10 years of investing in cycling

West Pomerania, together with Małopolska, are two Polish voivodships (regions) that have made the biggest progress so far in developing coherent regional cycle networks, building the 1100-km regional cycle network from scratch. This is because the regional authorities in those two voivodships not only drew up plans and allocated funding to municipalities but also took initiative and responsibility for implementation. “The voivodeship took on the preparation of designs, carrying out tenders and the investment itself on land belonging to municipalities, which in turn took on the maintenance of the completed routes” – explains the Marshal of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, Olgierd Geblewicz.

A lot of attention has been given to integrating cycling with other transport modes. “Many people want to cycle one way and return by train. We want our cycle routes to be connected to rail. Where this is not possible, we build connecting links enabling access to railway stops” – says Tomasz Sobieraj, Vice-Marshal of the Voivodeship. But he also mentioned that railway and motorway projects can create new barriers for cycle networks, if badly designed.

Another key barrier is the lack of regulations facilitating the construction of cycle routes that are not along roads for cars. “We need 12 different building permits” – said Michał Żuber, director of the Regional Roads Authority referring to the Wałcz – Złocieniec route on a former railway line. If they were building car infrastructure, one integrated permit would be enough. “We will have a legislative proposal addressing the issue ready in two-three weeks”, declared Franciszek Sterczewski, member of the national parliament, during the panel discussion.

Wanda Nowotarska, Regional Cycling Officer stressed the need for supra-regional cooperation. “We do not want to be an isolated island. Together with the other voivodships we have agreed on a numbering system and developed a draft concept for a national cycle network, but we also need partners on the national level.”

Marshal Olgierd Geblewicz recounts the history of the regional cycle network development with EuroVelo 10 and 13 as a backbone.

International perspective

Aleksander Buczyński, ECF Infrastructure Officer, presented how cycling is integrated in different European policies – funding available for cycling investments, the directive on road infrastructure safety management, TEN-T guidelines revision, and multimodal travel information services. In a separate session, he systematised knowledge about the development of cycle networks.

ECF Infrastructure Officer, Aleksander Buczyński

ECF materials were also cited in other presentations, with the “Integrated Cycling Planning Guide” mentioned as particularly useful for planning and prioritising investments.

Olivier Schneider, President of the French Federation of Bicycle Users (FUB), presented good practices and challenges of the French cycle policy Tino Freißler from the German Cyclist’s Association (ADFC) gave an overview of cycle tourism data collected by ADFC. Günther Drobish focused on ADFC quality requirements for cycle routes. Interestingly, he praised the Polish wayfinding system for cycle routes, its colour scheme and positioning making signs easier to notice and read than in Germany.

Pictured Left: Olgierd Geblewicz, Marshal of the West Pomeranian Voivodship. Pictured Right: Frank Bretsch, Vice-President of the Uckermark District.

Action points for the national level

In the new financial period 2021-2027, Poland plans to spend on cycling investments nearly €800 million from the EU Structural Funds – the highest amount among all member states. While West Pomerania demonstrated how the funding can be put to good use, and has plans ready to extend the network to a total length of 1500 km, it has not always been a straightforward task. The experience with planning, design, construction and operation of the cycle network allowed the practitioners to formulate constructive proposals on how to implement cycle investments cheaper, more efficiently, with higher quality and satisfaction for users.  Key action points identified for the national level are:

• Coordination of the national cycle network, including establishing a National EuroVelo Coordination Centre, and a portal with information for users,
• Improving the legislative framework to give cycling investments a level playing field,
• Taking cycling into account into large infrastructure investments, such as expressways or railway modernisations,
• Education for civil engineers and designers, who are often not even aware of current standards and guidelines for cycle infrastructure.

(Photos credit: West Pomeranian Voivodship. Cover photo: Debate on European and national cycling policies with ECF Infrastructure Officer Aleksander Buczyński, West Pomerania Cycling Officer Wanda Nowotarska, MP Franciszek Sterczewski and President of FUB Olivier Schneider.)