Improve the quality of urban life and protect the day-to-day environment and health of the population of the urban agglomeration's 23 communes.

Promote the economic, commercial and higher educational vitality of the agglomeration and the Grenoble urban region.

Reinforce solidarity between the communes of the agglomeration, providing a dynamic impetus for development, taking into account sensitive areas.

Guarantee the best conditions for getting around the urban agglomeration, whatever the mode of travel used, for the entire population, and working towards shifting the balance between the different modes.

To these ends, the PDU is aiming to achieve the following by 2010 :

• A significant reduction in car traffic: from 54% to 48%
• A large increase in the use of urban public transport: from 14% to 17%
• A resurgence in the use of bicycles: from 5% to 8%
• Consolidation of the popularity of walking.

Within the urban agglomeration, the speed, frequency and comfort levels of public transport all need to be improved. The PDU proposes to set efficiency objectives route by route and to reinforce the SMTC's action programme.

The SMTC's action programme is concerned mainly with : creating a new and efficient public transport axis (east-west), extending tram lines A and B, and continuing investment to improve the bus-trolley bus network (bus lanes, priority at traffic signals, increasing passenger numbers, improving bus accessibility).

Other projects are also being considered, such as the development of the 'Noctibus' night bus service, services to more remote areas, the development of 'cleaner' equipment powered by gas or electricity.

Outside the urban agglomeration there is a need to modernise the railway network and improve co-ordination of the local public transport network. To achieve this, the PDU plans to improve the frequency and regularity of train services, to renew stock and open a number of new stops. The network of suburban coach services will also be improved, and new bus lanes will be provided. This will complement the rail network by serving areas distant from railway stations.

Bicycle use must be encouraged for journeys of less than 5 kilometres, where it is the fastest mode of transport. The PDU plans to complete its programme of cycle path construction and to provide more cycle route signposting. Bicycle parking conditions in public places are to be improved and special bicycle parks are to be built at the main public transport stops.

Effort will be made to solve the problem of theft by stressing preventative measures. Schemes promoting the purchase of second-hand bicycles and bicycle repair and rental schemes are also to be set up.

The population must be encouraged to travel very short distances on foot. To this end, the PDU aims to improve the user-friendliness, continuity, and above all the safety of walkways. Particular attention will be paid to accessibility and to sensitive areas such as junction crossings and school approaches, etc.

The principle of '30 zones', streets with traffic-calming measures limiting cars to 30 km/h, will be extended in order to protect the parts of the city used by pedestrians.

Reducing car use is one of the priorities of the PDU.

The principle of improving the local urban environment developed in the PDU is about reducing traffic on roads in the city centre and the heart of the urban agglomeration by displacing this traffic onto the expressways and ring road, which is to be completed with the construction of the Bastille tunnel. The space gained will be allocated to public transport and unpowered transport.

In addition, improvements will be made to the landscaping and environment of some of the main routes. Traffic flow on the expressways will be managed in real time, providing better directional information for motorists.

Residents and shoppers in the city centre must be able to park easily. Conversely, it is important to dissuade people coming into the urban agglomeration to work from occupying parking places during the day, and encourage them to use public transport instead. The creation of a number of new park and ride schemes will provide motorists with easy access to efficient public transport (trains, trams, buses) at cheaper rates.

The PDU plans to develop the successive use of several modes of transport by building transport interchanges, a single fare structure, timetable harmonisation, and a system of simple and rapid information for passengers. All of these facilities are to be provided in a single location, thus contributing to the efficiency of transport interchanges such as those at Grenoble and Gières railway stations

.For the latest information on the urban mobility plan for the Grenoble urban agglomeration, go to the official Web site of the Syndicat Mixte des Transports en Communes (SMTC) at :

http://www.smtc-grenoble.org