According to Eurostat, Poland has topped European rankings in terms of the number of vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants. In 2014–2023, the number of passenger cars went up by over 7.2 million and the motorisation rate measured by their number per 1,000 inhabitants increased from 520 to 723 in that period. It needs to be stressed that individual cars are the least effective means of transport in towns and cities and they occupy most urban space per person. Car infrastructure is often developed at the cost of consistent and safe infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists as well as urban greenery.
Pedestrian and bicycle traffic should be the most desired and the most frequent form of movement in the city. The next priority is the public transport and finally the car traffic.
First of all, it is local governments that are obliged to implement sustainable urban mobility solutions. The European Commission and the Ministry of Infrastructure recommend using sustainable urban mobility plans for that purpose. This transformation is a complex and difficult task. That is why, the Commission highlights the need for central authorities to support local governments: “Professional skills and knowledge are still an issue in small and mid-sized towns, and so is the lack of national commitment and support".
Positive changes are already visible in Polish cities. There are over 700 km of bicycle paths in Warsaw and more are being built. Wrocław has planned to build about 100 km of new bicycle paths and modernise 25 km of existing routes by 2030. The length of bicycle paths in Poznań in 2023 was 345 km, and bicycle traffic accounted for over 10% of all urban journeys. In each of these cities, public transport is also developing.
Things look different in small and medium-sized towns, where the car is often the only reliable and convenient means of transport to work or school. People are not willing to change the way they move around the city, primarily because the offer of public transport is non-existent or is of poor quality. Other reasons include: uneven and narrow pavements, passages blocked by cars, a small number of pedestrian crossings and the absence of consistent and safe bicycle infrastructure.
In view of the above, NIK decided to check whether effective measures to reduce car traffic were taken in selected small and medium-sized towns and cities in 2022-2024, and whether these towns had reliable strategies in this area. The audit was conducted in 12 towns and cities from four provinces. The municipalities were selected for the audit based on a large number of road accidents involving unprotected road users (i.e. pedestrians, cyclists, scooter drivers and users of other personal transport devices) per 1,000 inhabitants.
Chaotic planning
All the audited local governments took efforts to reduce car traffic in the towns and cities. Their activities were not always systematic, though, or based on comprehensive plans. Significant issues resulting from excessive car traffic were identified in all the municipalities covered by the audit.
In each of them the stakeholders (residents and representatives of entities operating in a given town or city) could express their opinions on planned car traffic limitations. Among other things, the towns and cities organised consultations, meetings with residents, polls and surveys.
The problems pinpointed as the most important were: illegal parking, jammed city roads, the lack of coherent and safe bike road network, lack of efficient and available city transport, insufficiently illuminated pedestrian crossings, noise and air pollution.
The inhabitants also underlined a big number of road accidents, involving pedestrians and cyclists in particular, although it has gone down in recent years. In line with the data of the National Police Headquarters on the audited towns and cities, when comparing the years 2018 and 2023, the number of all road accidents fell by 21%. A similar trend was observed Poland-wide (18% drop in that period).
None of the audited towns and cities developed a sustainable urban mobility plan. NIK has noted that this document should include information, recommendations and guidelines used in the context of city car traffic, ensuring systemic approach to solving issues and needs identified in that area.
The audited local governments sometimes lacked complete or up-to-date information on city road infrastructure. That is why, it was impossible to evaluate effectiveness of their actions. Without reliable data the risk of making improper decisions and repeating errors increased significantly.
Changes on the roads
In 2010-2023, the number of cars per 1,000 inhabitants went up in all the audited towns and cities. The public roads network in those municipalities included: national, provincial, district and municipal roads. At the end of 2023, they covered 1,600 km in total and compared to the end of 2018 it was 113 km up. Also at the end of 2023, the total length of pavements as well as pedestrian and bicycle paths within administrative borders of four towns and cities (which had complete data in that area) was nearly 800 km. Compared to the end of 2013 and 2018, it went up by 83 km and 19 km correspondingly. The bicycle paths in six towns and cities (which had complete data) were nearly 400 km long (up by 324 km in five years).
The management of parking places, especially in city centres, may considerably impact the car traffic intensity. Fewer parking places result in fewer people using their cars and the city roads are less jammed as a result. Eight of 12 municipality offices lacked complete data on the number of parking places in public road lanes at the end of 2013, 2018 and 2023. The paid parking zone was delineated in eight of 12 audited towns and cities. Four of them did not introduce paid parking zones at all.
The towns and cities invested in road infrastructure to promote sustainable mobility. Pavements and bicycle paths were built and repaired, residential zones and 30 km/h zones were delineated, equal junctions and roundabouts were created. Those solutions, implemented in each of the audited town and city, helped slow down the car traffic. Also, safety solutions were devised in the vicinity of schools, kindergartens and medical facilities.
The role of citizens’ initiatives to reduce car traffic needs to be underscored. Selected roads and road sections were closed to car traffic in some cities which allowed pedestrian and bicycle traffic and facilitated access to properties. Also, streets were transformed into green walkways with reduced car traffic and one level of the road without pavements or curbs was created, with pedestrian preference. When taking initiatives related to changes on the roads (e.g. closing streets), the residents were not only driven by the need to improve safety but also to develop culture, trade, gastronomy or highlight historical values of a given area.
Public transport
Public transport operated in 11 towns and cities. The number of passengers using it in 2018-2023 increased by 8% in one town, and in seven others it fell by 0.5% to 37%. Complete data on the number of passengers carried on public transport were not available in three municipality offices. The accessibility of public transport stops improved in seven towns.
In 2018-2023, the capacity of public transport vehicles (per 1,000 inhabitants) soared in seven of ten towns which had access to relevant data: from about 2% to 85%. In two towns, the capacity of public transport vehicles decreased by over 14% and nearly 37%. Complete data on the capacity of the public transport fleet were not available in two municipal offices.
Recommendations
To the Minister of Infrastructure:
to implement mechanisms to provide continuous support to municipalities in preparing, monitoring and evaluating effectiveness of efforts aimed to implement the principles of sustainable urban mobility, which should cover:
- methodologies and guidelines to prepare a reliable, comprehensive and consistent sustainable urban mobility plan;
- a database of model sustainable urban mobility indicators that can be used to develop the said plans.
To municipality heads, mayors and presidents of towns/cities:
to make sure the principles of sustainable urban mobility are implemented with the use of reliable, comprehensive and consistent planning and strategic documents, developed on the basis of complete data on road infrastructure in a given town/ city.
