It has been a fruitful European Mobility Week Workshop in Brussels with many cities and organisations sharing their plans, recent experiences with sustainable urban mobility and mobility planning. ECF is happy to see that all EMW and Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans awards nominees and winners - Östersund and Bremen - have cycling as one of their top priorities. And more than only applause, these cities deserve full support of their Member States and of the EU, with more funds to invest in sustainable mobility.

A lot of well-deserved attention Monday for the efforts of cities concerning sustainable mobility. High-level attendance by EU Commissioner for Transport, Violeta Bulc and Director-General for Environment Karl Falkenberg who welcomed around 100 representatives of European cities, national Mobility Week coordinators, press and other stakeholders in the beautiful settings of the Theatre de Vaudeville in the centre of Brussels.

In her speech, Commissioner Bulc encouraged the continuous efforts of many cities, saying that “real changes come from bottom-up, from cities who dare. However, this works even better in a good framework such as the European Mobility Week that facilitates exchange and faster learning and uptake of good practices.”

Cycling is important for all nominated cities

Taking a closer look at the finalists, European Cyclists' Federation (ECF) is happy to see that all 6 cities nominated for the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMP) awards (Ghent, Dresden, Bremen) and the European Mobility Week (EMW) awards, (Östersund, Murcia & Vienna) hold cycling high in their esteem.

The SUMP award finalist cities have a very strong cycling modal share (around 20 percent) and they thank their nomination to a good monitoring of the cities’ transport systems. ECF couldn't agree more that good data are the base of good and fair transport politics. Some examples of cities with good data:

• in Bremen, a German city with around 550.000 inhabitants, according to data from 2008, more than 60 percent of trips are made by environmentally-friendly modes including cycling (25 percent), public transport (14 percent), and walking (20 percent);
• in Dresden, again a German city with around 500.000 inhabitants, has been investing in sustainable mobility planning for 60 years already and this pays off with 17 percent of cycling, 24 percent of walking and 21 percent public transport trips (2013). Dresden has even managed to push back private motorised trips with some percentages even though the population is growing (from 41 percent in 2008 to 38 percent in 2013);
• Ghent, one of the champion cycling cities in Belgium with 250.000 inhabitants, has seen its cycling modal share grow quickly over the last years to 24 percent (2012) and is working hard to get to 30 percent by 2020. 

Cycle paths, speed limits, car-free zones

The EMW award finalists were not only evaluated on their communication campaigns during the European Mobility Week but also on the permanent measures they took in favour of sustainable mobility. We highlight some of the pro-cycling measures: 

• Östersund, a small city of 28.000 inhabitants in Sweden is an example for its region. The city keeps investing in good cycle paths (6 new cycling and pedestrian lanes were installed), developed a bicycle program and reduced the speed limits in several areas, especially around schools;
• Murcia, a Spanish city of over 400.000 inhabitants, installed 30km/h zones on 100km of urban roads in the city and is developing cycling projects to create green jobs and enhance social inclusion;
• Vienna, the well-known capital of Austria, with 1.3 million inhabitants, former Velo-city host and Cities for Cyclist member, has managed to achieve a major breakthrough in sustainable mobility after a difficult battle to make their main shopping street of 1.7km car-free.

After an exciting award ceremony, Bremen and Östersund were revealed as the annual award winners. ECF congratulates all finalists for their positive choice for sustainable transport and cycling. And of course, we should not forget the numerous other big and small cities present at the annual EMW gathering who are working hard to make their city a better place for all, some of which are collected by ECF in a Map of Ideas.

A warm applause to all of them for keeping up the good work and inspiring all other European cities! And more than only applause, these cities deserve full support of their Member States and of the EU, with more funds to invest in sustainable mobility.