Abstract— This paper presents the results of a research project that evaluates the ability to manage the transportation network in the central area of the city of Almyros, Greece. The proposed network will not only improve the road safety level of motorists and vulnerable road users but also will provide organized parking areas. The proposed traffic management actions are divided into short term and long term ones. The short term traffic management actions include the implementation of one way streets, change of traffic signs, the redesign of the sidewalks and the relocation of parking areas. The long term actions include the development of a complete motorist parking master plan. Keywords—Sustainability, Traffic, Management, Pedestrian, Safety, Parking I. INTRODUCTION HIS paper presents the results of a research project that evaluates the ability to manage the transportation network in the central area of the city of Almyros, Greece. Mixed traffic condition in traditional urban areas in Greece and promotion of motorists resulted in many transportation and environmental problems. The lack of proper pedestrians’ or bicyclists’ urban road infrastructure and the continuously raising demand for vehicle parking slots in the central business district resulted into a chaotic traffic situation which is difficult to be managed. Such problems are not faced only in major cities but also in middle and small sized ones in Greece. Citizens are not used to travel using sustainable or public transport modes and furthermore are strongly negative towards road pricing entering or parking in the central district of their city as they consider parking right as a public good. In the city of Almyros the proposed network and the transportation management solutions will not only improve the road safety level of motorists and vulnerable road users but also provide organized on street parking areas. Short term transportation management actions include the implementation of one way streets, change of traffic signs, the redesign of the pedestrian network, the relocation of parking areas and adaptation based on sustainable demand. Long term actions in Athanasios Galanis is with the University of Thessaly, Department of Civil Engineering, Pedion Areos 38334, Volos, GREECE (phone: +30-24210- 74174; fax: +30-24210-74119; e-mail: atgalanis@uth.gr) Nikolaos Eliou is with the University of Thessaly, Department of Civil Engineering, Pedion Areos 38334, Volos, GREECE (corresponding author to provide phone: +30-24210-74150; fax: +30-24210-74119; e-mail: neliou@uth.gr). the city include the development of a complete motorist parking master plan, combining the on street and off street available parking areas. A. Sustainable transportation Sustainable transport modes contribute into the environmental, social and economical sustainability of the modern societies. A transportation system serves the demand of personal contact. The benefits of mobility rising should balance the environmental, social and economic cost that a transport mode or system provides. There is no commonly accepted definition of sustainable transportation. According to the Canadian “Center for Sustainable Transport” (CST) a sustainable transport system is the one that [1]: • Serves the needs of accessibility and mobility in personal and society level with respect on human and environment, targeting to balance the needs of presence and future needs. • Is sufficient and effective, offers alternative choices of transport modes supports a competitive economy and a balanced territorial development. • Reduces the emissions, uses alternative power resources and minimizes the used space. B. Pedestrian Safety Pedestrians are vulnerable roads users as they are exposed to higher levels of risk during their interaction with heavy or fast motorized traffic. There is a lot of literature regarding pedestrian accident severity. The most common factors which influence pedestrian accidents are pedestrians’ age and gender, alcohol usage and vehicle type. Sze and Wong applied logistic regression in order to investigate the influence of contributory factors on the probability of fatality and sever injury [2]. In pedestrian – vehicle crashes young (under 19 years) and older pedestrians (over 60 years) are more likely to be involved in fatal accidents than other age groups [3]. Parameters that significantly influence the severity of the pedestrian injuries are the: vehicle type; drivers’ on pedestrian alcohol involvement and age (over 65 years) [4]. The elderly are more vulnerable, higher speed limits lead to higher injury severity, accidents at signalized intersections are less severe and darkness leads to higher injury severity [5]. There is also an influence of personal and environmental characteristics on pedestrian severity in pedestrian-vehicle crashes. The environmental conditions should be examined more Sustainable traffic management in a central business district: The case of Almyros Athanasios Galanis, Nikolaos Eliou T INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL of ENERGY and ENVIRONMENT Volume 8, 2014 ISSN: 2308-1007 92