Managing complicated nodes to improve sustainable mobility

PB Consult is 50% owned by the local public transport operator, VAG Nuremberg. With this relationship, PB Cosult have decades of experience in the design, planning, realisation and monitoring of public transport projects. Along with this, we are experts in mobility concepts and promoting sustainable mobility modes.

We are located next to Plärrer, famous as the launching place for the first train in Germany, the Adler (Eagle), in 1835. Already a location intrinsically linked with mobility, the last 100+ years added private cars, trams, buses, metro and will soon add light rail. With hundreds of thousands of people changing transport mode or starting/ending there journey here every day, Plärrer is one of the most complex junctions in Germany and Europe.

Due to many issues, the aging cover of the underground metro needs to be reconstructed. This opens up the once in a lifetime opportunity to redevelop the entire Plärrer surface area. We are project managers of this complicated project which includes a reduction of 1-3 traffic lanes, removal of private parking, addition of cycle facilities, widening of pedestrian facilities, and significant reconfiguring of bus and tram facilities including stops and tram lines. The open space will also be significantly improved with over 100 trees planted and a better quality of public realm. As it's impossible to shut down such an important node, all works will be done over 3 years under live traffic conditions. PB Consult are managing this project valued at 60 Mio. €

Plärrer is one of the key vehicle nodes in the city, despite being in an area where public and active transport are dominant. One critical research question is how to reduce reliance of private car traffic on this key node which is directly adjacent to the historic city centre. If a strong infrastructure offensive in favour of active and public transport doesn't work here, how can it work any where?

We offer to share our experience in this project with other cities looking to rehabilitate complex junctions.

For over 2 decades we have shared our experience internationally including metro automatisation in Helsinki, creating a national transport model of Greece, developing the mass rapid transit network for Nairobi, Kenya and bringing bicycle facilities to Addis Ababa in one of the largest ITS planning projects in the world - AA City Smart Mobility 2025.

Further, we have a Mobility Research department which is experienced in a number of surveys and processes. We can undertake basic surveys, standard surveys, detailed multi-level surveys across multiple methods (personal, phone, post, online etc). Our Team is supported by PB Consult developed tools such as mitwirken.eu