LUTP francophone session [4th edition] : a highly successful training

The
4th session of the francophone LUTP training, jointly organized by the World Bank and the French Development Agency (AFD) in partnership with CMI, CEREMA and CODATU took place from 1 to 7 June 2014 in Marseille (France). This program aims to develop the capacity of decision makers in planning urban sustainable mobility.

An international programme for decision makers

Presentation from M. Xavier Hoang (AFD)

The programme Leaders in Urban Transport Planning (LUTP) intends to educate policy makers to develop an integrated approach to urban mobility, enhance its various components and the means necessary for its implementation. Developed with the support of PPIAF, AUSAID and the ESMAP, LUTP offers a training based on experimentation and case studies, working groups and technical visits, enhancing the links between the various components of the overall urban transport system.

The one-week seminar (7 complete days in Marseille) is preceded by a phase of self-learning on the antecedent five weeks. A certificate of participation is delivered by the World Bank and AFD at the end ot the training. The 4th Francophone session hosted by CMI (Center for Mediterranean Integration) in Marseille was led by a team of specialists in urban transport from the World Bank (Marc Juhel, Thierry Desclos), AFD (Olivier Ratheaux Xavier Hoang ), CEREMA (Thierry Gouin) and CODATU (Julien Allaire).

Technical visits: an effective way to illustrate the theory

Technical visits of Marseille and Montpellier enabled participants to see the achievements of these two cities of the northern shore of the Mediterranean in terms of development of public transport supply, control of the use of the automobile and development of pedestrian and bicycle facilities. Participants were also able to deepen the content of urban mobility plans recently approved in these cities to promote the coordination of urban planning and transport policies, a major challenge for cities in the South facing a very rapid urban growth.

Technical visit at Montpellier

In Marseille, participants visited the center of traffic management of the agglomeration and discover the project of Euromediterranée, the Public Development Establishment born in 1995 as an operation of national interest at the initiative of the State and local authorities with the aim of placing Marseille among major European cities. The metropolitan project to structure the agglomeration of Aix-Marseille-Provence was then presented. Finally, Martine Vassal, Assistant to the City of Marseille in charge of international relations received the delegation at the Municipality.

In Montpellier, the transport policy of the Community of Agglomeration and the urban mobility plan have been presented to the participants. In the afternoon, accompanied by a representative of TAM, the public transport operator from Montpellier, they could visit the center Odysseum, example of integration between urban development and mass public transport projects. The visit continued with a tour in the city center where alternative modes of transport are strongly favoured to the car. The tour concluded at the Saint-Roch Trainstation with the presentation of the renewed exchange pole (works still in progress).

Participants having their own transport agenda

A highly participative training session

The training was attended this year by 20 people from six African countries (Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Morocco, Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal). Participants showed great heterogeneity in terms of profils and the function they have in their country. There was thus ministerial advisors, territorial officials, central government officials, leaders of public transport company, etc. They all face problems of transport and they all expressed positive feedback from this training concerning in particular:

• to think the institutional arrangements of transport :
  Debates on those issues have widely inspired countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and Senegal who wish to work for improving the governance of urban transport.
• to plan urban growth along mass public transport corridors:
  The training has certainly confirmed the financial (land value), social (the fight against segregation), economic (reduced congestion) and environmental (pollution reduction and a land use deregulated) especially for large cities (Kinshasa, Addis Ababa, Dakar, Moroccan or Cameroonian cities). But it also allowed decision makers of smaller cities to better plan their urban expansion;
• to integrate public transport projects with existing mass transit systems:
  These are issues still present in Casablanca or Rabat projects around mass transit; while Dakar and Addis Ababa are developing BRT projects. The integration with the network of informal transport was also tackled. This problem is common indeed to all countries represented at this training session and arises as a real management issue of urban transport system in terms of corporate governance, system performance, road safety and regulation of competition.
• to have in mind the multi-dimension nature of urban transport:
  The multi-dimensional nature of urban transport requires taking into account both the spatial and temporal dimension, institutional, financial, political, modal and functional. The development of this ability to take into account the impact of actions on several dimensions is a main objective to ensure decision makes the capacity of setting up a sustainable transport system. Training enables decision makers to meet and exchange for the entire duration of the training.

These exchanges may persist over time. Moreover, after 4 francophone sessions of LUTP, the participation of large delegations from the same country facilitates the definition of common perspectives in the implementation of urban transport policy.

The 5th edition of the LUTP training will take place in Marseille in June 2015, do not hesitate to follow the news on our website to be informed!