Projekt CIVITAS RENAISSANCE w Szczecinku w kontekście założeń zrównoważonego

Sustainable development is now a primary objective of the European Union's policies. Its rules, which require consistency of three areas: economy, society and the environment are the basis of EU guidelines for the use of aid programs. One of them is the CIVITAS program, along with the component RENAISSANCE, in which participated town Szczecinek. The program was implemented in 10 measures, including the purchase of eco minibuses and introduction of ecological car wash, launch of waterbus cruises, the construction of waterside infrastructure, modernization of public bus stops, launch of bike and rickshaws rental, expansion of bike paths, improvement of pedestrians and traffic safety, promotion of environmentally friendly transport behaviour and the creation of sustainable transport development strategy. The project had the positive results in all three areas of sustainable development (but not every activity reached an expected level). As the result of the environment protection action the noise map was produced, which formed the basis for constructing a sustainable transport strategy for the town. Another effect of the implemented environmental program is decreased pollution emission resulting from the use of new minibuses and eco car wash. Further reduction of emissions is expected in the future on account of changes in residents transport habits – by moving away from car use to public transport and bicycles. It is also the social effect of the project. Already towards the end of the project, reduced use of private cars in favor of more environment friendly transport including significant increase in the number of bikes on the bike paths, was noticed. There was also recorded a change in the use of bicycles - increased role of cycling in commuting to work, school and when shopping. The second effect of the project is improvement of life quality in Szczecinek. These is due to reduced pollution levels and also rise in the attractiveness of the town, which is a consequence of the enhanced esthetic of the town, upgraded infrastructure, improved residents perception of security and boosted public entertainment offers providing options for attractive outings. The economic indicators have the lowest grades in the project. The reason for the above is fact that undertaken developments required an increase in operating costs like expansion of the minibuses fleet or launching the waterbus cruises. However, at the same time owing to greater numbers of passengers additional revenues were recorded. As yet, waterbus has not reached break-even due to its seasonality and approach to it as a tourist attraction rather than means of transport. Also, bicycles and rickshaws rental outcome was not fully satisfactory. After the initial high interest, in the third year of the project decline was noted. However, one of the reasons for decline is the management problems within Rental Company. The results of the project have also additional effects: publicity of Szczecinek in Poland and Europe and the impact on local government decisions regarding the further development directions of the town. It goes far beyond the project's goals concerning environmental protection, thereby proving sustainable development of implementation area.