Berlin, 23 September 2016
FS Sistemi Urbani and Metropark, two subsidiaries of the FS Italiane Group, starred at the final day of InnoTrans 2016, the most important international exhibition in rail transport and transport technology.
FS Sistemi Urbani, which works to enhance the non-railway assets of the FS Italiane Group, used the workshop The control of flows and town planning policy of metropolitan cities to explore, together with its CEO, Carlo de Vito, the fundamental role played by the redevelopment of urban spaces in creating cities of the future.
In a world with a rapidly growing population, where people tend to cluster in ever-expanding cities, the choices are for urban expansion, further eroding away green areas. Or, in a more sustainable way, we could redevelop existing areas currently in disuse.
There are seven railway areas available in Milan (Farini, Porta Romana, Porta Genova, Greco, Lambrate, San Cristoforo and Rogoredo), covering a total of about a million square metres, which are perfect for residential and commercial redevelopment, following in the virtuous footsteps of Canary Wharf in London or the Parisian district of Clichy-Batignolles.
Metropark, the FS Italiane company which manages station car parks and a major player in the parking sector, is aiming to strengthen its own position in the integrated mobility system. Sara Venturoni, CEO of Metropark and a past president of Aipark, the Italian parking and car park association, used the workshop The strategic role of parking in urban mobility and the development of services throughout the journey chain to demonstrate the fundamental importance of regulated, managed parking in urban areas to promote a shift from private to public transport.
The planning and management of car park infrastructures is a decisive issue when creating integrated mobility, one which can influence people’s choice of transport along their journey.
Solutions are therefore being studied involving the acquisition of integrated securities, park and ride schemes, dynamic parking rates that streamline the use of spaces, car-sharing service agreements, as well as projects dedicated to the development of bicycle parks and a charging network for electric vehicles.
There are currently over 3 million parking spaces in Italy, with a disproportionate amount of parking by the roadside compared with specific parking facilities. If we solved the shortage of over 600,000 spaces, it would empty the streets of parked cars and would help public transport flow more freely, improving the quality of urban life.