The Mobility Community of Trikala gathered on 20 September at the e-Trikala Operational Control Center for its Presentation Day. The event was held on the occasion of the Mobility Week, which contributed to populate the centre of Trikala with numerous citizens. Originally planned to take place on the Boat Dock (an open air location), the Presentation Day needed to be relocated to the e-Trikala premises due to bad weather conditions. However, the rain did not stop our team and our Mobility Community!
The event was the opportunity for all stakeholders to come together, receive information about the outcomes of the piloted interventions and their impact on the mobility challenges affecting the area. The Presentation Day was combined with the Hackday, to prepare the participants to the development of new mobility concepts.
The Presentation Day was kicked off with a warmup activity in which everyone described their “mobility pattern” in their journey to the Presentation Day. Following this activity, our pilot team gave a brief introduction of the C4P project and the opportunities the project has provided for the Municipality of Trikala. In Trikala, walking and cycling have been promoted through the installation of free storage lockers and the pedestrianisation of some central streets. Furthermore, electric scooters that can be connected to wheelchairs are available for free to support users with mobility impairments.
Each pilot and its outcome was illustrated by means of a presentation and photos of the pilot activities. Participants then discussed their experience and shared their impressions and feelings of the pilots. In parallel, the community was provided with useful insights on the improvement of the interventions. Citizens engaged in an initial discussion about which intervention should be selected, in preparation for the co-creation activities that followed during the Hack Day.
What clearly emerged from the event was the importance of citizens’ participation in city wide decisions and in all the related activities. The fact that the ideas for the pilot interventions came from the citizens themselves reinforced the positive impressions of our Mobility Community. Furthermore, multiple citizens pointed out how useful had the pilots been in their daily life.