Sustainable Penang Toward a New Mobility Agenda: 2013 -2015

A Public Enquiry by Thin k City & EcoPlan International Sustainable Penang Toward a New Mobility Agenda: 2013 - 2015 An independent expert report on the findings and recommendations of a civil society enquiry based on collaborative dialogues, symposia, master classes, workshops and supporting public events, with the goal of forging stronger support for a more sustainable transport agenda to better serve all the people of Penang . Hosted by Think City and numerous local partners, in cooperation with EcoPlan International. Phase 1: Brainstorming report and recommendations eric britton ecoplan international 27-Nov-13 Sustainable Penang: Toward a New Mobility Agenda Sustainable Penang A Thinking Exercise Final report of 27 Novemberr 2013 Page 1 of 76 Phase 1. Brainstorming Report and Recommendations ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am grateful to have this chance to express my thanks to the many Penangites and groups who have so generously helped me in this project since the planning effort got underway in June. There are far too many to name here, so I shall have to be satisfied with these few words of appreciation. What I can hope for is that something useful will come out of all our hard work that will make a contribution to your beautiful city and state. What better way to say thank you? The perso ost dire tly respo si le for this issio as Dato’ Professor A ar Fazal i his role as Chair of Think City, Laureate of the Right Livelihood Award, and leading figure in the Civil Society movement in Asia. He guided me from the beginning in many ways, making sure that I understood the long of past efforts to deal with these challenges in Penang over two full decades. Upon reflection I believe that his most creative advice was to caution me to avoid being unnecessarily critical, but at the same time honest in my appreciation of the weaker points of the prese t situatio . It is i porta t, he said, ut Eri I do 't a t you to lose tra k of the fa t that it is the positive recommendations that are going to ensure there will be follow-up and continuity to all the ork that is ei g do e hile you are here. I a tryi g hard to follo his ise ou sel. I was cordially received on a number of occasions by officials and their staffs both at the level of the State of Penang and the two Municipal councils which are leading the way when it comes to implementation of many of the ideas that are outlined here. An important part of my education was supplied by meetings with members of the Penang Transport Council, and in particular their director Mr. Thean-heng Lim who was especially generous with his time and knowledge from the initial stages of the planning efforts. The staff of Think City were also extremely generous with their time and support, especially Daniel Lim, Duncan Cave and Kartina Mohamed. They put a lot of work and brains into the project day after day, and were to a good extent the turntable of the entire mission, without whose support it would never have taken place. Of particular importance was the active participation of all those who agree to get involved in the Focus Group sessions that continued on an almost daily basis through the entire three weeks in Penang. These resources of education for the author and great opportunities to gather from them their views on problems, priorities and their proposals for actions and remedial measures many of which appear in Chapter 3 of this report. Well more than half of the people taking their time to support the project were women, with considerable expertise in a wide variety of critical areas, strong views and demonstrated leadership skills. Their continued involvement and leadership is going to be critical to the challenges of a Sustainable Penang and the major transportation reform program that now needs to be engaged. Finally, let me in express my warmest thanks to Mr. H. T. Khor who was my guide and instructor from start to finish. I could not have asked for a better and more generous working partner. Thank you Khor, thank you all. Eric Britton, Lyon, 27 November 2013 For comment and public discussion Page 2 of 76 Sustainable Penang: Toward a New Mobility Agenda Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 2 6 A Living Document 6 Executive Summary 7 In conclusion 10 The Project in Brief 11 13 1. The most important single recommendation in this report 13 The second most important recommendation in this report 14 Visual Evidence 15 Introduction: Brainstorming New Mobility 1.1 2. 3. Do we have a problem? 16 16 1.2 If so why are we not solving it? 17 1.3 18 What do we do need to do to make it work? Rethinking Mobility 19 2.1 Say good-bye to Old Mobility 19 2.2 Ready for change 20 2.3 The role of the car in the city 20 2.4 The Psychopathology of the Owner/Driver 21 2.5 The New Mobility Agenda in brief 22 The New Mobility Strategy 23 Strategy 1. Reduce traffic radically. 