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Dieses Kapitel untersucht die Umsetzung eines integrierten Datenüberwachungsprogramms zur Unterstützung einer nachhaltigen Mobilitätsplanung in beliebten Touristenzielen, wobei der Schwerpunkt auf den Städten Rethymno und Platanias auf der griechischen Insel Kreta liegt. Die Studie hebt die erheblichen Herausforderungen hervor, vor denen diese Reiseziele aufgrund des saisonalen Tourismus stehen, darunter zunehmende Verkehrsströme, Umweltverschmutzung und Belastungen der Infrastruktur. Das Monitoring-System umfasst ein tragbares Messsystem für Mobilitäts- und Umweltindikatoren sowie Forschungs- und Analysemethoden zur Bewertung des Nutzerverhaltens und der Zufriedenheit. Wichtige Ergebnisse zeigen erhebliche Schwankungen der Verkehrsströme zwischen Winter und Sommer, wobei der Sommerverkehr bis zu 16-mal höher ist und Logistikfahrzeuge und Busse während der Touristensaison deutlich zunehmen. Die Ergebnisse der Umweltüberwachung zeigen eine Korrelation zwischen Tourismusströmen und Umweltschadstoffen, obwohl die Luftqualität insgesamt gut bleibt. Die Analyse von Nutzerfragebögen liefert wertvolle Erkenntnisse über Mobilitätsmuster, Sicherheitswahrnehmungen und Prioritäten für Interventionen. Die Studie kommt zu dem Schluss, dass echte lokale Daten entscheidend für die Gestaltung nachhaltiger Mobilitätsmaßnahmen, die Einbeziehung von Interessengruppen und die Festlegung von Indikatoren für zukünftige Bewertungen sind. Die Methode wird für ihre Einfachheit, niedrigen Kosten und Vielseitigkeit gelobt, was sie für kleine Städte mit begrenzten Ressourcen geeignet macht. In der zukünftigen Forschung könnte es darum gehen, Daten in räumliche Modelle zu integrieren, um zukünftige Mobilitätsszenarien und Interventionen zu bewerten.
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Diese Zusammenfassung des Fachinhalts wurde mit Hilfe von KI generiert.
Abstract
Tourism destinations are often confronted with the challenge of balancing the capacity of their transport systems, between peak and off-peak periods. In order to properly design, implement and measure solutions’ impacts, data on mobility demand are required. This paper presents an integrated mobility data monitoring scheme, tested for the first time in Rethymno and Platanias, two small insular cities in Crete. The monitoring scheme included mobility and environmental indicators measurements, field research and data analysis methods. Results helped to capture the variation in traffic flows and driving behaviours by vehicle type and daytime, between winter and summer, and better understand the city’s seasonal mobility characteristics. Cities of similar typology (Mediterranean climate, seasonal flows, linear coastal development, limited transport network capacity) can benefit from such simplified schemes. Since the cost is low, cities can acquire real-time data to feed smart tools, like GIS models. Data interpretation allows policymakers, governmental authorities and tourism stakeholders to design traffic calming measures in high-risk locations, to enhance traffic safety for citizens and visitors and improve conditions for active mobility, as well as to introduce policy measures and behaviour change activities for drivers. Cross-analysis with tourism and user behaviour data supports overall mobility and resilience planning.
1 Introduction
More often than not, popular touristic destinations in islands face significant pressure from inbound tourism flows, with the capacity of their systems (natural and man-made) reaching and even surpassing their limits. Especially seasonal destinations are confronted with challenges in the design of their vital infrastructure, such as energy systems, transportation network, ports etc. In addition, the use of space, fuel supply, road safety, environmental pollution are critical issues which island communities have to cope with [1]. At the same time, such destinations are expected to meet high-quality standards set by the tourism industry and respond to the urgency of the climate crisis by adopting environmentally friendly policies and sustainable practices in all sectors.
As regards the transportation system in specific, island destinations need to focus on designing a system of adequate capacity to accommodate for the increased number of users during the seasonal touristic period, taking caution to preserve their natural and cultural characteristics. Concurrently, road safety and accessibility are matters of utmost importance. For proper sustainable mobility planning, data availability is key; however, this is not always the case for most islands, which usually consist of small cities with limited resources.
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A simplified yet robust data monitoring scheme has been designed and tested in two small cities on the Greek island of Crete, Rethymno and Platanias, of 65,000 and 20,000 residents, respectively. Both are popular destinations, accommodating a large number of visitors, which exceeds up to 10 times their population during the six-month touristic period (lasting from April to October), while their road networks and mobility infrastructure are utilized by over a million passing visitors [2]. Despite significant mobility challenges, the cities did not previously have access to mobility data at the local level. The aim was to collect real, on-the-field data about traffic flows, use of the mobility network and users’ behaviour, in order for these to be used by sustainable mobility planners for the design of measures. The scheme was designed and implemented by the Sustainable Energy and Mobility Unit of the Technical University of Crete in the context of CIVITAS DESTINATIONS [3] and SUMP-PLUS [4] projects, funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme.
2 Methodology
The monitoring scheme comprises of two parts:
(a)
a portable measurement system to monitor mobility and environmental indicators, and
(b)
research and analysis methods, to monitor modal shares, user behaviour, satisfaction levels etc., of different network users (residents, tourists, public transport users).
2.1 Mobility and Environmental Indicators Measurement System
The measurement system included:
Traffic measurement devices. Battery-operated radar sensors, compliant with GDPR, were installed on the road side, able to count passing vehicles in both directions 24/7, as well as to measure their speed and length. The latter was used to classify vehicles into five types: two-wheeler, small/standard car, big car, logistics vehicle (van), small bus, large vehicle/bus. The devices allow for remote data access, through modem on-board GPRS wireless communication, and provide real-time data.
