The municipality of Middelburg fulfils a regional governmental role within the region Walcheren, located int the Southwest of the Netherlands. The city of Middelburg counts 48.000 inhabitants. In summer, the number increases due to the many tourists who visit the area; mainly traveling by car. The city council has adopted a climate policy plan stating that Middelburg should be climate neutral in 2050, and reduce CO2 emissions, invest in a vital city and provide sustainable innovative mobility services. Middelburg aims towards an innovative sustainable and demand-driven mobility network for recreational & utilitarian users. MOVE will allow Middelburg is too tackle those goals which could not be otherwise achieved.
Middelburg is active in the so called “target group transport”. In 2015 it conducted a test with a top-down driven service bus, which was not sufficient. The city was lead partner Interreg project Bike Friendly Cities: bicycles as sustainable, healthy and enjoyable ways of achieving urban goals, e.g. reducing CO2. The town acquired knowledge on infrastructure, orgware (process management) & software (information) to achieve a future-oriented mobility (bicycle) network will be shared in MOVE.
Role in MOVE
Middelburg will mostly be active in WP4 as one of the implementation partners launching a pilot to stimulate green mobility in the town, its surroundings and in the rest of the Walcheren island. Different sectors such as Tourism, Healthcare and Education will be involved in this local and regional cooperative initiative. Middelburg will also participate in WP2 to communicate with local stakeholders, support WP3 and participate to WP5.
Contact
Rob Kösters
r.kosters@middelburg.nl