A study published in ‘Preventive Medicine’ has found that expanding designated cycling networks in cities could provide considerable health and economic benefits.

The analysis, part of European Commission funded Physical Activity through Sustainable Transport Approaches (PASTA) project, of data from 167 European cities suggests that the length of cycling infrastructures is associated with a cycling mode share of up to 24.7 percent, in which 1 in every 4 citizens would choose the bicycle for their daily commuting.

The study, estimates that if all the assessed cities achieved a 24.7 percent bicycle mode share, over 10,000 premature deaths could be avoided annually.

“This is the first study evaluating the potential associations between cycling network length, mode share and associated health impacts across European cities”, states Natalie Mueller, ISGlobal researcher and first author of the paper.

The health impact assessment conducted showed that a routine shift in the transport mode to cycling is positive for health due to the associated increase in physical activity, “whose benefits outweigh detrimental effects of air pollution and traffic incidents”, adds Mueller.

For more information and to read the press release in full, click here.

On 13-14 December, the Polish Ministry of Infrastructure and Construction organised a workshop attended by EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK local campaigners. The aim of this meeting was to evaluate their participation in the latest campaign, which takes place every year from 16-22 September. In 2017, Poland experienced a significant increase in participation with 105 municipalities registering on www.mobilityweek.eu (250 percent more than the year before).

The European Secretariat of the campaign was represented by Juan Caballero, project coordinator at EUROCITIES, who explained the awards scheme and the partnership strategy.

The EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Awards seek to recognise towns and cities that have shown excellence in the organisation of the campaign. In the last edition, five Polish municipalities applied for the award, which for the first time will present awards in two categories: one for smaller municipalities with less than 50,000 inhabitants and the other for cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants. A list of previous winners and more information on the awards are available on the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK website.

It is not an easy task to prepare a successful award application. For this reason, the European Secretariat wished to give some tips and advice to the Polish municipalities interested in applying for the award (in its two categories). The secret is to link the programme of activities to the annual theme, provide participation figures, implement new permanent measures, set an ambitious target in terms of modal split, and carry out plenty of activities (including Car-Free Day) during the week of 16-22 September.

When political support and budget are lacking in the preparations of such a campaign, partnerships and citizen involvement can make a difference. Good partnerships are key to fulfilling a rich programme of activities. It is not a question of compiling a long list of partners, but to engage with relevant organisations. The municipalities participating in the meeting presented the different kind of partners they work with, ranging from sport clubs to libraries. The European Secretariat reminded them not to forget local business, big companies, and, of course, celebrities!

Around 30 local authorities attended this two-day workshop in Warsaw. For 2018, the Polish National Coordinator plans to organise similar events in the different regions of the country to help local campaigners get ready for EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK 2018.

David Everard has been the National Coordinator for Luxembourg since 2012, and is a communications and marketing expert with Verkéiersverbond, Luxembourg’s public transport association.

1. What do you think Luxembourgian cities and towns gain from taking part in EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK?

Every year, our municipalities notice a growing interest in the messages conveyed by the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK. We live in a time of an interesting paradigm change, shifting away from fossil fuels to another kind of mobility - Mobility Week ideally represents these new values. Being part of the week and being able to show a history of participation gives municipalities the “Sustainability street-credibility” that nowadays is of political value.

2. Luxembourg is in a somewhat unique position given the number of people that commute into the country every day. What are the main challenges that you face in organising EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK?

Luxembourg welcomes 170,000 cross border commuters every working day. This puts an enormous pressure on our infrastructure and brings our public transport system to the brink of collapse. Many municipalities only experience mobility problems during rush hour, as the majority of French, Germans and Belgians commute either to Luxembourg City or to Esch-Alzette. So the mobility problems of the other municipalities result from traffic passing through. We often struggle with themes that aim at addressing urban mobility problems because these do not echo the needs of our villages. The theme of “multimodality” is interesting though, since Luxembourg is investing €3.8 billion to go into that direction, notably through: the construction of a number of urban/regional transport interchanges, huge investments in our rail infrastructure, the construction of a tram in Luxembourg City, big investments in cycling infrastructure, and the reorganisation of the regional bus network.