24 Strategy 2. Expand non-car mobility services available to all: 24 Strategy 3. Tighten time frame for action 24 Strategy 4. Design and Deliver for the Transportation Majority 25 Strategy 5. Take advantage of frugal economics: 25 Strategy 6. Build on what we have: 25 Strategy 7. Do not build yourself into a corner 26 Strategy 8. Design and deploy packages of measures 26 Strategy 9. Integrate the car into the new mobility pattern 26 Final report of 27 Novemberr 2013 Page 3 of 76 Phase 1. Brainstorming Report and Recommendations 4. 5. 6. 7. Strategy 10. Full speed ahead with new technology 27 Strategy 11. Technology agnostics/Performance advocates 27 “trategy 27 . Play the i frastru ture joker Strategy 13. Design for women 27 Strategy 14. Outreach and Partnerships 28 Strategy 15. Environment/Climate Emergency leading the way 28 Strategy 16. Lead by Example: 28 Strategy 17. Set High Targets 29 Strategy 18. . . . And Make Them Known (New Mobility Media Program) 29 Strategy 19. Reward and Support Innovation 29 Strategy 20. But above all . . . pick winners! 29 New Mobility Transition Projects - 2014 31 4.1 Pattern Breaking 32 4.2 Building on a Firm Base 33 4.3 Table of Ideas 33 4.4 Recommended Transport Master Plan Strategy 34 Vital Underpinnings 36 5.1 Traffic Safety Campaign (with teeth) 37 5.2 UNESCO World Heritage Site 38 5.3 Penang Car Free Days 38 5.4 Target Mobility for Rural Areas 40 5.5 Local consultancy and advisory capability 41 5.6 Gender Parity – Starting with Penang Transport Council 41 5.7 Sustainable Penang New Mobility Grant Awards 42 Active Transport 44 6.1 Walkable City Projects 44 6.2 Walk to School 45 6.3 Barrier Free George Town 46 6.4 Biking Penang 47 6.5 Contraflow Cycling Lanes 49 6.6 Pedestrian and Cycling Crossings: Democratic Practices 50 6.7 Placemaking in Penang 51 6.8 The Heat? 51 Adapting Public Transport For comment and public discussion 52 Page 4 of 76 Sustainable Penang: Toward a New Mobility Agenda 7.1 On-Board Bus Announcements of Next Stop 52 7.2 CAT Shuttle Bus Service Improvements 52 7.3 BRT Strategies 53 7.4 Accessible public transport 53 7.5 Tour Bus Restrictions in Heritage Site 53 7.6 Security Audits 54 New Mobility Initiatives 56 8. 8.1 Park + Ride 56 8.2 Taxi Industry Thinking and Talking Project 57 8.3 Strategic support for motorized two wheelers 57 8.4 Trishaw program 58 8.5 Blog of Blogs 58 8.6 University new mobility programs 59 8.7 Carsharing in Penang 59 8.8 A Strategic Parking program for Penang 60 8.9 City within the City (Pulau Tikus) 60 8.10 Leading by Example 61 9. Next Steps 62 9.1 Implementation 62 9.2 Reorganization 63 9.3 Gain greater autonomy 63 9.4 Integrating transportation and city planning 64 9.5 Improving Balance of the transportation modes 64 9.6 The 2014 Oversight Function 65 9.7 Smaller cities partnership project: 2014-2015 65 9.8 2015 international Conference: 66 9.9 Sustainable Penang: Cooperative University program 67 9.10 PS. Did Anyone Mention Climate? 68 Annexes A. 69 Supporting Project Web Sites 69 B. Calendar of main public events and invitational workshops 70 C. Key Institutions 71 D. Table of Ideas Final report of 27 Novemberr 2013 72 Page 5 of 76 Phase 1. Brainstorming Report and Recommendations A LIVING DOCUMENT The report that follows presents the final version of the Sustainable Penang project report as of 27 November 2013 and is part of an ongoing review and finalization process that will continue through early 2014. The report and the associated materials indicated here are being shared with close to rwo hundred people who participated actively in the various focus groups and other key meetings during the three-week enquiry in Penang, as well as by a certain number of international colleagues working in the field who have expressed interest in reading and commenting the report. These comments and contributions will be factored into the on-line report on a regular basis. If you wish to join this informal review group, get in touch with the author at eric.britton@ecoplan.org Tel. +331 5088 0787 or Skype at newmobility. For comment and public discussion Page 6 of 76 Sustainable Penang: Toward a New Mobility Agenda EXECUTIVE SUMMARY At a time when public policy in the transport sector in Penang is badly in need of new thinking and new approaches, we have attempted in this international project to scan proven examples and practices worldwide in order to draw them to attention to all of those concerned with these issues and policy choices in Penang. The report is thus not a how-to manual but it is intended as an encouragement and stimulus for no less than a major rethink of Transport Policy and Practice in Penang, from bottom to top. This report and the months of planning and hard work that went into it was intended from the beginning as a collaborative brainstorming exercise Penang is car sick The underlying reality on the streets and public spaces in is this: Pe a g’s transport, mobility and public space