of EU-funded projects in Belarus and neighboring countries.
Alena Tikhonova