Committee Chairperson Katarina Rakic stressed the importance of taking a different approach, such as sustainable urban mobility, to relieve the problem of urban traffic congestion.

Svetlana Bacanin, Open Regional Fund for South-East Europe – Energy Efficiency (GIZ ORF EE) Serbia Coordinator, and Lidija Radulovic of the Belgrade Fund for Political Excellence (BFPE) presented the two organizations’ activities and projects, stressing that environmental protection and sustainable urban mobility are closely connected. Adjusting the transportation system to modern social, economic, as well as environmental needs is of common interest and as such demands an interdepartmental approach, they said.

Aljaz Plevnik, German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) expert, presented the new transport planning concept based on the rational organization of movement of people and goods in restricted urban surroundings. He said that the concept of sustainable urban mobility is connected to the quality of urban life. As an alternative to traffic congestion and dependence on personal vehicles, he suggested developing a functional public transport system, using bicycles and walking and the idea of giving the streets back to the citizens meaning reducing the number of vehicles, parking spots and air pollution. He then proceeded to present a number of best practice examples of the sustainable urban mobility concept.

In the course of the discussion the Committee members were provided more information on the concept and had the opportunity to exchange views on it, with a special focus on the efficient organization and financial aspects of public city transport. Closing the sitting, Committee Chairperson Katarina Rakic said that it is essential to have a people-oriented city, not one intended for vehicles.

The sitting was attended by the following Committee members and deputy members: Ivana Nikolic, Dr Vladimir Orlic, Dalibor Radicevic, Ognjen Pantovic, Goran Kovacevic, Milan Ljubic, Dragan Jovanovic, Ivana Dinic and Snezana Petrovic, as well as members of the Environmental Protection Committee, Committee on the Economy, Regional Development, Trade, Tourism and Energy, representatives of the Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, City of Belgrade Transport Secretariat and the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities.