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Municipal Cooperation to Promote Cycling

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Contents

Accountability for local mobility Jointly coordinated routes Cycling policy through the Länder Networking and cooperation Municipal Cycling Conference Municipal alliances for the Land Consortium of Bicycle-Friendly Cities in North Rhine-Westphalia Mecklenburg-West Pomerania Consortium of bicycle-friendly municipalities in Baden-

Württemberg

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Accountability for local mobility

Traditionally strong local self-government

Municipal level Primary responsibilities for urban and transport planning General mobility enhancement for pedestrians and cyclists

Administrative districts – particularly in rural areas coordinate the planning schemes of their cities and towns. decide on funding of public transport services and of their own

roads. plan to create broader transport networks

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Accountability for local mobility (2)

Leading municipal associations Need for cooperation to represent interests at the Länder

and federal level

Joint research centre German Institute of Urban Affairs (Difu) Clearing house for cycling policy Publisher of “Cycling Expertise Files”

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Jointly coordinated routes

Regional cooperation among municipalities

Interlink communities Allow cross-border cycling

tourism with integrated routes

Uniform signposting

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Jointly coordinated routes (2)

Experience in regional municipal cooperation Common public institutions with own funding, i. e. joint

local authority ventures in the areas Public transport Wastewater management

Efficient structure: one municipality handles the duties of its neighbours as well

Coordination of routes for cycling tourism Connected to local tourism structures Responsibility for overseeing intermunicipal cycling routes

often by Tourism associations Administrative districts

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Active promotion of cycling policy through the Länder

Cycling path networks Link-up of individual routes by cooperating municipalities

Establishing of development framework Manuals on infrastructure for cycling path network Newsletters for municipal players Providing state infrastructural funding

Support by specialized planning offices

Integrated networks despite roads and paths under different ownership, fundings from different sources, planning conflicts with road construction schemes, nature conservation and large privately owned plots

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Active promotion through the Länder: Example NRW

North Rhine-Westphalia

Land-spanning cycling network in 10 years time

Tourist and everyday routes

Signposting infrastructure Municipalities can add

information of their own accord with additional uniform signs

Earmarked funding tools

High-quality directions (bicycle parking at major railway stations, online route planner, navigation system)

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Municipal networking and cooperation

Municipal Coordination Group for Cycling (KoKo-Rad) Municipal demand for more representation on cycling

policy matters Five municipal representatives from three leading

municipal associations Three transport officers

Tasks: Aid for the leading municipal associations in Drawing up issue-related opinions Formulating suggestions to improve the cycling promotion

in municipalities (lobby work)

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Municipal networking and cooperation

Tasks of the Koko-Rad (part 2) preparing the annual municipal cycling conference

programme Coordination and advising of the municipal representatives

of the advisory council on cycling at the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development (BMVBS)

Helps update the body of rules and regulation Supervises ancillary research for BMVBS projects

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Municipal Cycling Conference

Key annual meeting for experience sharing among those responsible for cycling policy in public administrationsAims:

to network players across Germany

to involve the leading municipal associations

to activate initiatives in the given hosting region (provide incentives)

to address the leadership in administrations and politics

Organized in the framework of the ‚Bicycle Academy‘ by the German Institute for Urban Affairs (Difu)

Only local government administrators

Participants: 2007: 125 (Göttingen) 2008: 158 (Frankfurt-Main) 2009: 186 (Potsdam) 2010: 184 (Karlsruhe)

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Municipal alliances for the Land

Municipalities form bike-friendly alliances

Improvement of experience sharing

Jointly promoting their interests

Higher efficiency through common campaign joint informational flyers for cyclists and planners

Initiative often lies with the Länder, but different approaches are followed

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Consortium of Bicycle-Friendly Cities, Administrative Districts and Municipalities in North Rhine-Westphalia (AGFS)

NRW still dominated by traditional industries densely and highly populated Land in Germany

„Strength through dialogue“: link bike-friendly municipalities and cities locally available resources funding from the Land NRW available for members conditions for joining:

explicit council resolution to ambitiously promote cycling action programme

“successfully passed entrance examination” administered by a review commission for cycling in cities.

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Consortium of Bicycle-Friendly Cities, NRW (AGFS) (2)

AGFS offers array of brochures on

specialist topics Conventions Competitions guideline for new

members with its view on how to pursue a successful cycling policy

57 members of the AGFS on the 1st of March 2010 in red (cities) and orange (municipalities).

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Mecklenburg-West Pomerania (MV) Network

Starkly different conditions than in NRW: low population density little purchasing power shrinking populations dynamic cycling tourism (beyond the Baltic Sea coast)

Interministerial Working Group on Cycling Policy (IMAG Radverkehr) bundles responsibilities for cycling path infrastructure spread

over various ministries (Transport, Agriculture, Tourism). coordinate the use and provision of signs on existing cycling

paths.

MV Bike a committee that concentrates on promoting experience sharing among municipalities.

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Working Group on Cycling Policy

by MV State Ministries

MunicipalitiesConcrete Projects

Clearing House

Giving Advice

MV-bike Advisory Council

Delegates

DelegatesMembership

Collaboration

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV)Collaboration Scheme on Cycling

„Think thank“on Cycling in MV

Organisation, Funded Projects,

Evaluation

Collaboration

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Consortium of Bicycle-Friendly Municipalities in Baden-Württemberg (AGFK-BW)

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Consortium of Bicycle-Friendly Municipalities in Baden-Württemberg (AGFK-BW) (2)

BW affluent Land with many high-tech industries and a long tradition of municipal independence

Aims advise its members offers services to support and disencumber employees in

member municipality administrations in their task of information gathering.

AGFK-BW is confirmed by a political resolution

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Consortium of Bicycle-Friendly Municipalities in Baden-Württemberg (AGFK-BW) (3)

Financing Member contributions from municipalities. The Land BW also provides the network with financial support

through: an internal AGFK-BW project office at BW‘s public

transportation organization; specific member projects; the project-run internet portal www.fahrradland-bw.de – a

central communication platform (providing news, practical examples, forthcoming dates in the cycling calendar).

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Conclusions

Positive effects of horizontal municipal networks for cycling promotion:

help implement projects such as cycling routes, pool municipal resources for cycling promotion at Land level

and facilitate access to state funding More effective lobby work at the federal level possible through

communication between municipal networks and the leading municipal associations

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Sources and Links

Second German federal government cycling report on the state of cycling in the Federal Republic of Germany, 2007: www.bmvbs.de/Anlage/original_1018367/Zweiter-Fahrradbericht-der-Bundesregierung-barrierefrei.pdf (in German)www.nrvp.de/foerderung-bund/foerderung-nrvp/massnahmen.phtml (in German)Mecklenburg-West Pomerania www.mv-bike.net North-Rhine Westphalia www.fahrradfreundlich.nrw.de Route planner www.radroutenplaner.nrw.de/RRP_home_02_en.html (in English) NRW Cycling Network www.radverkehrsnetz.nrw.de/downloads/Rad_info_english.pdf (in English) Baden-Württemberg www.fahrradland-bw.de

Imprint Publisher: German Institute of Urban Affairs (Difu) gGmbH, Zimmerstraße 13–15, 10969 Berlin, Department Mobility and Infrastructure. Editors: Sara Van Boeckhout, Jörg Thiemann-Linden, cycling-expertise@difu.de, forschung-radverkehr@difu.de