THE EUROPEAN COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS
- calls for an EU Roadmap for Cycling to be included in the Commission Work Programme 2018. The roadmap should address the growing demand for coordinated action at the EU level to help unlock the well-documented environmental, health and economic benefits of cycling;
- advises the Commission to embrace a target of doubling cycling across EU Member States over the next 10 years;
- requests that the European Commission establishes minimum cycling infrastructure quality criteria for relevant projects co-funded with EU money;
- calls for the EU to propose to national, regional and local authorities recommendations on better speed management and on the creation of traffic-calming measures via the introduction, among other things, of streets in urban areas with a default speed limit of 30 km/h (or 20 mph) and that take bicycles into account, making it possible for various users to coexist: pedestrians, bicycles, cars, heavy goods vehicles, emergency vehicles (ambulances, fire engines, etc.);
- advises the Commission to include cycling in its revision of the EU Green Public Procurement criteria for transport;
- advises the Commission (Eurostat) to develop a common data collection methodology and harmonised definitions for national and urban data on cycle use;
- welcomes the appointment of a cycling contact person within DG MOVE but points out that this position should be upgraded to a Commission-wide Cycling Focal Point;
- proposes to include EuroVelo, the long-distance cycle route network , in the TEN-T, thereby improving cross-border connections, developing tourism opportunities and fostering better inner-city accessibility;
- asks the Commission to support a clearing house, equipped with adequate resources, to address Member States’ and LRAs’ need for access to best practice, case studies, reports, funding possibilities, etc. on cycling.