The growing motorised traffic in urban areas of the Baltic Sea region is affecting the attractiveness of its towns and cities. It also has a negative effect on citizens’ health and mobility. To develop sustainable townscapes that attract both citizens and businesses, alternative, environmentally-friendly modes of transport need to be promoted.

The Baltic Sea Cycling project is a cooperation between 22 partners from six European countries in the Baltic Sea Region (Germany, Sweden, Norway, Lithuania, Poland and Latvia). The project addresses problems and obstacles that local authorities are faced with when trying to promote cycling as a viable alternative mode of transportation within urban areas. The project, however, does not only focus on finding effective and innovative approaches to establish an urban cycling infrastructure. Other objectives of the project are to improve the safety and comfort of cyclists, as well as attracting new groups to cycling.

The Baltic Sea Cycling project consists of four work packages, each addressing different problems. Different partners are responsible for each work package.

Work package 1 (September 2004-June 2006) focused on creating city cycling profiles. Surveys of the current cycling situation were carried out in each city and town and presented in a report. These reports are available on the project's website.

Central to work package 2 (January 2005-December 2006) was the role of cycling in enhancing the attractiveness of cities. Several pilot actions were implemented on:

In the third work package (January 2005-December 2006), the project partners focused on promoting cycling as a tool to decrease environmental, health, social and economic problems in the city. Five pilot actions were implemented, each with its own theme:

During work package 4 (July 2006-June 2007), each participating town and city will develop its own urban cycling policy. This will form a basis for their urban cycling strategy. The final actions for Baltic Sea Cycling will be to set up an investment plan and a durable transnational network as well as producing a cycling inspiration book.

A final report of the Baltic Sea Cycling project will be published once the project has been finalised. Nevertheless, the Baltic Sea Cycling website provides a wealth of information: all the cycling profiles of the participating cities can be found here, as well as descriptions of the pilot projects undertaken in work packages 3 and 4. These can act as a source of inspiration for other cities eager to invest in more sustainable forms of transport.

The Baltic Sea Cycling project is financed under the Baltic Sea Region INTERREG III B Neighbourhood Programme. INTERREG III B is one of the three different strands of the European Community Initiative and supports transnational co-operation to enhance balanced and sustainable development of the European territory. The programme for the Baltic Sea Region is part-financed from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) covering the period 2000-2006.

City of Örebro, Sweden
Carinne Lancereau

20/08/2004

case

Urban Policy > Urban environment

Environmental sustainability