Over the next few months the blueprint for an EU Cycling Strategy will be developed. In a series of blogposts, stakeholders involved in this process share their thoughts and ideas in support of the strategy, sending a strong political sign for action towards the European Commission.​

Kevin Peel is Labour representative for the North West of England, EU Committee of the Regions. He also works as Labour & Co-operative councillor for Manchester city centre, and as the Chair of the Neighbourhoods & Environment scrutiny committee. Mr. Peel was a rapporteur responsible for drafting an opinion on 'EU Roadmap for cycling', which was adopted by a vast majority at The Committee of Regions (CoR). 

I thought it was important for cities and regions to express a clear view on the important issue of cycling which impacts on so many of the other concerns we often discuss. This report has set down the clear position of Europe's cities and regions, who favour a co-ordinated EU-level approach to double cycling across the EU.

This report is the latest in a long list of similar calls to action from NGOs, transport ministers and MEPs. Adding the voice of councillors, mayors and regional parliamentarians from across the EU adds to the pressure on the Commission to finally act and implement some bold policies in this field. 

The adoption of this report is also very important to my city and to all the authorities in local and regional level to demonstrate that there is a consensus on the need for more action to improve cycling across cities and regions. It has also been very helpful to me to attend events and workshops with my counterparts from across Europe to learn more about what they're already doing. That sharing of best practice is an essential component of the report, which calls for the Commission to capture this so it can be accessed by local and regional authorities seeking to do more.

Developing an EU Roadmap for Cycling is partly symbolic in that it says that the EU takes this seriously and recognises the important contribution of cycling to tackling transport and congestion issues, growing local economies, creating jobs, boosting tourism, cleaning our air and promoting better public health - these are key EU priorities but we are not making the link to how investment in cycling can help us to achieve them. A Roadmap and co-ordinated action within the Commission means we can begin to raise the profile of cycling and secure the support necessary to meet our ambitious goals.