Ensuring a sufficient number of parking spaces poses a challenge in many cities. However, in recent years, with the rise in awareness of climate change and healthier modes of transport, the focus is increasingly shifting towards planning and building – bike parking lots. Bicycle infrastructure, therefore, becomes a crucial element of urban planning, encouraging city authorities to promote the use of bicycles as a sustainable and healthier travel option. One of the Croatian cities that has decided to actively address this issue is the City of Varaždin.
This month, Varaždin is introducing a smart system for marking the supply and demand for bike parking – CikloParking. This involves applications developed by the company Academica that will allow citizens to input data, while the City will receive information on the supply and demand for parking spaces for the growing number of bicycles in the city.
– Based on this data, bicycle infrastructure will be developed – primarily bike parking lots, parking management, and the improvement of the existing traffic system, as well as bike paths and increased safety standards for cyclists at intersections and other critical points – explain the City of Varaždin.
Exploiting Solar Potential
Of course, alongside CikloParking, provisions have also been made for car parking, with, for example, the installation of one hundred smart parking sensors that detect parking occupancy in real-time. Furthermore, the City of Varaždin smartly controls access to the pedestrian zone of the city, has introduced smart public lighting and smart semi-underground waste containers, and recently implemented systems for monitoring noise levels and air quality.
However, one of the projects that sets the City of Varaždin apart from other Croatian cities is, for instance, the creation of a solar potential map, in partnership with the Regional Energy Agency North and the company GDi, as part of the Social Green project from the Interreg Europe program. The project focuses on sustainable consumption and production of electricity, while also aiming to educate citizens about sustainable energy management options in their own homes, specifically transitioning to electricity production from renewable sources.
– Through an interactive web application, the solar potential map allows the citizens of Varaždin and all nine suburban settlements to calculate the recommended capacity of solar power plants on their own properties, which they can find on the interactive map – say the City regarding the project that has been active for two years.
Connecting Green Spaces with the City
After bike parking and advising citizens on transitioning to renewable energy sources, the City of Varaždin will also take care of the revitalization of the Drava Park Forest and its connection to the urban space. Thanks to the InterACT Green project, related to the New European Bauhaus project, parts of the forest, the Drava tip, and the riverbank will be revitalized, and walking paths through the forest will be arranged. The forest will also be managed through an IT platform developed by the Varaždin Faculty of Organization and Informatics as a project partner.
