Predjama sustainable

The Municipality of Postojna wants to reduce motorized traffic in the wider area of the municipality and thus contribute to the mitigation of climate change. One of the locations where a solution is still needed is Predjama area, a popular tourist location whose visits have tripled in the last 10 years. Due to insufficient number of parking spaces, expansion of tourist offers and larger number of visitors, there is real parking chaos at peak of tourist season. Municipality and Postojnska jama need a solution to solve this problem (reduce the number of cars at the location without reducing visits). Main goal of the project is to contribute to climate change mitigation by preparing a mobility plan and pilot implementation of key measures, which will directly contribute to the output of the program (Improved management of sustainable mobility). Specific objectives:

• Reduce motorized traffic in Predjama area
• Strengthen bilateral cooperation and exchange good practices
• Promote sustainable mobility of target groups

Our project addresses following challenges:

• Improve mobility management and introduce sustainable mobility in order to achieve reduction of traffic without reducing number of visitors, solve problem of mobility of local residents
• Incorporate sustainable, feasible and attractive adapted forms of mobility into mobility plan without undue interference with nature
• Involve residents and their needs in preparation of mobility plan
• Transfer good experiences of Norwegian partners to Slovenia
• Change people`s habits by successfully implementing mobility plan and carrying out awareness raising campaign, thus contributing to climate change mitigation

To solve challenges, we will use multiple approach: addressing challenges on organisational, infrastructural and promotion-awareness raising level. We will design a mobility plan, followed by transfer of key challenges of mobility plan into practice. Activities will be supported by extensive promotion-awareness raising campaigns that will facilitate greater outreach and better results–changes of travel habits of Predjama visitors. Main project results:

• Mobility improvement at location of Predjama
• Growth in use of sustainable forms of mobility
• Successful cooperation between Slovenian and Norwegian partners in area of sustainable mobility
• Higher inclusion of local providers in sustainable offers

Results will contribute to main output indicators:

• Design a mobility plan at location with high traffic density
• Carry out measures of mobility plan at location of Predjama:

a) Set up infrastructure, necessary to implement sustainable mobility b) Establish bus connections c) Create bike and pedestrian routes d) Include local providers in offers of sustainable mobility e) Organize promotion and awareness raising campaign -assess number of travels and monitor structure of mobility forms before and after the introduction of measures. Until project end, we plan to increase use of sustainable mobility forms by at least 5%. Target groups: tourists, visitors, employees, local residents, tour operators, public service providers and public infrastructure, local associations and interest groups as well as local administration bodies. Project partnership has been carefully selected, with each partner contributing to project added value. Predjama is located in the municipality of Postojna, which wishes to increase use of sustainable mobility according to Integrated transport strategy; Postojnska jama is operator of Predjama, while IPOP is specialized in the design of mobility plans and strategies. Project partnership involves Strand municipality with a long track record in inclusion of local residents and other stakeholders in strategic planning and implementation processes, moreover, the municipality has a high level of experience in planning of sustainable mobility. All these factors set an ideal ground for best practice exchange. Their involvement in the project will stretch throughout project duration, with emphasis on design of mobility plan (delivery of study tours, best practice exchange). Furthermore, Strand municipality will be involved in preparation of promotion-awareness raising contents and will take part in public events. Cooperation with Norwegian partners was enabled by the Norwegian Environmental Agency, with support of Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities, that presented project cornerstones to the municipality that was relevant for our project. In the project, exchange of best practices will take place as a mutual learning environment, in which all partners will benefit from cooperation and continuous communication. With this, we will strengthen cooperation and create a learning environment, in which all partners will be able to recognize mutual benefits. Project partners: – Municipality of Postojna – lead partner – Postojna cave d.d. – IPoP – Institute for Spatial Policies – Municipality of Strand (Norway) Duration: 5/22 – 4/24 — Photo: Mariposa.que.vuela; URL: https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30094226