EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK – Campaigns to support zero-emission mobility solutions - Webinar Report

Local campaigns are very helpful in involving citizens in the decision-making process of mobility planning. This POLIS ‘Mobilising Mobility’ webinar, with a focus on last year’s award winners of the ‘EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK’ campaign and SUMP Award, brought great examples for citizen-centric urban planning and the implementation of Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMP) just one day before the opening of this year’s EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK campaign: ‘Zero-emission mobility for all’ in line with the Commission’s European Green Deal plan.

The webinar started with a presentation from Maria José Rojo (Coordinator of POLIS’ working group on Active Travel and Health) to show participants POLIS’ commitment to transform our cities into healthier places, building on the opportunities brought by these challenging times. Afterwards, the Serbian city of Kruševac, who won the 2019 EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Award, and the Capital Region of Brussels, winner of the 8^th SUMP Award, shared their strategies on safe walking and cycling in their respective cities during our webinar on 15 September 2020.

The strategy of Kruševac, which has around 125.000 inhabitants and is located in the South-East of Belgrade, was presented by Jelena Nikolic, advisor for sustainable urban mobility and energy efficiency. Kruševac has made significant efforts to transform the city into a bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly city.

Various projects have been implemented, including the transformation of city squares to provide more space to cyclists and pedestrians, as well as the installation of bicycle paths. Furthermore, awareness has been raised through workshops, which have measured noise pollution from passenger cars across the city.  These efforts led to an increased number of cyclists, specifically 40.000 cyclists in the 3 months of the lockdown.

Brussels Capital Region, represented by Sofie Walschap, responsible for mobility and road safety, has made serious efforts to transform a car-centric city into a bike-friendly capital, which was rewarded with the 8^th SUMP Award. Since the city went into lockdown in mid-March, the number of cyclists rose significantly. This led to decisive action to create up to 40km of cycling paths, of which 28 have already been installed. Additionally, a positive attitude towards cycling was propagated with a communication campaign during the end of the lockdown, which encouraged citizens to continue using their bicycles. Participants were engaged during the webinar, shown by the lively discussion held at the end of the online event during the Q&A.

Do you also have a success story to tell? Then apply for the 9th SUMP Awards here.

You have missed the webinar? POLIS invites you to watch the full online event here.

Further information about last year’s winners is available on the dedicated award pages: EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Award (Kruševac) and the 8th SUMP Award (Brussels).