arrangements today leave a great deal to be desired, and are, worse yet, steadily deteriorating day after day. With some but few exceptions, the policies and measures are mediocre at best and for the most part entirely unsatisfactory, unfair and underperforming. Moreover, those who suffer most from this are the poor. But they are far from the only ones. And there is no good reason that it has to be like that. The grinding situation is one of every day: more cars, more traffic, more congestion, more pollution, more lost time, more anger, more noise, more isolation, more accidents, and fewer good affordable options for getting around for the vast majority of the population. The system is inefficient, and worse it is unjust. But there is worse yet: year after year they are continuing to deteriorate steadily, almost visibly. The citizens and taxpayers of Penang deserve better and they are increasingly making their voices heard. In addition to this – and this is worrying! – your consultant Halcrow after two years of careful study and with excellent qualifications for the job makes it clear that you are constrained by major deficiencies in terms of your transport analytic and policy competences, much as is the case with almost all smaller cities around the world. I hope you will take you their point as a warning. Your choices of consultants and cooperating expert sources in the immediate future is going to be most important to the future of your mobility system and quality of life in both the short and longer term. We can only encourage you to look for and work with the best . But Penang is not alone Final report of 27 Novemberr 2013 Page 7 of 76 Phase 1. Brainstorming Report and Recommendations One bit of good news is that there is virtually nothing that is particularly original about the circumstances of inattention, inconsistency and decay; these are the same behaviors, patterns and conditions encountered in the vast majority of cities of all sizes across the developing world. To you in government and the citizens of Penang all this may seem unique, but that is far from the case. If we do the sums we can see that you are something like the 10,000th victim of a worldwide disease, and that symptom by painful symptom you resemble the rest. Perhaps surprisingly this can be seen as good news. That is, by now those working at the leading edge of the field, your consultant Halcrow among them, are entirely familiar with the problems and how to deal with the asso iated halle ges. It’s all ery straightfor ard. You figure out if you ha e a pro le , then you call the doctor, and the doctor tells you that you are sick. But he also tells you hat edi i e you eed to take to e ell. No it’s ti e to take the edicine in all this there are very few unknowns. Many other cities and regions have faced these same challenges in the past and a growing number of them have figured out how to make this transition. A d if you’re looki g for a lead I a o ly suggest that you look toward leading cities in Europe who have made the most advances. And while none of them are perfect, they are several hundred European cities that are doing better with these issues every day. So there is no reason why the same cannot be accomplished in Penang. And one day it will be. The only question is when? When and at what cost to the quality of life of the people of Penang for all those years lost? There are long lists of reasons why Penang needs to turn the situation around and without undue delay. In the 21st century cities compete, and any city which does not offer a pleasant and efficient place to live and work is going to lose out in the international competitions. The best and brightest young people will leave such a place and it cannot expect to compete for new investments, jobs and the creativity of the brightest and best in the international arena. Quality of life counts! Quality of life takes a hit, and right behind it the economy starts to suffer. And all of a sudden the best and brightest start to look around for some other place to live. So for all these reasons it is time for those driving transport policy and practice in Penang to start to look hard at what can be done to make it not only a great place to live and work but also a vigorous competitor for the best. Fortunately, Penang has a number of real advantages, along with the tools and measures that can now be put to work for this reconversion effort. It will be a choice. For comment and public discussion Page 8 of 76 Sustainable Penang: Toward a New Mobility Agenda Penang has real advantages The good news is that the State has in hand virtually everything needed in order to prepare, initiate and advance a major sustainable transportation revolution. The money, the institutional framework, the autonomy, and the ideas and examples needed to make major improvements, many at very low cost and well within the 2013- 2015 time horizon of the Halcrow Transport Master Plan. The