CLIMATic Gdynia city centre

gdynia city centre climatic

by Paulina Szewczyk |p.szewczyk@gdynia.pl

Photo: City of Gdynia

The city centre of Gdynia is going to become more vibrant, green and safe. At the end of January the Mayor of G dynia, Wojciech Szczurek, presented a project called CLIMA Tic Central Gdynia.

The assumptions of the project indicate solutions to be implemented regarding the resilience to climate change related risks. It also reflects the city’s effort of being attractive, livable and accessible for residents of all ages.

Climate-neutral city

CLIMATic Gdynia City Centre project is the element of the development and implementation of a climate-neutral strategy for the city. It aims at reduction in the intensity of carbon dioxide emission and improvement of living environment by increasing the urban greenery, convincing inhabitants to change their transport habits and making mobility sustainable, accessible to more people and integrated for higher overall efficiency.

There are 647 passenger cars per 1,000 inhabitants in Gdynia and this number is still growing. To reverse this trend, the project proposes attractive alternatives encouraging people to leave cars outside the city centre and start to use the public transport or other sustainable means of transport like car sharing, bicycles or simply walking. One of the key points is to integrate parking outside the city centre with public transport to reduce traffic. Choosing buses or other sustainable means of transport rather than a private car is going to be more profitable for users in terms of both time and money. The idea is also to improve public transport with reducing waiting and riding times for passengers. However, it is equally important to improve the city centre visual image, its safety and attractiveness to different age groups – seniors and families with children, as well. Luckily, the modern tenement houses in the city centre, which the city is famous for, create human scaled pattern of plazas and streets so the implementation of the project doesn’t require big reconstructions. Many of the wide range of planned activities are possible to implement through streetscape interventions and changes in organisation of traffic.

Modifying streetscape design

Unused spaces are going to be developed into green areas and spaces that can be safely used by pedestrians to walk or rest. Arranging space dedicated to bicycles, public transport/electric cars in the streetscape is expected to decrease traffic and unsafe driving behaviours and to increase the number of pedestrians. Introducing more one-way traffic streets, more bus lanes also contraflow lanes for buses and electric cars only, and finally - reducing the number of lanes used by private cars – these are actions favouring the sustainable mobility that aims at better quality of air in the city centre and better quality of life.

The demands of the city’s inhabitants had been collected for months and then analysed carefully. Most ideas for the activities and implementations are obtained through investigating the people’s needs. We believe, the interventions will make residents feel safer, and overall attitudes will be favourable. The program is going to be realized continuously in the next few years. The first activities started in March and the effects are expected before this year’s summer holidays.