Sustainable mobility: theme of 2019 Movin’ On Summit

June 19, 2019 · 0 Comments

This newspaper was represented at the Movin’ On Summit 2019, formerly known as The Bibendum Challenge initiated by Michelin 20. It was held June 4-6 in Montreal.

By Skid Crease

Sustainable Mobility is also known as Ecomobility. In a nutshell, it is the policy and application of moving people, goods, and services in a low-pollution, environmentally responsible, technologically efficient, safe and community friendly way.
It also requires a major shift in thinking from transport in private cars and trucks to different modes of public transportation like bicycle and pedestrian lanes, electric vehicles, car sharing, light rail transit, and rail freight. A community operating under a policy of sustainable mobility also helps to mitigate climate change catastrophe and creates safer, healthier towns and cities.
When we consider that roughly 25% of global CO2 emissions come from transportation, cities and towns that put a policy of sustainable mobility into action will lead the way into a de-carbonized future.
In “The One Planet City Challenge Mobility Program” coordinated by WWF, they stated:
“One of the greatest environmental challenges we face today lies in mobility. People need a seemingly infinite network of vehicles and transportation systems to uphold societies and economies. Cars. Buses. Trains. Trucks. And other modes of transport each leaving their indelible mark on the environment.”
How large a mark? Around one-quarter of global CO2 emissions come from the transportation of people and goods. Creating sustainable transportation solutions is one of the greatest challenges facing cities today but also a great opportunity for the low-carbon development of cities.
The actions are relatively simple:

Keep the urban core concentrated, walkable, accessible, and vehicle traffic light.
Construct light rail corridors, bicycle paths, autonomous networks, electric charging stations.
Make public transportation more desirable, reliable and energy efficient.
Encourage mixed modes of travel (train, light rail, e-bus, ride sharing, bike).
Increase a clean energy transit fleet.
Focus master transit plans on rural to urban Ecomobility.
Plan for an air corridor (80-100m) for drones and e-copters.
Raise awareness, educate the population – the future is here.
To achieve sustainable mobility for our communities in King and Caledon means that town planning, infrastructure and the organization of the transport network, as well as technological applications, and awareness raising including education of the private sector and the public must be part of the vision of our municipalities.
Cities in Europe and Asia are leading the way in the transformation to a healthier, more efficient, cleaner energy transportation network. In Part Two, I will share with you the innovations that are happening now and the options that are available to us right now in North America. Once we break off our love affair with private car ownership, and pull our heads out of the tar sands, a whole new cleaner, greener world of transportation is ours.
The way I see it.

Skid Crease is a member of the Canadian Association of Journalists, an author, an internationally renowned speaker, and a lifelong educator currently living in Caledon.