Facilitating sustainable mobility as part of the regional project
October 2021
Agence nationale de la cohésion des territoires (ANCT)
As part of the process of drawing up its Schéma de Cohérence Territoriale (SCoT), the Communauté de Communes du Grand Pic Saint-Loup has also produced a Schéma Global des Déplacements (Global Mobility Plan) in order to refine the issue of mobility in the area. Dealing with this issue is part of an innovative, cross-disciplinary approach.
The project
In the Grand Pic Saint Loup, mobility initiatives are part of the wider framework of the EPCI’s current territorial project, which is itself a continuation of the previous project, which already identified mobility as a central strategic objective. When the community councillors were working on the 2020-2026 project, mobility was the third area identified as a priority, after economic development and waste management.
The communauté de communes is an area with a high level of car ownership, with almost 90% of commuters using private vehicles to get to work, and two-thirds of the working population working outside its borders. Public transport services are not sufficiently frequent to compensate for this, and traffic jams are common at peak times on the motorway linking Montpellier.
However, dealing with the issue of mobility is part of a cross-cutting approach, concentrated in the following ambitions:
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Consolidate a local area based on the network of market towns and centres
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Opening up to the metropolis while preserving the region’s heritage and identity
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Reorganise the dynamics of traffic (internal/external) and take into account the fact that the cheapest way to travel is the one that doesn’t have to be done.
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Create economic wealth by attracting businesses and relocating jobs closer to where people live
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Develop the attractiveness that generates wealth and image
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Committing to the energy and environmental transition
The local authority has chosen to work on an experimental basis with a focus on usage. Various initiatives have been put in place to take action on :
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active mobility, with a new cycle path
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transport on demand, with lines extended from Montpellier to the local authority (creation of a dedicated stop)
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new forms of mobility, by encouraging car-pooling, car-sharing and organised hitchhiking.
The rationale behind the project is to provide services to the region at multiple levels: inter-urban (to and from Montpellier), community and local.
Finally, new-use hubs are being set up across the region to encourage multimodality. They offer a range of solutions: car-sharing, car-pooling, secure bicycle parking, public transport stops and electrically-assisted bicycles.
Objectives
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Improve commuter traffic
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Develop travel options for all users (working people, young people, senior citizens, etc.)
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To ensure successful economic development and harmonious development of the region’s centres of activity.
Specific features
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A territorial contract with the Region to create a link with all cross-cutting policies within the EPCI
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The deployment of multimodal transport hubs offering a range of services