The 2nd Metropolitan Debate is behind us. Representatives of the government, local government officials and experts discussed mobility in Pomerania in Olivia.

On Friday, 2 March, politicians and experts met in Olivia to talk about the future of transport in Pomerania. For the inhabitants of the entire region, the metropolis is first and foremost a hope for improving communication, and efficient communication was the leitmotif of the discussion in Olivia. The 2nd Metropolitan Debate in Olivia was attended by:

• Kazimierz Smoliński, Deputy Minister of Infrastructure
• Ryszard Świlski, Member of the Board of the Pomeranian Voivodeship
• Edyta Damszel-Turek, Director of the Gdańsk Development Office
• Magdalena Kołodziejczak, Head of the Pruszcz Gdański Commune
• Krzysztof Rudziński, CEO of InnoBaltica
• Marcin Wołek, councillor of Gdynia, communication specialist

The debate was opened by the President of Olivia Business Centre, Maciej Grabski, and the organizer and originator of the series, the editor-in-chief of “Dziennik Bałtycki”, Mariusz Szmidka. “If you want to, you can do it, which is why our ambition is to create a strong metropolis in Pomerania,” he stressed.

Discussion, led by ed. Jarosław Zalesiński, began with the most important, according to the participants, priorities in the field of transport for the metropolis in Pomerania. Minister Smoliński emphasised that the main problem in Poland is the unfavourable structure of transport. – Even 40 years ago, 80 per cent. The transport of goods was carried out by rail, today the road transport of goods dominates to almost such an extent. If we do not change this, we will never catch up with Western Europe. We need to develop rail and water transport. People are getting richer, there are more and more cars, the construction of new roads will never keep up. Statistics show that we are more and more willing to travel by rail, but there are still plenty of blank spots on the maps of connections, also in Pomerania. A lot of public connections in Kashubia have been eliminated in recent years – Translated into.

During the meeting, the significance of the future act on the metropolis in Pomerania was discussed, as well as the role and effects of the existing inter-municipal cooperation. A lot of emotions were stirred up by: the issue of a common ticketing platform for Pomerania, which is being developed by InnoBaltica, the pilot metropolitan act for Silesia and spatial planning, which is not conducive – especially in the municipalities neighbouring the Tri-City – to the active use of public transport.

_{Photos courtesy of Dziennik Bałtycki, author: Piotr Hukało}

MORE ON THE WEBSITE OF THE METROPOLITAN DEBATES SERVICE

COVERAGE OF THE DEBATE ON THE WEBSITE OF DZIENNIK BAŁTYCKI

FULL VIDEO RECORDING OF THE METROPOLITAN DEBATE