Environmental measurements equipment. Environmental monitoring stations and portable instruments, able to measure various environmental indicators such as: air pollutants, including CO, NO, NO2, SO2, Particulate Matter (PM2.5, PM10), Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), noise levels and meteorological parameters.
The monitoring systems were installed in selected locations in the urban centre, the city entrances and other critical spots, after discussion with the cities’ policy actors. For instance, in Platanias, three points on the main road going through the touristic centre were selected, which would reveal the incoming and outgoing traffic flow from the city centre and the share of traffic flow channelled to neighbouring urban areas. As regards the period of installation, they were installed in two seasons, winter and summer (the latter coinciding with the touristic season), for two consecutive years, 2021 and 2022. The traffic parameters measured are explained in detail in Table 1.
Table 1.
Traffic parameters measured at each monitoring station.
Measurements
Description
Unit
Speed
The speed of vehicles moving on both lanes
km/h
Direction
The number of vehicles moving in both directions (1: oncoming and 2: outgoing)
1 or 2
Length
The length of passing vehicles
m
Time
Date and time for each record
To the second
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2.2 Research and Analysis Methods
This part included the development of tailored questionnaires for three groups of mobility users, specifically residents, tourists and public transport passengers, aiming to collect data about their mobility habits and behaviour, their perception of the network and services, their opinions about future measures, and demographics. In the case of tourists and public transport passengers, the interviews were done on the field, i.e. at hotels of various categories and other places of touristic interest and at bus stops, spread in the wider study area. Interviews of residents were done via telephone survey, using stratified random sampling. Subsequently, data were analysed statistically to reach aggregated results.
3 Results
Monitoring results revealed the fluctuation of traffic flows between winter and summer, per type of vehicle and time of the day, as well as the vehicles’ speed distribution.
Key findings of traffic measurements suggest that summer traffic flows can be up to 16 times higher than winter ones, depending on location and time of day, and are more extended towards the evening hours, especially in the touristic centre. The fluctuations of the curves in Fig. 1 show a strong dependence of traffic flow on the hour of the day. Winter and summer have different trendlines; in a typical day, the total 24-h traffic flow is approximately double during summer and remains high for more hours throughout the day.
Fig. 1.
Average number of vehicles on a typical day, peak and off-peak, 2021 - 2022, Platanias
At the same time, logistics vehicles dramatically increase in the summer within the urban area, as shown in Fig. 2; more specifically, in the city centre (ELTA station) they were increased by 358%, whereas outside the centre (Town Hall station) the rise was just 50%. The same stands for buses, where their increase was ranging from 2 to 12-fold (city centre), due to the increased public transport routes and tourist coaches.
Fig. 2.
Average number of vehicles per type, winter and summer 2022, Platanias
Violations of the speed limit are frequent. Figure 3 shows the number of vehicles that exceed the speed limit of 50 km/h at one of the monitoring stations throughout a typical winter and summer 2022 day, with most of them belonging to the 50–60 km/h category. The diagrams for the two seasons have different profiles, with far more speeding vehicles in summer. Additionally, a significant number of severe violations in the 80 + km/h category is observed in the early morning hours during summer.
Fig. 3.
Speed limit violations on a typical winter (left) and summer (right) day, 2022, Platanias
Results of environmental monitoring and cross-analysis with tourist data, show a correlation of environmental pollutants, such as CO, with tourism flows (Fig. 4). Nevertheless, overall both cities featured good air quality in both winter and summer.
Fig. 4.
Correlation of total tourism overnights and CO concentration at Rethymno old city
The analysis of users’ questionnaires yielded valuable information about mobility in the wider area, such as the modal split for both residents and tourists, the mobility profiles, the parameters affecting users’ mobility, evaluation of the network and services, priorities for interventions, amongst others. Parameters, such as the feeling of safety of the network users (Fig. 5) and especially cyclists who feel particularly vulnerable according to the survey (70% of residents and 60% of tourists-cyclists feel unsafe), can be co-evaluated with the aforementioned results about speed violations, to reach conclusions about dangerous parts of the road.
4 Conclusion and Future Research
Analysis of the measurements data reveals the seasonality and intensity of the traffic flows as well as the drivers’ behaviour, which is vital information for designing sustainable mobility measures. The combined interpretation of users’ behaviour data from questionnaires provides a better understanding of the use of the mobility network, and takes the users’ views into account for the design. Real local data help provide context to the engagement processes with stakeholders and put the problem into perspective, thus supporting decision-making. Especially, when speaking about tourism destinations, such data help to showcase infrastructure weaknesses and lack of services and support the co-design of mobility measures, with tourism stakeholders and long term contributes to boosting the city's image as a green destination. Moreover, it allows the setting of indicators and targets on sustainable mobility, which can be monitored in regular timeframes, so as to evaluate measures, and adapt, if needed.
The monitoring methodology is simple enough for small cities to use; the equipment is low-cost, non-intrusive and versatile, requiring minimal technical knowledge for installation and use, and provides actual real data on the field. Additionally, it offers data-sharing possibilities with mobility operators, researchers, and authorities.
Results were used to complete the mobility baseline for the cities, with important data such as the modal split, which was not previously available, to locate accident-prone areas and to design traffic calming and active mobility measures for improving traffic safety of residents and tourists in the area.
Future analysis may involve data integration in spatial models to evaluate future mobility scenarios and interventions.
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Tournaki, S., Frangou, M., Tsoutsos, T., Malandrakis, M.: Simplified mobility planning in small insular tourism destinations. Platanias case study, Crete. In: Transportation Research Procedia, vol. 00, p. 000. Elsevier (2023). (accepted to be published)
