THE EUROPEAN COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS
- stresses that the transport network forms a cohesive whole and that it requires coordination in planning at national, regional and local level. In order to create the conditions for achieving the objectives of sustainable urban environments and a higher modal share for cycling, the national level needs to support a transition in cities. The EU should establish mechanisms to ensure that national-level planning in the Member States supports the transition in cities, for example in relation to the TEN-T urban nodes;
- stresses that private motorised traffic, besides numerous advantages for the users, entails many negative externalities, both globally – with greenhouse gas emissions, resources being used to produce an ever-increasing number of vehicles – and locally – with the emission of pollutants (particulates, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxides, which have a major impact on human health), the high levels of congestion that diminish and deplete the public space, giving it over to motor vehicles (whether moving or stationary), the slowing down of public transport vehicles to the point that they become inefficient and therefore underused, and accidents whose victims are primarily so-called vulnerable users, when in reality the "vulnerable users" are the people who live in the public space;
- points out that, in European cities, cycling infrastructure separated from other vehicle flows is a key measure to improve the safety of all types of users, but that this approach can be applied in a limited number of roads. For this reason, points out that in some locations measures may be necessary to be implemented to reduce the speed and flow of motorised vehicles;
- calls for the strengthening of multimodal hubs to provide for smooth transfers between different modes of transport, including improving accessibility for active mobility and the provision of secure parking facilities for bicycles, in order to ensure a faster and more effective transfer of people and goods;
- proposes that a review of regulatory frameworks for cycling should be carried out by Member States and shared at European level in order to set, first in a transition phase, indicative European minimum standards, for example for the design and quality of cycling infrastructure, while complying with the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality. This exercise should take into account local land use and the appropriateness of solutions for different transport environments, such as densely and loosely built-up areas.
