This City Center Has Been Car-Free Since 2008 And There’s No Going Back
With the climate crisis still on a rocky road, policymakers have been dashing to adopt sustainable practices. Milan, for instance, is building “cycle highways” in hopes to make biking the main mode of local transportation, while President Joe Biden has launched a task force to source eco-conscious materials. Illinois aims to shut down all fossil fuel plants by 2045, and it is investing US$580 million every year to convert to clean energy.
But one city had embarked on its own green journey way before others walked down this footpath. For 14 years, the city center of Ljubljana, Slovenia’s capital, has been car-free, putting pedestrians at its heart. With Ljubljana being a metropolis, the feat was almost unheard of then.
Photo 235076057 © Jerome Cid | Dreamstime.com
To help locals get around, the city improved its cycling networks and encouraged them to commute by public transport.
The only cars welcome here are a slow-moving electric fleet, traveling at a top speed of 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) per hour, dedicated to driving the elderly and mobility-impaired around.
In building a green city center, Ljubljana hoped to lead the charge for other European cities and inspire them to put sustainability at their forefront too.
Unsurprisingly, citizens railed against the concept as they feared it would hinder accessibility. The city's busiest street, a cultural and national heritage icon, was also located in the city center.
Eventually, locals got used to the new pace, and Ljubljana was even awarded the title of Europe’s leading green capital by the European Commission in 2016.
Saša Poljak IsteniÄ, an academic who has studied the effects of pedestrianization in the city, told VICE France that if other governments were to replicate Ljubljana’s model, “it is crucial that [they] outline to residents exactly what the plans are and why they’re being proposed.”
“People are hesitant about change at first but it becomes easier to accept a situation if you’re made aware of positives,” she continued.
At the end of the day, authorities can have faith that residents will open up to change once they experience the benefits. “It’s been a decade now and none of us can really imagine cars ever staging a comeback in the city center,” IsteniÄ noted.
[via VICE and AFP-Relaxnews, images via various sources]