3. What's the best way you've found to encourage cities to engage in EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK? What advice would you give to new National Coordinators?

As National Coordinator, my team and I organised a conference to which we invited all of the municipalities. This was a chance to show them what the Mobility Week is about and how it works. We then asked them via official letter to designate a local coordinator, as well as a backup for the local coordinator. We also set up an online project management tool called Basecamp. After each meeting I attend at the EU level, I relay the information I receive to the local coordinators via Basecamp, keeping them in the loop. We also produce gadgets (pens, sweets, handwarmers, etc.) that we offer to the municipalities that register their participation on the official website. They then distribute these promotional items at their Mobility Week events. This is a nice incentive to get them to register!

These were the most effective actions we took that I would recommend to every new National Coordinator. And of course to have loads of fun with this fantastic project!

The 2017 EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Participation Report has been published, providing a statistical overview and analysis of this year's campaign.

In participation terms, the 2017 campaign was the most successful to date, with 2526 towns and cities taking part - an increase of 99 from 2016.

Towns and cities from 50 countries took part in the campaign, one less than in 2016. This year saw Brazil re-join the campaign with two cities registered, while Canada and Mali failed to repeat their 2016 participation.

As in previous editions of the campaign, Austria, Spain and Hungary were the top three countries for towns and cities registered. Austria and Spain improved on their 2016 totals, with Austria adding 52 municipalities and Spain adding 16, while the number of Hungarian towns and cities taking part fell by 12.

Significant increases were achieved in central and eastern Europe: Poland, Belarus, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Latvia and Romania all saw marked improvements in participation levels.

In line with the higher participation rate, 2017 saw 542 Golden Participants - those towns and cities that carried out the three EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK criteria (implemented a permanent measure, ran a week-long campaign, and hosted Car-Free Day) – an increase of 77 from 2016 levels.

This year also saw a significant increase in Car-Free Day participation, with 1,352 towns and cities closing their street(s) to traffic – an impressive 399 more than in 2016.

For the full statistical breakdown as well as in-depth analysis, download the Participation Report [PDF].

An interview with Maria Perkuszewska, National Coordinator for Poland

1. Poland saw a massive increase in the number of towns and cities taking part this year, going from 30 registered in 2016 to 105 this year. How was this increase achieved?

When I became a National Coordinator for Poland earlier this year, I was first and foremost surprised by the small number of Polish participants, and convinced that this number can be easily increased. Polish municipalities are very active when it comes to sustainable transport development and are involved in a variety of initiatives.

It appeared that every year a large number of Polish cities took part in the week, organising events promoting public transport and so on, but they simply never registered at www.mobilityweek.eu.

My team and I focused on identifying those municipalities that organise transport events in September but never registered. We asked regional administrations for help and were able to organise several regional info days, during which cities could familiarise themselves with the idea of EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK and the registration process. It seems that personal contact is essential here – we achieved the best results with direct phone calls and personalised e-mails.

2. What have been the main challenges that you faced in getting cities interested and engaged in EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK in Poland?

The biggest challenge was to identify municipalities that organise EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK activities and then convince them to register. I’m sure there is still a lot ahead of us, more cities to get in contact with. I’ve already started to plan the 2018 campaign and we will put more emphasis on regional cooperation, direct contact and spreading the information. I’m convinced that Polish cities will only improve in coming years.

3. What do you think Polish cities and towns gain from taking part in EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK?

Sustainable urban mobility is nowadays not an option – it is a necessity. EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK enables local authorities not only to focus for a few days on sustainable transport, but also on communicating important messages to their community.

It is important to mention that such initiatives can be a good opportunity for communities to get involved and do something together. In my opinion, the biggest potential is in smaller towns.

There are a lot of good examples of that, but one of my favourite examples is from Gorlice, a small city of less than 30,000 inhabitants from southern Poland. They organised a very interesting programme of activities and created one of my favourite photos from the week, involving local school kids (see the cover photo!)

It is obvious that taking part in such a broad initiative is rewarding in itself, not to mention that being part of a world-wide Mobility Week family is a great feeling!