Photo: Cycling in Thessaloniki Credit: Oneiros

In the midst of strikes and cleaning garbage in the street, Yiannis Boutaris, Mayor of Thessaloniki, Greece’s second largest city, admits he’s a fan of two-wheeled pedal power:

“I think the bicycle is wonderful and has many possibilities to improve life here” as he welcomed ECF Project Manager Dr. Randy Rzewnicki, who was in Greece giving a bicycle policy workshop last week.

“My goal is to make the historical city center free of cars,” said Mayor Boutaris, noting that it would be a much nicer place that everyone could enjoy. The mayor was supported by members of his staff and is very interested in the possibilities to move goods by cycle in Thessaloniki.  “This city has a huge potential for using cycles. Many works by city employees are now done with trucks or motorcycles. They can be done with bicycles or cargo cycles. We must work on our infrastructure.”

It’s not only the mayor who took time during the strikes noted Mr Georgios Farfaras of the Ecological Movement of Thessaloniki:

“Two days ago, 20 local citizens gathered to learn how to promote cycling,” he told the mayor, explaining the ECF workshop they had hosted. “The ECF has expertise that can help Thessaloniki. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel…we see this as an important part of the transport solution here.”

Part of the problem in Greece is getting the business community behind the bicycle movement. Farfaras is well aware of this, but believes the Mayor can bridge this gap:

“This mayor is a respected successful businessman who sees the benefits of the bicycle for the daily life of our city. He can help the business community see that cycles are not a threat, but really are offering opportunities and advantages to them. He know that some mistakes have been made in the past and wants to correct them,” .

“I was very impressed by the mayor” said Rzewnicki. “He sees that there are opportunities cycling can bring to his city, and he can think about this even when there are multiple crises happening all around him. The ECF looks forward to working with a mayor with his vision.”

The mayor has also expressed his interest in being involved in the Cycle Logistics project, which will seek to encourage the use of bicycle for transporting goods in urban centers. As Greece faces troubling times ahead, increased bicycle use may be one of the more positive policies stemming from austerity.

 ECF was in Greece, giving a workshop on the Life Cycle Project, and Cycle Logistics and promoting the use of bicycles as means of daily transport. 

If you would like to send a note to Mayor Boutaris to voice support for his visionary thinking you can do this at   mayor@thessaloniki.gr