Delli emphasised the need for greater support for EuroVelo during the event. Not only stressing the importance of financing upgrades to address bottlenecks in the network, she made the case for increasing support to market the EuroVelo network, as well as properly interconnecting with the TEN-T network. 

Thanks to Vélo & Territoires (French National EuroVelo Coordination Centre), ECF co-organised a technical site visit in Lyon – a cycle tour of the city’s infrastructure with the participation of Fabien Bagnon, Vice-président of Métropole de Lyon. During the tour, cycling tunnels were visited, including the Passage France Péjot - a good example of tunnel reducing the barrier effect of big TEN-T interchange in the city centre. We also rode over the Carrefour de la Mulatière bridge – crossing the A7 motorway, a TEN-T road, and part of EuroVelo 17. Here investments are needed in this section of the TEN-T to better accommodate pedestrians and cyclists. The start of works on the Les Voies Lyonnaise – a system of metropolitan cycle highways connecting suburbs with the city centre – a good example of a project to address congestion on the TEN-T network and around urban nodes.  Special thanks to the support of Camille Tomé, member of ECF’s board and EuroVelo Council and Director of Vélo & Territoires, and the help of FUB and the “Maison du vélo” of Lyon. 

Cycling under the spotlight in Dunkirk 

Mid-July saw another moment when cycling and the TEN-T network was put under the spotlight, with the European Parliament’s Committee on Transport and Tourism undertaking a mission to visit northern France, centred on the port cities of Dunkirk and Calais, alongside Lille. While the agenda covered maritime, rail and road transport; from the international, regional and local perspective, ECF brought a cycling centric point of view to the meeting. 

Presenting to Members of the European Parliament and officials from the Dunkerque Urban Community, ECF laid out the importance of the EuroVelo network and its integration within the TEN-T network. EuroVelo 4 - Central Europe Route, and EuroVelo 12 -  North Sea Cycle Route, wind their way through this important French port city. The multi-purpose use of these 17 long distance routes crisscrossing the continent, was made clear in the meeting, not only do travellers using the EuroVelo network visit the city, the network creates a backbone for local and regional cycling networks, enabling commuting and urban trips. With the presentation of the EuroVelo network taking place barely 150m from the city’s train station, in front of a handsome bicycle storage building – the importance of integrating cycling as part of multi-modality was clear.  

The Euro-Velo route connecting Belgium and France

At ECF we chose to take a practical approach of showing how EuroVelo can get you to your important meetings by bike or train + bike; travelling first from Brussels to the Belgian coastal city of De Panne by train, then cycling on the EuroVelo route to the meeting.   

The fact the event took place during an extreme weather event, with temperatures in Northern France and Belgium reaching nearly 40C° underscored the need for achieving a transition to sustainable transportation to reach climate goals. Cycling should be fully integrated inside Europe’s transport policies, including the flagship TEN-T infrastructure network. From sustainable tourism to job creation, meeting local transport needs and tackling health goals, cycling can play a role. 

The support and groundswell we have seen in recent weeks is positive – and we move towards September ready to engage with elected officials and decision makers to ensure the TEN-T guidelines are improved for cycling.   

And moving towards autumn, there are positive signs. The European Parliament's IMCO Committee in a recent opinion called for better integration of cycling and walking in the revision of the TEN-T regulation taking some of ECF proposed amendments on board. As many as 14 of the proposed amendments aim to ensure better infrastructure for active mobility. The amendments cover addressing the barrier effect of TEN-T, calling for safe crossings, and exploiting synergies to integrate cycling infrastructure alongside rail lines, inland waterways, or within bridges and tunnels. 

For more on our Revision of the TEN-T guidelines campaign, please visit our dedicated page.