Halcrow Plan sets out a number of institutional and technical reforms needed to improve the performance of all aspects of transport in the state efficiency, environment, economy, resources, energy, and quality of life for all. Other than a few surprising and apparently inconsistent references to several major long-term infrastructure projects the Halcrow reports give you a solid point of departure and it is our strongly expressed professional view that you should start from there. Their insistence on a three-point strategy is worth repeating in short here: 1. Better manage the existing highway network; 2. Significantly improve the current public transport systems; 3. Reduce future growth in private vehicle usage through introducing travel demand management measures That’s pretty straightfor ard a d represe ts orld-level counsel. In addition, we strongly recommend that you give full attention to their practical recommendations for the 20135, a d fro there o to the period ho to . They’ e gi e you a strong start and now all you have to do is work with it. It’s ot a atter of o ey It’s ot a atter of o ey. You ha e (or could have) sufficient funds under your control to make a virtually all of the improvements which are necessary over the course of the next two years, if you concentrate above all on the management of the transportation assets you already have — as opposed to as in the past spending heavily on new construction projects to solve your problems. The priority is not to further expand supply of inefficiently used infrastructure, but rather to manage and use it better. The Halcrow Master Plan provides a number of useful guidelines for how to do this. A major and in many ways unique asset that has proven invaluable in my time in Penang is that you are blessed with one of the most well developed networks of civil society and public interest groups in all of Asia. These are huge assets for your transformational program, and it will be to your great advantage if you work closely with them. With the collaboration of my colleagues at Think City and all those who have so generously given of their time and ideas over these last weeks, and particularly the more than 150 people who generously participated in the Focus Groups, we have come up with an initial brainstorming list of some forty specific project initiatives which can be done quickly, and which are entirely under the control of state and local governments. As author I very much hope you will look at them, and in time through your suggestions and recommendations help us to expand and improve this open resource inventory. Final report of 27 Novemberr 2013 Page 9 of 76 Phase 1. Brainstorming Report and Recommendations IN CONCLUSION If we think of the world cities as being roughly di ided i to leadi g a d laggi g , the truth is that Penang today solidly implanted in the latter category. But so too, and not all that many years ago, were many of the leading cities that today are showing the way. Most of them not all that many years ago were also victims of inconsistent, unthought-out, unimaginative, selfish, undemocratic and inefficient transportation policies themselves. The lesson is that you do not wake up in the morning and find yourself suddenly having become a leadi g ity i this respe t. You ha e to roll up your slee es a d get to ork ith a entirely different set of values and goals. But for that to occur there needed to be a vision, a strategy, plans and actions of which individually and collectively started to change the shape of the city and the quality of everyday life for the people who live and work there but also for visitors who come because they are eager to see and be in a situation in which an agreeable and sustainable city environment has been achieved The key to the success of this project will be in the follow-up to your work following up on the Halcrow recommendations as well as those set out here in the year ahead. What you see here is but a first cut of ideas and projects. But it will be in the follow-up, the adoption of these ideas by local groups and agencies who can turn them into reality that will make the difference. In closing I can tell you one thing for sure. And that is that Penang will one day make all the necessary reforms that today are so badly needed. You will get to it, sooner or later, e ause that is hat the orld tre d is. That’s hat su essful ities do. “o it is really a question of time. If you have the vision, the strategy, the energy and the leadership you can advance the agenda by a decade in just the next year or two of careful applied work. That will be your choice — no one can do it but yourselves. Let me in this summary with a comment on a phrase that is posted on your Penang Transport Council webpage which I really think holds the key to your future. And that is your oft-repeated slogan, Mo e people, ot ehi les . If you stick to that you are going to be just fine. Eric Britton, EcoPlan International. Paris. 