Environment Expert: Traffic Calming Is Not a Car Ban but a Step Toward Public Transport
Līga Stokmane-Blaua of the Baltic Environmental Forum says city planning aims to change habits, not ban private cars. She adds that municipalities can also cut emissions through heating choices and green spaces.
City planning documents have never aimed to ban private car use; instead, traffic calming measures, including speed limits, are meant to encourage a shift to public transport. This is explained by Līga Stokmane-Blaua, an environment expert at the Baltic Environmental Forum and an EU Climate Pact ambassador, in comments published by the Latvian news portal Jauns.lv. She notes that cars generate the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions in cities, so accessible and safe public transport is one step toward getting residents to choose it more often than a private car.
Changing habits
The expert stresses that the very term "traffic calming" means calmer and safer traffic. Lowered tram stops that let people with prams and wheelchair users board low-floor trams easily, and raised crossings with speed limits before stops, are accessibility solutions. They have no direct effect on emissions, but they help change habits.
Stokmane-Blaua acknowledges that measures carried out in Riga have caused inconvenience for some residents, but says resistance is understandable because changing habits is never simple. Cities aim to reduce the number of private cars rather than prohibit them, and new cycle paths encourage people to diversify how they travel.
Heating
Another area where municipalities can cut emissions is the energy used for heating. The expert cites Salaspils Siltums, which in 2019 built one of the largest solar collector parks in Europe, as a good example. It does not cover all needs, but in summer solar energy provides all the hot water Salaspils residents need. Rīgas Siltums, by contrast, mainly uses fossil energy; it has strategies for moving toward climate neutrality, but the share of renewables remains small. She sees reliance on natural gas as a risk, including for energy independence, since global events can abruptly affect gas prices.
Green zones
The third area is green spaces, because trees and plants absorb CO2 and improve urban environmental quality. As an example of green-blue infrastructure, the expert names Riga's city canal, which together with adjacent green areas absorbs rainwater. Green zones help reduce heat islands, while natural meadows let residents get to know wild plants and provide refuge for pollinators.
The project is financially supported by the Emission Allowance Auctioning Instrument.
