Postojna Cave Park - Welcome to the official website

As the principal project partner, the Municipality of Postojna aims to reduce motorised traffic in the wider municipality area and thus contribute to mitigating climate change. One of the locations where a solution is still needed is the area of Predjama, a popular tourist destination, where the number of visitors has increased significantly in the past ten years. That is why the company Postojnska jama d.d., which manages the Predjama Castle, has joined the project.

Due to the limited number of parking spaces in Predjama, the expansion of the range of tourist services and the greater number of visitors, the organisation of traffic and parking spaces during the peak season is a real challenge. The Municipality of Postojna and Postojnska jama d.d. need a solution to this problem (i.e. how to reduce the number of passenger cars at the location without decreasing the number of visitors).

The main project goal is to contribute to climate change mitigation by preparing a mobility plan and piloting key measures, which will directly contribute to the programme results: improved sustainable mobility management.

Specific project goals are as follows:

• to reduce motorised traffic in the Predjama area as a tourist destination with a lot of traffic,
• to strengthen bilateral cooperation and exchange best practices,
• to promote sustainable mobility of target groups.

The project deals with the following challenges:

• how to improve mobility management and introduce sustainable mobility with the aim of reducing motorised traffic without decreasing the number of visitors and solving the local residents’ mobility problem;
• how to include sustainable, feasible and appealing adapted mobility forms into the mobility plan without excessive human impact on the environment;
• how to include local residents and their needs in the preparation of the mobility plan;
• how to transfer the positive experiences our Norwegian partner has had in Norway into the Slovenian environment;
• how to implement the mobility plan and the awareness campaign to change people’s habits and thus contribute to climate change mitigation.

A combined approach will be used to solve these challenges, i.e. they will be tackled in a comprehensive manner with measures focused on the organisational, infrastructural and information-awareness aspects. A mobility plan will be prepared, followed by translating the main measures into practice. All of this will be supported with an extensive information and awareness campaign, which will contribute to greater reach and better results – a change in the Predjama visitors’ travel habits.

The most important project results:

• improved mobility in the Predjama area – an increase in the use of sustainable mobility forms;
• successful cooperation between the partners from Slovenia and Norway in the field of sustainable mobility;
• greater involvement of local providers in the range of sustainable services on offer.

The results will impact the selected direct effect indicators:

• a mobility plan will be developed for the location with a lot of traffic;
• mobility plan measures will be implemented in the area of Predjama:

1. Development of infrastructure that will allow sustainable mobility;
2. Introduction of a regular bus service;
3. Development of circular bicycle and pedestrian routes;
4. Inclusion of local providers into the range of sustainable mobility services on offer;
5. Information and awareness campaign.

• The number of trips will be measured and the structure of mobility forms before and after the introduction of the measures will be monitored. By the end of the project, the use of sustainable mobility forms will be improved by at least 5%.

Target groups: tourists, visitors, employees, local population, tour operators, public service and infrastructure providers, local associations and interested groups, and local administrative authorities.

The project partnership has been planned with utmost care, each partner brings added value to the project. The Predjama location is located within the Municipality of Postojna, which aims to increase the share of sustainable mobility according to the Integrated Transport Strategy; the company Postojnska jama d.d. is the manager of the Predjama Castle, located in the Predjama area, and IPoP – Institute for Spatial Policies is an expert in preparing mobility plans and traffic strategies.

Another project partner is the Norwegian Municipality of Strand, which has a wealth of experience in involving the local population and other stakeholders in strategic planning and implementation processes, as well as a wealth of experience in planning sustainable forms of mobility. All of the above is a perfect opportunity for best practice transfer. The Norwegian partner will be involved in the implementation throughout the project duration, with an emphasis on the period focused on mobility plan preparation (study tours, exchange of best practices). They will also be involved in the preparation of informative and awareness-raising content, as well as participation in public events. Cooperation with the Norwegian partner was established through the Norwegian Environment Agency, which presented the concept of our project with the help of the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities, and thus found a municipality relevant to the project.

As part of the project, the best practice exchange is conceived as a mutual learning environment where all partners gain benefits through close cooperation and constant communication. This will strengthen cooperation and establish a mutual learning environment that will allow all the partners to recognise mutual benefits.