Congratulations to Tianjin for its achievement of the 2024 Sustainable Transport Award (STA) recognising the city’s efforts to expand non-motorized transport and improve infrastructure for walking, cycling and public transport connections.

The city’s improvement project is the largest supported by the World Bank (by USD$ value and quantity of infrastructure delivered) dedicated to improving streets for NMT and green space.

Recent work builds on ChinaRAP assessments and evidence-based road design and infrastructure improvements delivered as part of the World Bank-supported Tianjin Urban Improvement Project in 2015.

Before and after road infrastructure improvements – Tianjin Urban Improvement Project

Over the past year, Tianjin has improved access to 96 metro stations, upgraded the safety of intersections, and an impressive network of 190 roads totalling 132 kilometres received streetscape improvements prioritizing walking, cycling and bus connections. Improvements included pavement updates and the design of street layouts to separate NMT modes from motor vehicles. Facilities for more active mobility, including bike parking, sidewalk guardrails, and improved streetlighting, were implemented on many city roads.

In addition, nearly 216,000 square metres of bike lanes were repaved for clear separation, with 82.4 kilometres of rails installed to separate lanes. Over 605,000 square metres of pedestrian sidewalk networks were repaired or constructed, and more than 3,500 street-level trees and over 280 streetlights newly installed.

Tianjin is one of China’s most populated cities with more than 13 million people, and its impressive efforts have influenced both local and national policy.

The findings from the city’s studies, processes, and interventions have informed the design of national pedestrian and bicycle network planning standards. These impacts are already shifting local commuting behaviours: the modal share for walking, biking, and public transport together grew to more than 70% of the total transport mode share in Tianjin in 2022.

For more information:

• Watch a webinar presentation on ChinaRAP and the Tianjin Urban Construction Design Institute’s early work to support Tianjin’s Green Transport Strategy here
  (iRAP Global Programme Director Greg Smith, Transit Oriented Development and Road Safety Webinar Series, October 2020).

ChinaRAP and local partners at work on the streets of Tianjin (Image credit: ChinaRAP)

Before and after road infrastructure improvements – Tianjin Urban Improvement Project (Image credit: iRAP)

Lead image credit: STA