share the road booklet

8/3/2019 Share the Road Booklet

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Share the RoadInvest in walking & cycling

UNEP


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Air Pollution:Emissions rom motor vehicles areresponsible or up to 90% o urban air pollution, which

cause more than 1.2 million premature deaths per year.

Energy Security:Road transport accounts or 25%o global energy demand, 90% o which is derived

rom ossil uels.

Climate Change: 17% o global energy-related CO2

emissions come rom road transport and transport is

the astest-growing sector in greenhouse gas emissions.

Road Crashes: Every 6 seconds someone is killedor seriously injured on roads, making the yearly toll

about 1.2 million atalities.

road transport by the numbers:

major challenges

Congestion:The number o cars is expected to tripleby 2050, mostly in developing countries, signaling

massive gridlock under a business as usual scenario.

Poverty:Huge portions o household income are

spent on transport costs, rising to 25% or the poorestin large cities.

Vehicles: The vast majority o people do not owncars but bicycles, which outnumber cars by almost a

billion.

Unsustainable Roads: Inrastructure investmentsare biased towards the motor vehicle, building roads

or cars, not people.Sti

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danBannon/UNEP


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The Share the Road initiative highlights oneo the most cost-eective yet overlooked actions:

make walking and cycling convenient, sae

and enjoyable.

To do this, roads must support non-motorised

transport (NMT) by having the ollowing eatures in a

city-wide network:

sidewalks

crosswalks

cycling lanes

When these NMT acilities are integrated with public

transport such as bus rapid transit (BRT) systems, the

result is an even higher number o people using both

non-motorised and public transport. Ater all, each

public transport trip begins and ends with walking;

sometimes cycling, as well.

Systematic investments are needed in NMT. It is a

matter o providing road space or allandsharing the resources allocated to maintain and

improve urban road transport.

This kind o better balance between motorizedand non-motorised transport is crucial i we are to

overcome the multiple challenges aced.

pivotal action to take:

invest in NMT road infrastructure

The United Nations Environment Programme

(UNEP), with co-ounder the FIA Foundation or the

Automobile and Society, started Share the Road to:

Work with governments and their donors

to develop policies that will ensure all urbanroad investments include NMT acilities.

Possible fnancing mechanisms are a set-aside

percentage o national road development

unds and urban transport investment

portolios or a separate und or NMT.

Both rehabilitation and new road projects are

targeted and the regional ocus is Arica.

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Powered by human energy, non-motorised transport is

the cleanestorm o transport, with no emissions.

NMT is also the mostspace-ecient orm otransport. For example, new bike rack designs show up

to 15 bikes can ft in a single parking space or cars.

Being able to walk or cycle to reach destinations

makes the city environment more enjoyable and raises

the standard o living. For example, pedestrianisation

projects can reduce pollution, increase economic

activity and create vibrant public spaces.

The majority o urban trips are shortdistance, making them ideal or walking and cycling.On a bike, the travel range can increase signifcantly.

Cities must move rom a car-dependent to multi-modal

transport system in transitioning to a green economy.

When sidewalks and cycling paths are integratedinto public transport networks, more peoplewalk, cycle or commute instead o using a private

motor vehicle.

This is the kind o modal shit highlighted by the

International Energy Agency (IEA) as one o the

three main sources o greenhouse gas reductions in

transport.

Walking and cycling road inrastructure

encourages people to either stay out or getout o cars. It also promotes more healthyliestyles.

Share the Road for the

Environment

We can radically reduce our environmental footprint

E

nriquePealosa

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sOfceCityoMunster,Germany


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Although walking is still the most widely used mode o

transport, road inrastructure has not beenbuilt or people on oot, let alone cyclists. Sincethe advent o the motor vehicle, road development has

continuously pushed the majority o people onto less

and less space.

The result is that those who can aord it ride a car while

those who cannot have to compete or road space with

high-speed motor trafc, oten risking their very lives.

The lack o NMT acilities is one o the topreasons why pedestrians and cyclists makeup a disproportionate amount o the 1.2

million who die in road crashes each year.Designating road space or pedestrians andcyclists in proportion to the demand or NMT is

crucial. It is also one o the most cost-eective actions

or saving hundreds o thousands o lives.

For example, the top two countermeasures orimproving saety in Nairobi, Kenya, recommended by

the International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP)

are pedestrian crossings and sidewalks.

Sae road inrastructure or all users

is emphasized in the global action

plan or the UN Decade oAction or Road Saety,2011-2020, spearheaded by the Make

Roads Sae Campaign.

Share the Road for

Safety

We can dramatically improve road safety for all users

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lisaDu

mitrescu/UNEP

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akeRoadsSaeCampaign


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6 For everyone, well-designed sidewalks and crosswalks

are necessary to ensure journeys can be made as

saely and quickly as possible.A city-wide cyclingnetwork can not only lower household transport

expenditures but also increase the travel range.

Many cities are developing public bike share systems

that provide people with both a bicycle and the

necessary road inrastructure to use the bicycle to

meet their mobility needs.

