SUSTAINABLE TRAFFIC CONCEPT IN MUNICIPALITY OF NEA KYDONIA The municipality of Nea Kydonia in prefecture of Chania, Crete, is located in an area of 2.150 hectares in a coastal district, 5 km west of the city of Chania, with total population of 7.500 inhabitants and includes 4 communities: Galatas, Daratso, Stalos and Agia Marina. The geographical area, where the municipality of Nea Kydonia extends, is characterized by natural beauty, clean beautiful beaches and a panoramic view of the Cretan Sea. These elements highlight the area as an attractive touristic destination. Due to the geographic privileges and the consequent rapid touristic evolution of the region of Nea Kydonia, the residents are focused in the exploitation of the coastal extents, such as Chrisi Akti, Agioi Apostoloi, Kato Stalos and Agia Marina, by erecting hotels and all types of accommodation, together with developing integrated touristic services. Spreading along a beach of approximately 12 km, the municipality of Nea Kydonia is estimated to be the main touristic area of the county of Chania, counting 14.000 beds in hotels of all categories, 4.000 beds in rented rooms or apartments, 500 touristic shops including many restaurants, banks and many other substructures. Apart from tourism, the residents of Nea Kydonia are occupied with the cultivation of the fertile hinterland, creating the conditions for the area s productivity growth. The basic agricultural products of the municipality of Nea Kydonia, especially originating from Galata s land, are olive oil, wine, raisin, citrus fruit and horticulture products. Moreover, the municipality of Nea Kydonia offers a variety of services to both residents and visitors. Specifically, there is an availability of social facilities such as schools, gyms, sport courts, cultural centers, regional medical centers and clinics, local and intercity transportations and administrative municipal services. 1
The community of Daratso is located in a distance of 3-5 km from Chania city and features the beaches of Chrisi Akti, Agioi Apostoloi and Glaros and the traditional village of Ano Daratso, which abstains 1 km from the shore. Next to Daratso is the community of Galatas, located in a distance of 6 km from Chania city and featuring the beach of Kalamaki, the small port of Kato Galatas and the historical village of Ano Galatas, which abstains 1 km from the shore, at an altitude of 90m. Galatas is known as a historical place where battles against Turks and Germans took place during the liberation struggles of the past. In continuity, the community of Stalos is located in a distance of 8 km from Chania city. The beach of Kato Stalos is a clean and awarded holiday spot with hotels, restaurants and touristic shops along the shore and on the slopes of the village. The small traditional village of Ano Stalos is located in a distance of 1,5 km from the shore and at an altitude of 150 m. It has 319 residents and displays landscapes of rare natural beauty. Finally, Agia Marina is the most popular and touristically developed community, as it gathers the majority of accommodation and substructures, attracting a lot of touristic interest and demand. The traditional village Ano Agia Marina is located in a distance of 500 m from the shore. Opposite of the beach of Agia Marina is the island of Thodorou, that accomodates a natural farm of the Cretan wild goat Kri-kri. 2
Nea Kydonia Daratso 3
Galatas Stalos Agia Marina 4
1. CHARACTERISTICS IN ΜUNICIPALITY OF NEA KYDONIA YEAR 2009 BEDS 17879 Average occupancy rate 70% Number of tourist in the Municipality daily 12.515 Tourist density during tourist season 5,8 tourist /Hectare.day Hotel Beds in the Prefecture of Chania 34.691 Number of restaurants 362 Hotel Beds in Nea Kydonia correspond to 51.54% of the total beds in the Prefecture of Chania. The average staying of the tourists in 7 days. The arrivals of tourists by charter flights from various countries in Crete are distributed as follows: Scandinavia 19% Germany 19% France 9% England 16% Holland 8% Others 29% TOTAL 100% In Municipality of Nea Kydonia the percentage of visitors from Scandinavia is higher than the average in Crete. 5
2. ANALYSIS OF CURRENT SITUATION Currently in the municipality of Nea Kydonia (Prefecture of Chania) public buses and private vehicles are mainly used for tourist transportation. The tourists are using a) Public buses b) Bicycles c) Taxis d) Rented cars and motorcycles. Also they use to walk a lot. Public buses are used broadly from the tourists and there are in the Municipality regular buses all during the day until late in the night. When the tourists want to visit remote places in the Prefecture of Chania or in Crete, they rent cars or motorcycles, or they book an excursion from a travel agent. Practically there is not the possibility of using a bike to visit such places. The conventional fuels which are used are gasoline and diesel. Biofuels are not currently used in buses and in private cars. Also there are not electric cars or hybrid cars (expect few of them) used in the municipality of Nea Kydonia. Although the existing infrastructure does not allow the use of bicycles, it is more friendly with the pedestrians and many tourists enjoy walking long distances. 2.1 EXISTING PUBLIC TRANSPORT IN MUNICIPALITY OF NEA KYDONIA Various public buses are available in Nea Kydonia for public transport. They connect various points in the municipality from 6.30 in the morning until 22.20 in the night at 6