29 November 2013 For comment and public discussion Page 10 of 76 Sustainable Penang: Toward a New Mobility Agenda THE PROJECT IN BRIEF A collaborative brainstorming document prepared by the author to summarize a number of the outstanding contributions and project ideas that came up during the course of three weeks of collaboration in Penang with numerous public meetings, focus groups, seminars and other associated events, the objective of which was to see of working together we could identify a certain u er of patter reaki g easures a d proje ts that ight e o sidered for i ple e tatio in Penang over the coming year. After a very short graphic introduction, the report is divided into three main parts. Chapters 2 and 3 make brief presentations of the overall structure, key principles and orientation of the New Mobility Agenda -- a collaborative strategy for enlarging the policy debate and bringing in new ideas and approaches for improving mobility in cities and in the surrounding lower density areas. Readers will appreciate that this is an especially demanding agenda because it requires not that policymakers pick out one or several of the proposed strategic pillars for ad hoc action, but that they sign up with the entire strategic structure. Without such firm underpinnings, policy risks most certainly to be inconsistent and to lack the necessary continuity for reforming the global system. Chapters 5 to 8 set out a series of short descriptions of approximately 40 project ideas or concepts that came up over the course of the discussions with the participating organizations and individuals representing both the public sector and various branches of civil society and the media. These descriptions are at this point very brief. Rather they are intended to open up discussions of thinking about the selected topics which came out of the focus group meetings and meetings with key government groups over the course of the three weeks. The hope is that some of these ideas – you may choose to think of them as equivalent of bookmarks in your browser – will in the months ahead be picked up and adopted by the principle implementing agencies and groups, and supported by civil society in order to develop a new trend for transport and land use in Penang. Chapter 9 looks at the vital issues of follow-up and implementation, the critical next step in this process. The implementation phase is to be led in the first instance by the state authority, the Penang Transport Council and the two Municipal Councils who have already initiated some new initiatives which break with the old patterns and choices that favored private car traffic above all. As can be seen if we look at the streets, there are better ways of organizing transportation in Penang. The annexes are self-explanatory other perhaps the Table of Ideas, which is a listing of close to one hundred topics and proposals that were discussed in the various working sessions. Final report of 27 Novemberr 2013 Page 11 of 76 Phase 1. Brainstorming Report and Recommendations Organization & Events From 21 Sept. to 8 Oct. in Penang, a three-week long civil society program consisting of more than thirty site visits, collaborative dialogues, symposia, master classes, workshops and supporting public events, with the goal of creating a stronger base of local support in favor of a more sustainable transport system to better serve the people of George Town and Penang. Hosted by Think City and numerous local partners, in cooperation with EcoPlan International. Main events: • World Car Free Day celebration and special events (Sunday 22 September) • Sustainable Penang Inaugural University Lecture (20:00-22:00, 24 Sept. at Universiti Sains Malaysia) • Focus Group Dialogues (Mornings from 23 Sept. Caring Society Complex. Contact us for schedule) • Municipal Council Peer Dialogues (MPSP on 1 Oct. and MPPP on 2 Oct. 08:00 to 13:00) • Symposium on State of the Environment in Penang (3 Oct. 08:30 on, Caring Society Complex) • USM University Master Class series (30 Sept. - 3 Oct. 17:00-19:00 at Universiti Sains Malaysia) • Media presentations and interviews (print and electronic, including blogs and social media) • Dialogue: 2015 Penang Conference on Implementing Sustainable Transport in Smaller Asian Cities • State of Sustainable Penang Message (Saturday, 5 October. Municipal Park Amphitheater) Hosts and Sponsors: “ustai a le Pe a g is led joi tly y Dato’ (Dr.) Anwar Fazal, Chairman of the Board of Think City, Laureate of the Right Livelihood Award and Director, Right Livelihood College, Universiti Sains Malaysia, with Prof. Eric Britton, Managing Director of EcoPlan International, Founder of World Car Free Days, Founding Editor of World Streets, Laureate of the Stockholm Environment Prize with Mayor Enrique Peñalosa of Bogotá, Distinguished Professor of Sustainable Development at the Institut Supérieur de Gestion. The project is supported by the Center for Global