News

Platanias will soon launch a targeted campaign to motivate, raise awareness among, and build the capacity of young people to commute safely and use more sustainable modes of transport. The campaign will link to Platanias’ co-created SUMP-PLUS City Laboratory, which will further reinforce public awareness and engagement.

Supported by a local team connecting all relevant stakeholders, such as the Primary and Secondary Education Directorates, the Municipal Committee of Education, and Parent Associations, the SUMP-PLUS partners (Municipality of Platanias and Technical University of Crete) aspire to engage the whole school community: students, parents and teachers.

The action plan includes experiential road safety activities, games and laboratories for eco-friendly transportation, interactive workshops for school teachers and parents, public events, and producing promotional and training materials. At the same time, a survey is planned that will collect data on the mobility patterns of students going to and from school.

Initially foreseen for May, the activities have been postponed until September due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Now, they will be linked to Platanias' European Mobility Week activities.

To hold the campaign, Platanias applied successfully to the CIVITAS DESTINATIONS "Replication Funding Award" call. Using the grant it received, Platanias is adopting and adjusting the measure "Behaviour change towards sustainable mobility, engaging the school communities". This was originally implemented in Rethymno, one of the six project sites in DESTINATIONS.

In the short term, the municipality should benefit from fewer road accidents and decreased congestion around schools during peak hours. Longer term, the city will benefit by building a sustainable mobility culture among citizens, improving air quality and the microclimate by reducing transport emissions, and transforming the city into a more liveable place for residents and attractive destination for tourists.