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National, regional and local policies: Poland

By Marco Mazouzi, Marian Cihon, Pawel Warszyck

Polish National Transport Development Strategy until 2020


The main goals of the Transport Development Strategy apply to the creation of an integrated transport system through investments in infrastructure (strategic objective 1), as well as favourable conditions for the efficient functioning of transport markets and development of effective transport systems (strategic goal 2).
The implementation of the main transport goal in the perspective of 2020 and beyond is associated with five specific objectives referring to different modes of transport:


- specific objective 1: creation of a modern and coherent network of transport infrastructure
- specific objective 2: improvement of the organization and management of the transport system
- specific objective 3: improvement of the safety of traffic users and transported goods
- specific objective 4: limiting the negative impact of transport on the environment
- specific objective 5: building a rational model of investment financing infrastructure

The goals and directions of intervention mentioned above result both from the need to make up for the past negligence and entering new technological and economic trends in Europe and the World. Currently, many areas in Poland do not yet have easy access to local destinations centres of economic growth (in particular larger cities). They can therefore not function as a natural resource base for rapidly developing territories. As a result, areas of social exclusion are created, having unused human capital resources. With good territorial accessibility, they could be activated. The challenge for Poland is removing the backlog in the expansion, modernisation and revitalisation of transport infrastructure including connections of the most important growth centres to areas of lower development dynamics and their inclusion in the European transport networks (TEN-T). In the second period, a focus is set on increasing the level of infrastructure saturation and creation of an integrated infrastructure transport system. Only a coherent network of highways, railways, developed network of airports, seaports and inland waterways and PT systems will allow taking full advantage of so far hidden potentials of Polish economy, education, science and culture.


The Pomorskie Voivodeship Development Strategy


The Pomorskie Voivodeship Development Strategy is the most important document in the Voivodeship setting regarding mid-term policy directions; it was adopted by the Pomorskie Regional Assembly in 2012. The strategy points out three complementary and equally important development priorities: modern economy, active residents and attractive space.
The main goal is ensuring the development of the region - offering unpolluted environment; high quality of life; development based on knowledge, open communities; strong and diversified economy; partnership; attractive and cohesive space; multicultural heritage as well as maritime and solidarity traditions.

The document identifies many activities towards the implementation of the policy - financial, social, organisational and other changes. For example in the transport area: Pomorskie’s Self Government plans to establish a Regional Management Board of Public Transport, which will organize the public transport of people using railways, buses and other means.


Regional Strategic Programme for Transport “Mobility of Pomorskie”


The Regional Strategic Programme for Transport “Mobility of Pomorskie” is one of six essential implementation tools of the “Pomorskie Voivodship Development Strategy”. The program plays a leading role in thematic areas such as public transport, accessibility of peripheral regions and multimodal key nodes of public transport.
The programme defines most important challenges up to 2020 in the area of transport:
1. Balancing long-distance mobility between individual road transport and public transport to maximise sustainability.
2. Increasing the share of public transport through the comprehensive integration of public transport subsystems (infrastructure, rolling stock, organisation and information), creating an efficient linear and nodal transport infrastructure supported by high quality services.
3. Increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of transport infrastructure (road, rail and waterways) taking into account the region’s social and economic needs
4. Reducing negative impacts of transport on the environment
5. Increasing user safety
6. Increased transport accessibility, especially concerning connections with the countries of the European Union and the metropolitan areas of the Baltic Sea Region.

The thematic scope of the programme includes an operational objective of the “Pomorskie Voivodeship Development Strategy”: An efficient transport system and three directions of activities:
a) Development of public transport systems;
b) Development of a road network linking the district towns of the region with the Tri-City and their surroundings.
c) Improvement of the infrastructure connecting multimodal nodes with the regional transport system

The document identifies many activities towards the implementation of the policy, such as:
- modernisation of key railway lines
- electrification of railway lines
- construction of new roads and modernisation of existing ones
- purchase of rolling stock
- construction of integration nodes
- implementation of IT systems improving the operation of public transport
The Regional Strategic Programme for Transport “Mobility of Pomorskie” was adopted in 2013 and is subject to constant evaluation. The purchase of rolling stock and the reparation of roads belong to the main achieved results.