Sustainability Studies (CGSS), Malaysia, numerous state and local organizations, NGOs, universities, and by a panel of members of the International Advisory Board of the New Mobility Agenda. Supporting documentation: http://wp.me/p3GVVk-3c + https://www.dropbox.com/home/Penang For comment and public discussion Page 12 of 76 Sustainable Penang: Toward a New Mobility Agenda THE MOST IMPORTANT SINGLE RECOMMENDATION IN THIS REPORT * The call for a State Traffic Safety Campaign with the no-compromise commitment to begin in 2014 to slash traffic accidents and fatalities by 10% in the year. (See Chapter 5.3 below.) Why? Precisely because a sharp decrease in traffic accidents will occur only when (a) speeds are reduced significantly and (b) laws are rigorously and without exception enforced. Basically a major systemic reform that will demand a high government commitment to protect their citizens. But it can be done and there is plentiful evidence from other countries and cities showing how. The policy will have its own desired important effects, but at the same time set off a major systemic change that will have many significant and positive knock-on effects. Significant accident reductions will lead to corresponding reductions in emissions, fuel conception, public costs and safer streets. Safer streets will pave the way for more cycling, walking, public transport, street life and amenity. And fewer children and motorcyclists with ruined lives. The necessary measures are entirely within the capacities of State and local government. The policy will place strong demands on the leaders and all those who must be involved. On the other hand, you will find strong international support for this program. And there is no reason to fail! The Streets of Penang Final report of 27 Novemberr 2013 Page 13 of 76 Phase 1. Brainstorming Report and Recommendations THE SECOND MOST IMPORTANT RECOMMENDATION IN THIS REPORT One does not have to be a genius after spending a few years working with and looking at transportation projects, programs, processes, accomplishments, shortcomings, and hypocrisies in many parts of the world, to figure out that the limitations of the policies behind all this jumble have been a direct function of (1) the kinds of people who are making the decisions that shape them, and (2) the kinds of people and interests for whom those decisions are targeted. One and the same, it turns out — and by way of executive summary let us say that it boils down to: (a) policy decisions and investments made primarily by males and (b) for people (mainly males) who either have or desire to have access to their own cars. No great mystery to that, eh? The result, as we all know so well, has been a transportation system which pays more attention to vehicles and their requirements then to the full range of people and their very different kinds of requirements. This is a worldwide phenomenon which is essentially as true in Penang as in most other parts of the world. Among the things that you do overnight to increase the fairness and the effectiveness of your transportation arrangements would be to make it a matter of the law that all decisions determining how taxpayer money is invested in the sector should be decided by councils that respect full gender parity. My recommendation therefore would be to convert, with no more lost time, 100% of our planning and decision fora shaping the sector into councils with full gender parity. No gender parity, means no decision concerning, planning, finance or implementation can be taken. And then with one stroke, we have just broken a centuries old pattern and moved into a new era and surely a very different and better future. Why? Simple . . . because women hold the key to the future of not only sustainable transportation but also to a sustainable and just world. We have ignored them all too long and are, if you noticed, suffering for it. For comment and public discussion Page 14 of 76 Sustainable Penang: Toward a New Mobility Agenda VISUAL EVIDENCE The photographs that appear in these pages have been taken from many sources, mostly the local media, and are intended to give the foreign reader who is not directly familiar with the streets of Penang a first feeling for the day to day reality of the scene. A small window on the streets and people of Penang. As you will see when you go there the reality has many facets and the handful of images that appear here are only fragmentary evidence. Final report of 27 Novemberr 2013 Page 15 of 76 Phase 1. Brainstorming Report and Recommendations 1. INTRODUCTION: BRAINSTORMING NEW MOBILITY 1.1 Do we have a problem? For comment and public discussion Page 16 of 76 Sustainable Penang: Toward a New Mobility Agenda 1.2 If so why are we not solving it? Final report of 27 Novemberr 2013 Page 17 of 76 Phase 1. Brainstorming Report and Recommendations 1.3 What do we do need to do to make it work? For comment and public discussion Page 18 of 76