ACTIVITY 9.2: Finalise and assure quality of ‘Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan’ document

GLOSSARY TERMS

By Tom Wood / Updated: 28 Nov 2019

Rationaleinfo-icon

The project team will have the task to compile the final version of the Sustainable Urban Mobility Planinfo-icon document. To ensure that previous agreements are well reflected, drafts of the document need to be reviewed internally and by important stakeholders. Before the adoption and publication of the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan, the focus lies on assuring high quality and finalising the document for its further implementation and dissemination. In this step, last refinements and improvements should precede the final publishable document.

 

Aims

  • Ensure high quality of the SUMP document.

  • Ensure that the views of key stakeholders and the wider public have been taken sufficiently into account in the document.

  • Finalise the SUMP document so that it is ready for adoption by political bodies and release to the public.

 

Tasks

  • Compile a full draft of the SUMP. The suggested aspects to include in the document are:

    • Background, local context and short overview of development process (including stakeholderinfo-icon and citizeninfo-icon involvement)

    • Results of mobilityinfo-icon analysis and scenarioinfo-icon exercise

    • Visioninfo-icon, objectives and key targets

    • Measureinfo-icon packages with their actions (including timeline, responsibilities and sometimes financing)

    • Monitoringinfo-icon and evaluationinfo-icon scheme

  • Look at the whole document and check quality and potential for effective outcomes. Consider using the online SUMP Self-Assessmentinfo-icon (see Tools below) or an internal peer review with colleagues to assure good quality.

  • Check if views and results of the involvement process with stakeholders and citizens are integrated in the whole document.

  • The SUMP also has to be assessed with an eye to procedural requirements (e.g. if existing on the national level), and to achieving compliance with the EC directive on Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). In certain countries, a public consultationinfo-icon is needed at this point of time as well.

  • Make final amendments in cooperation with key stakeholders. Aim for a document that receives wide political and public support, for example by adjusting sensitive aspects that would stop key decision makers from supporting it. But be careful not to dilute it too much, it is essential that it is ambitious enough to achieve its sustainabilityinfo-icon objectives.

  • Finalise the SUMP document.

 

Activities beyond essential requirements

  • Include external reviewers with experience in Sustainable Urban Mobility Planning to quality check the document.

  • Brand your SUMP to communicate its core idea, create consistent visibility and help citizens and stakeholders to recognise and remember it. Branding may include giving it a catchy title, developing a visual identity, theme and colour scheme and designing a dedicated logo (see examples below).

  • Develop a short version of the document.

  • Add your city to the Eltis database of cities with Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans: www.eltis.org/mobility-plans/city-database

 

Timing and coordination

  • Quality check when advanced draft of SUMP document is available.

 

Checklist

✔ Final draft of Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan compiled.
✔ Internal and stakeholder review completed.
✔ Quality assessment completed.
✔ Final amendments completed.

 

SUMP Self-Assessment toolinfo-icon

To check the quality of the planning process to develop your final Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan, it is recommended to use the online SUMP Self-Assessment tool. The tool can be used at all stages of the planning cycle - both to evaluate and improve mobility planning at the beginning and during the process, and to assess the quality of the SUMP before it is finalised. The Self-Assessment consists of tailored sets of questions depending on your planning context and interests. After completing the questionnaire, the results page will show you how well your document fulfills the principles of a SUMP, enabling you to identify the strengths and weaknesses of your approach. It will provide you with tailored advice for further improvement, good practice examples and links to guidance for your specific situation. To ensure a diverse feedback on your final document, the SUMP Self-Assessment should be completed by several people of the SUMP core team.

Link to SUMP Self-Assessment:
www.eltis.org/mobility-plans

 

Milestone: Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan adopted

The most important milestone of the planning process is the adoption of the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan by as broad a political coalition as possible. The SUMP needs to be legitimised by the elected political representatives of the body/ bodies responsible for the development (e.g. city council, neighbouring administrations, regional council). This is a key step in fostering acceptance, making it accountable and providing an agreed upon framework for measure implementation. The adoption process may take a few months and will depend on the national regulatory framework and administrative structure. Once it is adopted, your final SUMP deserves to be celebrated with the local community. You might organise an event, where stakeholders, the wider public and (local) media are invited and the final document is presented publicly.

More info: 

GOOD PRACTICE EXAMPLE: Greater Manchester, Malmö, Budapest, Vienna

Award-winning SUMPs with outstanding design

 

One of the award-winning SUMPs with an outstanding design is Greater Manchester. Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) used a combination of in-house expertise and external support for creating eye-catching imagery, while retaining flexibility to quickly do necessary updates. Stand-alone material, including the SUMP cover page, was made by a design consultant. For images related to evolving SUMP content, including maps, infographics and images, TfGM’s in- house design team was used. This allowed TfGM to quickly refine content and to continue adopting the same formatting in all updates, maintaining consistency across TfGM’s documents when referring to the SUMP.

Information on the design approaches of Malmö, Budapest and Vienna can be found in the Annex.

 

Author: Ben Brisbourne, Transport for Greater Manchester, collected by Polis