One step in becoming an even more sustainable municipality is to increase sustainable travel and make central Boden more accessible and attractive. How do you travel?
Promoting sustainable travel is an obvious part of Boden municipality’s long-term sustainability work on many levels.
The municipality has created a new service, transport advisor, at the traffic unit, with a focus on traffic safety, cycling and sustainable travel. Kerstin Chley took office on January 1st. She has for many years worked with traffic issues and its planning in both Boden and Luleå.
The work has begun by reviewing previous statistics and creating new measurements of our travel. She looks at what our travel patterns look like today and how we should be able to adapt our municipality to best meet the future.
– We need to change our attitudes to travelers. Among other things, we will go out more to both companies and the general public and encourage investments to travel more green, says Kerstin Chley.
Kerstin Chley is a transport consultant at Boden Municipality.
Trends and patterns
She sees both trends and established patterns. A travel habits survey in the municipality of Boden shows that the majority of municipal residents travel by car. The argument that long distances do not always hold as most trips we make turn out to be shorter than five kilometers.
But winter cycling has become more common. The number of bicycles with winter tires has increased and more bicycles parked in weather protection are noted. Kerstin herself tries to live as she teaches.
– I live close to work and walk in the winter. On the bike I have a basket and sometimes bags. It happens that I take the bike on the bus, she smiles.
Of course, she also sees occasions when a car may be needed, but then car sharing or rental car is an alternative for those who do not have to have a car around the clock every day of the year. For much of the day, cars are parked at destination points, workplaces and above all at homes.
