Rethinking the last kilometer: Soft mobility in alpine destinations | Episode #2 of the speciAlps Podcast series

This is the second episode of the speciAlps Podcast series “Guiding visitors, preserving nature experience”. If you speak French, feel free to change to the French language version of this podcast here: (…link follows)

Visitor management starts at home with transport playing an important role. Taking the car not only leads to traffic chaos but we also leave a huge carbon footprint. We can reduce both by travelling with public transport. Sometimes, this can be challenging for the passengers, especially when it comes to the famous last kilometer of the journey.

Last year, Louis Didelle started a project called L’Escarpade in the French alpine town Grenoble. He says: “Our principal objective was to raise awareness on soft mobilities and to show, that access to mountains doesn’t have to be by car only.” It’s a community project to redefine access to the mountains and offer a sustainable alternative to the car with a sporty approach.
Our second interview partner for this podcast is Antoine Pin, head manager of Protect our Winters France. He talks about the availability of information on public transportation in the Alps and gives recommendations on how to become active yourself.

Preview of the further episodes:

Episode 3 – Nudge visitors (November 2023)
Where is nudging used in visitor management and what forms does it take? How effective is it for sustainable tourism in the Alps? This podcast is based on a public webinar on 21 September 2023. Registrations are open until 20th September.

Episode 4 – Defining and applying carrying capacities (January 2024)
How many visitors can a destination handle and how to apply limits?

The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV).

More Information in all alpine languages:
www.cipra.org/de/specialps-podcast and
alpenallianz.org/de/projekte/specialps-podcast/

Photo: L’escarpade (c) flavian aquadro