Timisoara is the second largest city in Romania (ca. 303,000 inhabitants) and situated near the Western border of the country in the Banat region. The main priority for the Municipality of Timisoara is to develop mobility and transport in the city and in particular, to improve public transport (trams, buses and trolleybuses) both local and peri-urban by increasing the reliability and quality of the existing public transport system and to introduce new public transport services. In order to reach these goals, the municipality has framed and approved the study “Timisoara – Vision 2030”. It is a strategic concept for the city’s development and the development of various transport modes in the city and peri-urban areas including railway, public transportation, airport and roads.
In 2008, Timisoara was assigned the growth pole for the Western region of Romania covering the urban area of Timisoara and 14 surrounding administrative units. The strategic planning tool for the metropolitan development is the Integrated Plan of Development for the Timisoara Growth Pole, which coordinates the sectoral politics including economy, transport and environment, for example, with territorial politics and highlights priority investment projects such as the promotion of clean transport modes.
Timisoara is one of the five Advancing Cities and the main aims in CH4LLENGE are to take steps forward in sustainable urban mobility planning and at the same time, act as a multiplier for other Romanian cities. In CH4LLENGE, Timisoara will pilot stakeholder involvement in urban mobility planning, starting with a review of existing participation processes and the development of a participation strategy. Subsequently, Timisoara will test participatory approaches in vision development, goal and priority setting and measure identification. Cooperation with local authorities, stakeholders, regional and national actors will be a key part of the pilot schemes implemented in CH4LLENGE.
Photos: City of Timisoara