regular intervals of 40 minutes. During Sundays there are less buses serving the Municipality from 7 a.m until 9.30 p.m. every 1.30 hour. The existing public buses offer satisfactory services to the tourists at reasonable prices. Tourists who return very late in the night in their hotels after entertainment use taxis. 2.2 EXISTING RENT A CAR COMPANIES Various rent a car companies exist in the Municipality, which provide cars ( or motorcycles ) to tourists who are willing to visit various places in the Prefecture of Chania or in Crete, where the existing public bus services are not suitable for the trip. These companies also rent tourist buses which organize tours along the island for groups of tourists. 2.3 EXISTING TAXIS SERVICES Due to relatively low taxi prices in Greece, tourists use them quite often for their transport. Since many tourists use to enjoy very late in the night when public transport is not available, they use exclusively taxis late in the night. 2.4 EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THE PEDESTRIANS The existing infrastructure for the pedestrians in the Municipality of Nea Kydonia is satisfactory. Along the main road on the seaside, in total length of approx 11 Km, there are pavements facilitating walking of the tourists. However in the other roads connecting the villages in the municipality, there are not satisfactory pavements for pedestrians. As a result, walking in these roads particularly in the night is rather dangerous. 2.5 EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE FOR CYCLISTS The infrastructure for cyclist in Municipality of Nea Kydonia is very limited. It is rather difficult for a cyclist to use his bicycle there. Currently it is planned to create a cyclist route, with a length of 15 Km connecting Municipality of Nea Kydonia with Municipality of Platania. 2.6 ESTIMATION OF CO2 EMISSIONS DUE TO TOURISTS TRANSPORT A ) CO2 EMISSIONS DUE TO PUBLIC BUSES In the municipality of Nea Kydonia there is regular bus service during weekdays and the weekend, from 6.30 a.m. until 10.00 p.m. It is estimated that there are 24 busrounds per day, with 50 Km per bus- round, that makes 1.200 bus-km per day. 7
Diesel consumption of the buses is 40 lt/100 Km, and total daily fuel consumption of public buses is 480 lt diesel/day. The total CO 2 emissions 1.584 Kg CO 2 /day, or 332.640 Kg/tourist period. B) CO2 EMISSIONS DUE TO RENTED CARS It is considered that 2000 rented cars correspond in the Municipality of Nea Kydonia, and the average annual travel of rented cars is 20.000 Km/year The average fuel consumption of a rented car 1.400 lt/year. Total fuel consumption of rented cars in the Municipality of Nea Kydonia is estimated 2.800 m 3 /year and the CO 2 emission 6.440.000 Kg/year. C ) CO 2 EMISSIONS DUE TO TAXIS IN MUNICIPALITY OF NEA KYDONIA It is assumed that each tourist uses taxi transport for 5 Km daily and each taxi services two tourist per way. Therefore taxis travel 12.515x5 31.287Km / day due to 2 tourists in Nea Kydonia. Assuming a fuel consumption in taxis 20 lt/100 Km, it is concluded that total fuel consumption in taxis is 6.257 lt/day or 1.314.054 lt/tourist period. Therefore in Nea Kydonia the CO 2 emission due to taxis, during the seven months tourists period is 3.482.243 Kg/tourist period. D) ESTIMATION OF CO 2 EMISSIONS IN MUNICIPALITY OF NEA KYDONIA DUE TO TOURIST BUSES. Tourist buses are used to transfer the tourist from the airport to the hotels and viceversa, as well as transferring them in places of special interest, in daily tours. 8
It is estimated that CO 2 emissions in the municipality due to tourist buses is 262.000 Kg CO 2 per year. CO2 EMISSIONS DUE TO TOURIST TRANSPORT IN MUNICIPALITY OF NEA KYDONIA ( Period 1/4 until 31/10 ) TRANSPORT MODE CO2 EMISSIONS ( Kg/year) 1. Public buses 332.640 2. Rented cars 6.440.000 3. Taxis 3.482.243 4. Tourist buses 262.000 TOTAL 10.516.883 CO2 emissions 50.080 kg/day or 4 kg CO2 /tourist * day The average CO2 emissions due to energy use in Greek hotels varies between 4 to 20 kg CO2 /per night spent, with an average value 12,96 kg CO2 per night spent. Therefore the estimated CO2 emissions for tourist transport in municipality of Nea Kydonia corresponds to 30,86 % of the tourists CO2 emissions due to energy use in their hotels. 3. SUSTAINABLE TRAFFIC IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF NEA KYDONIA Various measures can be implemented in the municipality of Nea Kydonia which will result in reduction of CO 2 emissions due to traffic. These include a) Improving the infrastructure for pedestrians in the municipality. b) Improving the infrastructure for cyclists. c) Improving the infrastructure for public buses. d) Replacing the conventional fuels in public buses, in rented cars or motorcycles, in Taxis and in the municipal vehicles with biofuels. e) Use of some pilot electric and hybrid cars in the municipality. f) Collection and reuse of fried vegetable oils for biodiesel production. 3.1 IMPROVING THE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR PEDESTRIANS IN THE MUNICIPALITY. New pavements should be constructed to facilitate walking of the tourists. The existing pavements should be improved also. 9
