Cycling in the Amathounta area of Cyprus Credit: Cyprus Tourism Organisation

At the start of the month, ECF Policy Officer Ed Lancaster was invited by the Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO) to attend a meeting of the CYCLO project in Limassol, Cyprus.  Co-funded by the EU MED Programme, CYCLO aims to promote sustainable mobility in the small and medium cities of the Mediterranean by integrating cycling policies into spatial planning.  

The 30-month project involves 10 partners from across the Mediterranean:

• Municipality of Chiaravalle, Italy
• Efxini Poli, Greece
• Municipality of Ioannina, Greece
• Epirus Region – Preveza Unit, Greece
• Municipality of Soller, Spain
• CIMAC – Intermunicipality Community of Central Alentejo, Portugal
• Marche Region, Italy
• Development Centre Litija, Slovenia
• Cyprus Tourism Organisation, Cyprus
• Municipality of Pesaro, Italy

These organisations are working together to promote sustainable mobility by encouraging more people to see the bicycle as daily means of transport.  Each partner has to develop a strategy to make their urban areas more accessible to cyclists and to undertake awareness raising activities designed to promote bike-based multimodality.  It is hoped that new services and facilities for cycling, as well as the implementation of innovative and integrated solutions promoting the use of bikes, will lead to an enhanced quality of life and health for both citizens and tourists alike.

The two-day meeting in Limassol was organised by the Cyprus Tourism Organisation in collaboration with the Lead Partner, the Municipality of Chiaravalle, to hear updates on the project activities and to share best practices and experiences.  Despite troubled economic times across the Mediterranean, the partners were able to report on some notable successes, including 70 km of new cycle paths in Pesaso; a road safety project being rolled out in the schools of Soller; and the purchase of 2 pedelecs by CIMAC for local residents to try.   More is planned in the second half of the project. 

We were asked to give a presentation on the work of ECF and to introduce some of the relevant projects that ECF has been involved with in recent years.  We provided a number of good practice examples taken from projects such as PRESTO, LifeCycle and EuroVelo.  There was also an interesting presentation given by the Municipality of Pesaro on the efforts they are making to meet the targets set out in the Charter of Brussels. 

After the last session, the Cyprus Tourism Organisation arranged a trip to the Troodos Mountains to visit the impressive new cycling routes that CTO has created there. The project has been co-funded by the ERDF.  CTO is planning shortly the extension of the cycling network towards the seaside town of Limassol. The meeting finished with a fantastic meal in a local taverna. 

If you would like further information, the CYCLO project has a facebook page (Cyclo – cycling cities), a website (www.cyclingcities.eu) and a twitter account (@cycloproject).

About the Author:

Ed Lancaster, Policy Officer-Regional Policy & Cycling Tourism -For the past 7 years, Ed has worked as a Town Planner for various local authorities in South East England and he has a Master’s degree in Town Planning from the University of Westminster. In his last role he was responsible for transport policies and strategy, as well as managing numerous cycling-related projects (e.g. providing new cycle infrastructure and running promotional activities).