The integration of new roads with other, cleaner forms of mobility that are experiencing growth (e.g. cycling) requires a more congenial and human approach<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The United Nations\u2019 New Urban Agenda makes it clear that in order to improve sustainability, simultaneous progress is required in environmental, social and economic terms. In order to make a positive impact on our surroundings it is vital that these three elements are integrated with a holistic vision. Sustainable development must therefore proceed in parallel with economic development, the improvement of citizen well-being and ecological balance.<\/p>\n
Making cities greener, more accessible, quieter and cleaner requires an approach to reform that is based on the analysis of multiple criteria. The integration of new roads with other, cleaner forms of mobility that are experiencing growth (e.g. cycling) requires a more congenial and human approach. However, transforming communication routes, which sometimes cut off and mutilate the urban environment, can be a complex challenge due to the fact that the existing infrastructure and buildings are themselves a constraint.<\/p>\n
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The study carried out by Ineco on a 1.4-km section of Avenida Alfonso Molina incorporates the construction of paths that will organise and provide solutions for the shared use of the road by drivers, pedestrians and cyclists.<\/p><\/div>\n
Moreover, the humanisation of road margins in the urban environment makes it clearer to drivers that they are entering a new environment and should adapt their driving accordingly, e.g. by reducing their speed when they approach crossings and paying closer attention to their surroundings. This also helps to improve road safety in the urban environment.<\/p>\n
The Spanish Urban Agenda identifies 10 primary goals which, in turn, involve the achievement of 30 specific objectives.<\/p>\n
In recent years, and in line with the changing approach to the issue of roads in the urban environment, Ineco has been incorporating humanisation measures into the road-related projects that it carries out. Such considerations were taken into account when drawing up the construction plans for Improving the capacity of Avenida Alfonso Molina<\/em> (highway AC-11), which comprises the main route of access into the city of A Coru\u00f1a in north-west Spain.<\/p>\n The project\u2019s main aim is to solve the congestion problems of a particular section of the road by increasing its capacity and improving connectivity, while at the same time improving the integration of the infrastructure into the urban environment and taking into account the key criteria of equal, fair and sustainable development as specified in the Urban Agenda.<\/p>\n The study proposes the incorporation of paths and walkways shared by pedestrians and cyclists, which would enable coexistence with the road\u2019s vehicular traffic while ensuring adequate levels of road safety and permeability of the road margins.<\/p>\n The road was build in the mid-20th century and is wide, with three lanes in each direction and, in certain sections, a service road on either side. At its far north-western end the road ends at the port of A Coru\u00f1a, almost at the entrance to the city\u2019s old quarter.<\/p>\n The paths designed by Ineco allow for the segregation of vehicles and cyclists, unlike at present. \/ INFOGRAPHIC_MITMA<\/p><\/div>\n When it was built, the road passed through the rural population centres outside the city and provided a new link between the city and the countryside. Traditionally, transport routes had run parallel to the sea in the bay of A Coru\u00f1a. Over time, other urban planning projects, such as the construction of residential buildings in Elvi\u00f1a and Barrio de las Flores and the industrial estates of Matogrande, Someso and Parque Ofim\u00e1tico, have increased traffic pressure in the area, as has the addition of traffic from the AP-9 highway.<\/p>\n The plan drawn up by Ineco focuses on a 1.4-km (approx.) section of Avenida Alfonso Molina that lies on the outskirts of the city, between Avenida San Crist\u00f3bal (AC-10) and the connections to highways AP-9 and AC-11. As stated above, the plan\u2019s main aim is to solve the traffic problems for the section in question. According to the available data, in 2016 this section was used by 124,037 vehicles per day, of which 5.1% were heavy vehicles. Currently, this translates to a Level of Service (LOS) F while entering the city and LOS E while exiting. This results in regular traffic jams and hold-ups at peak times and during specific events, which in turn causes a large number of accidents of various types.<\/p>\n Elevation of the walkway to resolve the intersection of the pedestrian route above Avenida Garc\u00eda Sabell at junction 2 (POCOMACO-Matogrande).<\/p><\/div>\n At present, large numbers of pedestrians use the road margins, owing to the presence of several shopping centres, hotels, residential buildings and bus stops. The plan incorporates the environmental adaptation of the road margins and the inclusion of paths enabling complete integration between vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists, ensuring they can all transit through the area in safety. Moreover, the walkway design ensures the permeability of the road infrastructure.<\/p>\n The aim is to increase the humanisation of the section by improving the transit process for pedestrians and cyclists, thereby enhancing their safety and transit experience. The plan also aims to provide both residents and passers-by with a more congenial and attractive environment through the use of physical, visual and acoustic separation. Generally speaking, it is a plan of an eminently urban nature, in which the concept of functionality takes precedence over mobility. The study sought to achieve a balance between the regulatory requirements and recommendations (including the Accessibility Code<\/em> published by the government of Galicia\u2019s ministry of Social Affairs and the document published by the Spanish ministry of Transport, Mobility and the Urban Agenda (MITMA) on Accessibility in urban public spaces<\/em> and developing viable solutions whose costs are not disproportionate.