3.2 IMPROVING THE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR CYCLISTS. Because of the geomorphology of the area in the municipality of Nea Kydonia, cycling can be an easy and sustainable way of transport. The municipality should improve the existing infrastructure and should improve the existing infrastructure and should create new to facilitate cycling. 3.3 IMPROVING THE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR PUBLIC BUSES. The municipality can improve the availability of buses for public transportation until late in the evenings and in the weekends. Public buses should facilitate the tourists transportation and should be available when the tourists need them. It is expected a 10 % increase of CO2 emissions due to more routes of the public buses and 10 % decrease due to less use of taxis and rented cars. 3.4 REPLACING THE CONVENTIONAL FUELS IN PUBLIC BUSES AND IN THE MUNICIPAL VEHICLES WITH BIOFUELS. Currently biofuels are not ued extensively in vehicles in Crete although with the recent EU directive 2009/28/EC, in the year 2020, at least 10% of the vehicle fuels should be biofuels. Municipality of Nea Kydonia should give the good example to the citizens, using exclusively biofuels in the municipal vehicles and in public buses. It is expected a 5 % decrease of CO2 emissions due to use of biofuels instead of fossil fuels in various vehicles. 3.5 USE OF PILOT ELECTRIC AND HYBRID VEHICLES Pilot electric and/or hybrid vehicles should be used for the needs of the municipality. In any future public procurement new energy technology vehicles should be preferred. This will make the citizens of the municipality more familiar with innovative energy technology vehicles with fewer fuel consumption and less emissions of pollutants. The effect in CO2 mitigation is expected to be rather small. 3.6 COLLECTION OF FRIED VEGETABLE OILS AND USE FOR BIODIESEL PRODUCTION The fried vegetable oils from the Restaurants in the municipality, should be collected and transported to various processing plants for biodiesel production. Municipality of Nea Kydonia should facilitate the collection of fried vegetable oils in its territory. 10
The Number of restaurants in Municipality of Nea Kydonia is 362 It is assumed that the production of fried vegetable oils per restaurant is 0.8 lt/day. Total production of fried vegetable oils is 306 lt/day, which corresponds to 64.260 lt/season (season 210 days). If this quantity of biodiesel will replace conventional diesel, it will result to mitigation of 173,5 tn CO2. STAKEHOLDERS INVOLVEMENT The following local stakeholders are going to be involved in the sustainable traffic concept. a) The Municipality of Nea Kydonia. b) The Association of the hotel owners. c) The Association of Rent a car companies d) The Association of Restaurant owners. e) The Association of taxi s owners. f) The local cooperative of public buses. g) The Prefecture of Chania. h) Association of local tourist enterprises with tourist buses. The abovementioned stakeholders are going to be informed about the sustainable traffic concept and it will be requested to comment on that. The proposed measures will be implemented from the following stakeholders: 1. Improvement of the infrastructure for the pedestrians Municipality of Nea Kydonia Prefecture of Chania 2. Improvement of the infrastructure for the cyclists Municipality of Nea Kydonia Prefecture of Chania 11
3. Improvement of the infrastructure for public buses The local cooperative of public buses 4. Replacing the conventional fuels in public buses, in rented cars, in tourist buses, in taxis and in the municipal vehicles with biofuels The local cooperative of public buses The local association of taxis Municipality of Nea Kydonia Association of Rent a car companies Association of local tourist enterprises with tourist buses 5. Use of pilot electric and hybrid vehicles Municipality of Nea Kydonia 6. Collection of fried vegetable oils and use for biodiesel production Association of restaurant owners Municipality of Nea Kydonia Association of hotel owners Therefore it is concluded that the main actor for the implementation of the measures is the Municipality of Nea Kydonia. 12
EXPECTED RESULTS The following reduction in CO2 emissions are foreseen due to the proposed measures. Initially 1 Public buses 332,640 After the implementation of the proposed measures 2 Rented cars 6,440,000 3 Taxis 3,482,243 4 Tourist buses 262,000 TOTAL 10,516,883 13
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