From 1 to 4 June 2008, in Stuttgart City Hall, the World Congress of the global network Cities for Mobility took place under the slogan “Towards environmentally friendly mobility in our cities.” On the initiative of Mayor Dr. Wolfgang Schuster, for the second time traffic experts, mayors, representatives of the business and scientific communities as well as non-governmental organizations from more than 30 countries came together in the city of Stuttgart. In workshops and discussion groups around 300 congress participants jointly searched for ways to a socially just, environmentally-friendly and economy focused mobility.

Stuttgart signs cooperation agreements
with Brazilian World Cup cities

In its efforts for cooperation the network already has some successes to show in the form of concrete projects. During the congress, on the 2nd of June, as first city in Germany the Baden-Württemberg state capital signed agreements with the Brazilian cities Belo Horizonte (2.5 million inhabitants) and Porto Alegre (1.4 million inhabitants). The two cities are venues of the FIFA World Cup 2014. Stuttgart’s experience in traffic control during the FIFA World Cup 2006 will be passed on in this cooperation.

"To handle the masses of soccer fans during the 2006 World Cup, Stuttgart developed a comprehensive package of measures, including new traffic engineering and additional traffic light programs," said Mayor Schuster during the June 2 press conference. A high degree of flexibility was required in traffic control; sections of road temporarily were closed for safety reasons. New traffic systems like the NeckarPark guidance system or the lane signals on Talstrasse operated trouble-free. “Through good traffic control, Stuttgart gained much public attention during the four World Cup weeks. We would like to pass on this experience to others,” said Schuster.

Belo Horizonte’s Mayor Fernando Pimentel praised Stuttgart as one of the best locations for the World Cup two years ago, saying that this success story, with its model character for the world, and the extensive and varied experience of the "strong partner Stuttgart" make the state capital the ideal partner. Luiz Alfonso Dos Santos Senna, Deputy Mayor for Transport of Porto Alegre, hopes to get "many valuable tips." Cacau, one of the stars of the Stuttgart Bundesliga club, also spoke out in favor of the way taken by Stuttgart during the 2006 World Cup: "It was wonderful to see how well one can organize a World Cup." And he only had good things to say about the public transport system in Stuttgart.

The cooperation agreement between Stuttgart and the Brazilian metropolises defines the foundations and the general conditions for the mutual cooperation between the cities. The objective is to continuously deepen the relations between the cities in the transport sector during the next few years.

Great interest in the Integrated Traffic Management Center (IVLZ)

The cooperation agreement envisions that representatives of the Brazilian cities visit the state capital to observe how traffic control works, sitting in, for example, on the operations of the Integrated Traffic Management Center (IVLZ) for a few weeks. This center started service immediately preceding the FIFA World Cup 2006, and the experience it gained during that event is available there since then. It is possible, too, that traffic experts who were in action during the FIFA World Cup 2006 will fly to Brazil to share their experience on site. In addition, the agreement provides for an exchange between representatives of the Stuttgart transport operators, Stuttgarter Straßenbahnen AG (SSB), and the Brazilian transport authorities.

"The teamwork and communication between IVLZ and the police and municipal authorities functioned smoothly during the World Cup," according to Dr. Martin Schairer, Stuttgart's Deputy Mayor in charge of law, public safety and order. The IVLZ center surveys the traffic situation in Stuttgart on a 24/7 basis and uses this information to control traffic flows. For example, it can react quickly to accidents by changing traffic light sequences so as to avoid potential traffic jams. The passengers of SSB buses also profit more and more frequently from the center's swift action in the form of precision traffic light control.

Coping with Stuttgart's topography with pedelecs

Another project that was given a push at this year's congress is fully in the spirit of environmentally friendly mobility: Stuttgart plans to become the international pilot city for the use of electrically assisted bicycles, so-called pedelecs (pedal electric cycle). The motor-assisted bikes were presented on Marktplatz square on June 2. What makes these bicycles so special is that the motor only provides assistance if the rider pedals. These bikes permit handling Stuttgart's demanding topography and increasing the share of bicycle transport, said Mayor Schuster.

The project still has to be elaborated in a working group. Many details have yet to be settled. Mayor Schuster: "The working group should have done its homework by the summer recess, providing answers to the financing and legal issues, among other things."

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• Description of the Workshop activities
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