Development Status of Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans in European Union New Member States

Local authorities in european cities are seeking new approaches to develop strategies that help stimulate a shift towards cleaner and more sustainable transport modes. Sustainable Urban mobility Plans (SUmPs) are instruments that contribute towards achieving climate and energy targets set by euro- pean Union (eU) leaders and promoted through the european commission (ec) in relevant documents such as the Transport White Paper and action Plan on Urban mobility. a well-prepared SUmP will help to provide high-quality and sustainable mobility and transport to, through and within urban areas. SUmPs foster a balanced development of all transport modes, while encouraging a shift towards more sustainable modes and usage. The plans present both long-term strategies for the future development of transport and mobility infrastructure and services in urban areas as well as short-term plans for implementation of these strategies: timing, allocation of resources and responsibilities and identifying the required finances. They include integrated sets of technical, infrastructure, policy-based and soft measures. Different approaches to sustainable urban mobility planning exist throughout europe. While some countries, such as France and the UK, may be considered forerunners (with plans produced under a different name and slightly different methodology), SUmPs are a new planning tool in other parts of the eU, especially within the new member states. This article presents the way in which the SUmP concept was introduced and accepted in Slovakia.