In the last few days, Leipzig hosted Velo-City, the leading professional conference for cycling, where also Mobilissimus participated. We selected the sessions attended focusing on the methods needed to develop urban and regional cycling strategies and network plans, be it the use of open spatial data, assessing the cyclability of infrastructure, surveying user needs or the return on investment in cycling. The Velo-Timiș Cycling Strategy of Timis County, developed by the team of Mobilissimus, Értékterv and Planificatio, was presented by Vice President Cristian Moș. The event was also an opportunity for professional networking.
We have put about 90 km into the shared bicycles available throughout the city, to get an idea of the city's cyclability also beyond the guided tours. Leipzig's spacious green spaces, river and canal banks, and extensive traffic-calmed city centre provide a pleasant environment for cycling, facilitated by a coherent core network of predominantly one-way facilities, on either side of the road, albeit of mixed level of service. The high utilisation of modern cycle parking facilities and the visible cycling traffic throughout the day are signs of the 18% mode share, but a variety of cargo bikes are also a daily sight.
Public transport, with tram lines as its backbone, lost half its share in the 1990s as individual motorised transport took over. Since the turn of the millennium, however, cycling has grown significantly at the expense of private car use. Taking this and the foreseeable developmental advantage into account, Leipzig can provide relevant lessons for many cities in Central and Eastern Europe.
Leipzig and LVB have been our partners in the Interreg EfficienCE, Dynaxibility4CE and the ongoing CE4CE projects.
Source of data: Verkehrsbefragungen, Stadt Leipzig
