Proposing a European Declaration on Cycling
COTER-VII/035
Proposing a European Declaration on Cycling
The CoR welcomes the European Declaration on Cycling as a driver towards unleashing the full potential of cycling in the EU. This opinion aims to ensure that concerns from local and regional authorities are included in the debate.
European regional authorities are responsible for the implementation of 70% of EU legislation and 90% of European actions to tackle climate change as well as to coordinate 50% of public investment and 30% of public expenditure. Real action and change that turn European resources into concrete projects that make people's lives better start at the local/regional level.
Local and regional governments hold the keys for many of the most important measures, and they must be actively involved and supported in the design and implementation of policies and instruments to meet those EU commitments, as cities and regions are expected to be impacted most by and to benefit most from successful cycling policy.
LRAs are crucial partners in improving design and implementation of cycling policy from the territorial perspective. Place-based approaches allow to address practical realities at the level closest to the citizen.
European regional authorities are responsible for the implementation of 70% of EU legislation and 90% of European actions to tackle climate change as well as to coordinate 50% of public investment and 30% of public expenditure. Real action and change that turn European resources into concrete projects that make people's lives better start at the local/regional level.
Local and regional governments hold the keys for many of the most important measures, and they must be actively involved and supported in the design and implementation of policies and instruments to meet those EU commitments, as cities and regions are expected to be impacted most by and to benefit most from successful cycling policy.
LRAs are crucial partners in improving design and implementation of cycling policy from the territorial perspective. Place-based approaches allow to address practical realities at the level closest to the citizen.
The views of the European Committee of the Regions contained in this opinion have been heard by the European Commission, European Parliament and European Council. (The three institutions that have signed the European Declaration on Cycling)
The views of the European Committee of the Regions contained in this opinion have been presented in public events as well as through bilateral settings (some examples included here below):
10 Jan 2024_Participation of Arianna Maria CENSI and her expert in a meeting with MEP Karima DELLI to discuss the Opinion COTER-VII-035
22 Jan 2024_Participation of Rapporteur Censi in the EP TRAN committee as preparatory work on her opinion on "Proposing a European Declaration on Cycling"
30 Jan 2024_Participation of Rapporteur Censi in the High-Level EU Cycling Conference (organized by Belgian Presidency in Hasselt, Belgium)
3 April 2024_Invitation to the European Committee of the Regions attend the signature ceremony of the Cycling Declaration
The views of the European Committee of the Regions contained in this opinion have been presented in public events as well as through bilateral settings (some examples included here below):
10 Jan 2024_Participation of Arianna Maria CENSI and her expert in a meeting with MEP Karima DELLI to discuss the Opinion COTER-VII-035
22 Jan 2024_Participation of Rapporteur Censi in the EP TRAN committee as preparatory work on her opinion on "Proposing a European Declaration on Cycling"
30 Jan 2024_Participation of Rapporteur Censi in the High-Level EU Cycling Conference (organized by Belgian Presidency in Hasselt, Belgium)
3 April 2024_Invitation to the European Committee of the Regions attend the signature ceremony of the Cycling Declaration
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.
- 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.
