The development of a mobility plan for Avilés is due to start in 2010, with the initial priorities being the reduction of the number of vehicles in the city and the number of displacements within it. Efforts to facilitate car-free mobility will place the focus on public transport and the provision of pleasant and safe pedestrian and cycle paths.

Important achievements include the pedestrianization of the historical city centre; the installation of automatic access barriers; telematic traffic control; the regulation of surface parking etc. But many challenges remain, one of the greatest being the city’s high population density (which is over 3,000 inhabitants per km2).

Future mobility planning in the city requires a comprehensive study of the potential offered by new vehicle access plans to the city, which will eliminate large goods vehicles from the city centre while resolving the problem of access to the port and to small businesses surrounding the city. A landmark in this change is the removal of the railway from the city center and the creation of new external routes, which are essential to the success of the new Niemeyer International Cultural Centre. This solution will also lead to new transportation modes connecting future growth areas of the city.

The Asturias Transport Consortium (CTA), a partnership between transport companies and local and regional authorities, has been established to coordinate and manage public transportation in the metropolitan area. It has been instrumental in developing policies for passenger transport management.

Avilés City Council is also working on the implementation of transnational urban mobility projects with other cities in the Atlantic Arc (network of cities and towns along the Atlantic seaboard. working in partnership to ensure that their voices are recognized within Europe).

Summary finalized: April 2010

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