Congestion is a major headache or citiesworldwide. More people using NMT means

less congestion since there are ewer carson the road.

Share the Road for

Accessibility

We can signicantly increase mobility for all users

Cyclists need less than a third o the road space that

is used by a car, while a pedestrian only needs a sixth

o that space. More people using non-motorised

transport means that limited land spaceisoptimized or maximal accessibility.

NMT acilities, such as cycling lanes connected in

a network, mean better accessibility or the whole

society, especially or vulnerable groups suchas the urban poor.

Up to 25% o urban household income can be spenton public transport costs. Either to save these high

costs or because it cannot be aorded, the urban

poor oten walk or hours to reach their school or

place o employment.

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tillPic

tures

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rendanBannon/UNEP


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7Massive savings are possible by reducing the high

economic costs o urban air pollution (5% o GDP in

developing countries in healthcare costs alone) and

poor road saety (up to 100 million USD a year in low-

and middle-income countries, where 90% o road

crashes occur).

Massive savings are also possible by reducing transport

expenditures at both the household and national level,

or example reducing the demand or uel imports.

Also, or millions, especially the urban poor, the

bicycle, or handcart, is a tool to earn a livelihood,such as delivery services or taxis. When these people

can go about their work on sae and convenient road

inrastructure, the result is upward economic mobility.

Win Win Win

Investing in walking and cycling roadinrastructure is a win-win-win situation:

reducing harmul air pollutants & climateemissions, improving road saety andincreasing accessibility or all.

Taken together, such investments contribute towards

sustainable development by promoting allthree pillars o environmental, social and economic

sustainability in the context o urban road transport.

Developing systematic road investment policies or

NMT is important or poverty reduction and achieving

the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),both directly and indirectly.

A

ndrew

Hall

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raceorCyclingExpertise


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Many governments are increasing investmentsin walking and cycling as part o their wider plans or

creating sustainable urban transport systems.

Positive examples are developing around the world,

rom South America,Arica and Europe toNorth America and the Asia-Pacic.

rising trend worldwide:

more investments in NMT

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JKim

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atriciaKim/UNEP

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Pictures

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Nairobi, Kenya

Bogot, Colombia

before and after pictures:

examples of good investments

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nriquePealosa

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atriciaKim/UNEP

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lisa

Dumitrescu/UNEP

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nriquePealosa

Beore Ater

Beore Ater


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Still, between the demand or walking and cycling

road inrastructure and its provision, the fnancing

gap is massive, especially in Arica.Nowhere elsein the world will more roads be built, expanded andtarmacked in the coming decades than in Arica.

focus onAfrica

In Kenya, Share the Roads frst pilot country, UNEPhas successully worked with the government to aect

changes both on the ground and in policy. A showcase

road is under construction 100% fnanced by the

government eaturing pedestrian and cyclingacilities. Also, the government has developedpolicies or NMT investments.

Constructionongoing: 3 meter2-way cycling lane

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akeRoadsSaeCampaign

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atriciaKim/UNEP

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atriciaKim/UNEP

Construction ongoing:3 meter sidewalk

on both sides


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Share the Road can help your government by:

Providing technical support on design aspects

Helping explore fnancing opportunities Supporting policy development on investments

Share the Road has worked in Kenya and as a

result, a road rehabilitation project eatures top-

quality NMT acilities, connecting to public transport

(matatu) stations. Furthermore, the government now

systematically integrates NMT acilities on all new

urban roads and demands saety audits on projects.

Next, Share the Road will launch nationalinitiatives in Uganda and Rwanda, helping todevelop action plans or policy change, with necessary

research, awareness raising and pilot projects. UNEP

and partners look orward to working in more

countries.

Building on national initiatives, Share the Road will

also develop a regional Arica partnership onfnancing walking and cycling road inrastructure.

See www.unep.org/transport/sharetheroad or:

global report with original research and analysis

communication tools such as brochures and flms

updates rom ongoing projects

The concept o Share the Road is to tryand infuence those who design, plan,

and nance roads to think more broadlyand to change how we look at roads.

The uture needs to be not aboutmore tarmac and vehicles, but aboutmore eective movement o people

and goods in society.

Achim SteinerUNEP Executive DirectorUnited Nations Under-Secretary General

join Share the Road

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oisBieleeld/TransportationAlternatives


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Printing: Publishing Services Section, UNON, Nairobi, ISO 10041:2004 certifcationDesign and Layout: Jinita Shah/UNON

www

For more inormation please contact:

United Nations Environment Programme

Division o Technology, Industry and Economics

Energy Branch

Transport Unit

P.O. Box 30552, Nairobi, Kenya

Tel: (+254 20) 7624184

Fax: (+254 20) 7625264

Email: [email protected]

unep.org/transport/sharetheroad

Thomas Harrison-Prentice/UNEP

Version 1, printed in June 2011

Cover photo Thomas Harrison-Prentice/UNEP

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