<\/p>\n The connection to pedestrian access points near the bus stops and walkways ensures transverse permeability throughout the entire section<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Prioritising pedestrians, cyclists and public transport users and enabling them to interact with the road in harmony and safety, while providing a quality environment, is one of the priority aims of this action. The area in which the work will be carried out has a gentle gradient of around 5%.<\/p>\n Wherever possible, the paths have been designed with a different elevation to the AC-11 in order to provide a clear differentiation of uses and protect the path users. The plan has made efforts to adapt the road\u2019s longitudinal section to the accessibility requirements, with maximum gradients of 8% and the placement of horizontal intermediate platforms to serve as rest areas where necessary.<\/p>\n The plan includes a review of the bus stops in order to ensure they remain connected to the road and the paths without any interference to or from pedestrians above the road.<\/p><\/div>\n A maximum width of five metres was established as a design criterion; however, this was not always possible owing to the fact that buildings and related installations limited the amount of space available on the road margins.<\/p>\n One of the design priorities was to ensure sufficient transverse permeability for the road by incorporating three new walkways and connecting the paths to the existing bus stops, whose design would be adapted in line with current standards with regard to the space required for bays and shelters to protect users.<\/p>\n The plan also takes into account the lighting of the paths and bus shelters, in order to enhance users\u2019 comfort and safety.<\/p>\n The activities that form part of this plan fall within the scope of the first set of goals of the Spanish Urban Agenda:<\/p>\n <\/div><\/div>\n Plan of the landscape integration measures for the section of road between the AC-11 and the AC-14.<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n One of the project\u2019s central aims is to increase the humanisation of this particular section of Avenida Alfonso Molina by improving the transit process for pedestrians and cyclists in their designated zones, thereby enhancing their safety and transit experience. To achieve this, we have physically, visually and acoustically separated the vehicular traffic from the new path and garden areas, in order to provide residents and passers-by with an environment that is more congenial and attractive.<\/p>\n With regard to landscape integration, we have identified 12 zones on the right-hand margin and nine on the left-hand margin where work will be carried out. The selection of species to plant in the garden requires a prior analysis of climatic conditions, the aesthetic and design approach that is to be followed (factors such as colour, leaf fall, texture, appearance, etc.), shade requirements, and references from other areas on Avenida Alfonso Molina where gardens have already been planted, as well as an analysis of the requirements specified by A Coru\u00f1a Council with regard to:<\/p>\n As the area is highly anthropised, the project is not expected to have any significant impact on the existing fauna (wood pigeons, swallows, blackbirds, sparrows and mice).<\/p>\n Likewise, the existing historical and artistic heritage has been respected and none of the current architectural elements (h\u00f3rreos \u2013traditional raised granaries\u2013, the Seat building, the Coca-Cola factory and the church of San Vicenzo de Elvi\u00f1a) will be directly affected by the project.<\/p>\n <\/div><\/div>\n Since 2000, the state-owned engineering company Ineco has been implementing projects that are designed to integrate transport routes into cities, give greater prominence to pedestrians and cyclists in daily mobility, normalise the use of these modes of transport, foster healthy habits, promote the recovery of public space and help improve the environment. In addition to the company\u2019s work on Avenida Alfonso Molina in A Coru\u00f1a, the following projects are also of note:<\/p>\n <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Making roads and highways kinder to their surroundings as they pass through urban centres is a challenge that administrations are beginning to prioritise. The EU\u2019s urban development policies and 2030 Agenda and the Spanish government\u2019s Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan have aligned in order to place an emphasis on actions that enable infrastructure and citizens to coexist in environments that are greener and more human.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":243,"featured_media":5042,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[600,588,566,589],"tags":[1724,312,2206,1254],"coauthors":[2205,1881],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revistaitransporte.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5054"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revistaitransporte.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revistaitransporte.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revistaitransporte.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/243"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revistaitransporte.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5054"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.revistaitransporte.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5054\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5065,"href":"https:\/\/www.revistaitransporte.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5054\/revisions\/5065"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revistaitransporte.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5042"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revistaitransporte.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revistaitransporte.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revistaitransporte.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5054"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revistaitransporte.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=5054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t\tImprovements to Avenida Alfonso Molina in A Coru\u00f1a<\/h4>\n
Shared use of the road<\/h4>\n
THE PLAN COMPLIES WITH THE GOALS OF THE SPANISH URBAN AGENDA<\/span><\/h4>\n\t\t\t
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Environmental and landscape restoration<\/span><\/h4>\n\t\t\t
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Ineco\u2019s experience in the integration of human factors into infrastructure<\/span><\/h4>\n\t\t\t
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