In ICLEI Member Zurich (Switzerland), citizens are not only regularly involved in the mobility planning process, but they also guide the decisions made by the local authority and the mobility path the city takes.

In its new video, the SMARTEES project looks back at its study visit to Zurich, where the ICLEI Member Cities Budapest (Hungary), Izmir (Turkey), and Burgas (Bulgaria), alongside the City of Trondheim (Norway), learned about Zurich's holistic, shared and persistent mobility plan.

Through referenda, Zurich’s citizens can notify decision makers when they think the city is being too ambitious or too cautious in its actions. For instance, in the 1970s, citizens voted to reject funding for a proposed project concerning an underground public transport system. A subsequent referendum was held, this time with citizens supporting the allocation of 200 million Swiss Francs to promote above-ground public transport. Using these funds, the city was able to develop dedicated tram lines and bus lanes, as well as set up a system that gives preference to public transportation at traffic lights.

Holistic mobility planning in Zurich gained steam in the 1980s. At this time, the city developed a blue book of principles, which included the promotion of public transportation, reduction and channelling of main routes, restriction of parking spaces, and the promotion of environmentally-friendly mobility.

By the 1990s, the city had already gone on to freeze the number of paid parking spaces in the inner city at 7,600 spots. This limit is still in force today, enabling the creation of new off-street parking spaces only if and when mostly on-street parking spaces are removed.

The continuous involvement of citizens and their wishes in mobility planning has played a crucial role in ensuring the strength of Zurich’s mobility plan. Particularly noteworthy is that, while the city has made significant progress with regards to sustainable mobility including a 10 percent drop in the share of motorised private transport, citizens continue to push for additional changes.

For example, in a referendum held in 2012, citizens voted to set a new goal to further decrease the proportion of motorised private transport in Zurich another 10 percent by 2021, which would bring the total modal share of private transport down to 20 percent. Moreover, €100 million have been set aside to promote cycling over the course of the next 10 to 15 years.

To ensure that mobility objectives are reached and that Zurich keeps moving in the right direction, local authorities regularly monitor progress every one or two years. This information is made publicly available and is used to inform and adapt mobility policy measures.

To learn more about the SMARTEES project, click here.