Insider Look at the EU Cycling Initiative's Shaking Hands
Amidst the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, the EU project 'Handshake' continues to make strides in promoting cycling as a sustainable and healthy mode of transportation across European cities. With a budget of nearly five million euros, the project pairs ten 'future cycling capitals' with one of the three 'cycling capitals' for mentoring and inspiration.
Accelerated Cycling Policies
In some areas, cycling policies and measures have been accelerated to compensate for the delay of other plans due to the pandemic. Cities like Rome have gained European recognition for their cycling measures, setting up 150km of cycling routes, which are not temporary but 'transitory' lanes intent on becoming permanent.
The Role of Handshake
The Handshake project offers a supportive knowledge-sharing network for the participating cities. Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, the project's name has been affected, but it has not lost momentum nor progress. The project continues to offer a platform for cities to learn from each other and adopt proven cycling-promoting practices more efficiently.
The Future Cycling Capitals
Ten future cycling cities were chosen based on their willingness to change, regardless of their starting point in cycling infrastructure. These cities include Cádiz, Bruges, Riga, Helsinki, Manchester, Bordeaux, Krakow, Turin, Rome, and Dublin. Krakow, for example, organized free bike services checks across the city, repairing 530 bikes in total.
Key Strategies
The Handshake project’s strategies for promoting cycling infrastructure and culture focus on creating safe, attractive, and people-oriented cycling environments. Key strategies include developing and integrating cycling infrastructure, co-design and capacity building, utilizing knowledge sharing and ready-to-go sustainable mobility measures, and research and pilot projects.
Achievements
The project has engaged numerous European cities such as Bruges, Frankfurt am Main, Trikala, and others in implementing cycling infrastructure and policies. Trikala, Greece, exemplifies a successful case where flat terrain and municipal bike-sharing points have helped the city become notably bike-friendly. The creation of harmonized tools and methods has helped cities plan low-carbon mobility eras efficiently, contributing to European sustainability goals aligned with the European Green Deal.
The Cycling Capitals
The three cycling capitals chosen are Amsterdam, Copenhagen, and Munich, with Amsterdam and Copenhagen working together for the first time. The project also emphasizes evaluation, using 'bikeconomics' to determine the benefits of cycling, including economic, social, and environmental gains. These benefits are then used as a communication tool to convince politicians and citizens.
In conclusion, Handshake contributes to promoting cycling by combining physical infrastructure development with participatory planning and knowledge exchange, leading to more accessible, healthier, and liveable European urban spaces through cycling culture advancement.
- As part of the Handshake project, cities are adopting sustainable living practices by embracing cycling as a lifestyle, fostering home-and-garden environments that promote healthy commuting and minimize carbon footprint.
- Amidst the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, education and self-development have taken on a new meaning, as cities like Trikala in Greece use the Handshake project to implement learning opportunities around cycling infrastructure, policies, and technology.
- With the integration of technology into cycling infrastructure, individuals are now able to appreciate lifelong learning as they explore innovative, sustainable-living solutions through the varieties of home-and-garden designs and practices encouraged by the Handshake project.
