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Erasmus Trip to Waterford, 2023

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Just a month after the inaugural Erasmus+ gathering in Corella on the Generations Pedaling for Inclusion and Climate Action project, the second “Learning, Teaching and Training” gathering took place from 22 to 27 June 2023. It was hosted by Newtown School in Waterford city, with Karen Keogh from their teaching staff curating a diverse and brilliantly organised programme of activities. 

In this article, four members of the Cyclist.ie team reflect on what was an action-packed trip spanning the themes of Social Inclusion, Climate Action, Intergenerational Relationships and Urban Cycling Promotion (and you can read more about the themes in our article from October 2022). Each of our four reporters – Denis, Allison, Jo and Hugh – cover one of the full days.

Just to note here that we were delighted that members of Dublin Cycling Campaign (DCC) came into the city to meet with the Spanish delegation for a convivial evening the night before the group travelled to the south east. And the Spanish visitors also managed to squeeze in an expert walking tour of Dublin, led by Martin Quinn (a member of DCC himself), before hopping on the coach to Waterford.  

Martin Quinn (in blue) leading the walking tour of Dublin with the Spanish crew! (Photo credit – Chefly, Biciclistas de Corella)

As we have said previously, Cyclist.ie is proud to be part of this Erasmus+ project and to be forging strong relationships with the other six partner organisations from four EU countries. 


Friday 23 June – Denis McAuliffe 
Many enjoyable events took place on the opening day, but what stands out to me was Keith Lemon, the Principal of Newtown School, welcoming us and officiating at the tree planting ceremony in the grounds of the school. Before planting the oak tree sapling, he said – “Wherever you may go and whatever you might do, remember that the mighty oak was once a nut too”, a saying that I have never heard before but worthy of recognition. 

Tree planting in Newtown School with MEP Grace O’Sullivan (from Waterford herself) on hand to help out after delivering her welcoming words in the school hall (Photo credit – Chefly from Biciclistas de Corella)

This was followed by a walk from Newtown school to GROW HQ, an award-winning organic garden and working model of a sustainable food system – see here. While even though it rained on our way and on arrival, it was well worth the effort as we got to avail of an “all you can eat” in a three minute fresh organic strawberry picking and eating competition, a tour of the gardens, fresh scones, homemade red currant and strawberry jam, fennel and mint cordial and locally produced apple juice. Our tummies were well looked after and ready for our trip back to the school canteen where we were once again treated to lunch. 

After lunch we had many more fun filled and educational events which my wife and daughter participated in and we were getting to know our Erasmus friends from Poland, Spain, Portugal and of course Ireland with the interactive based ethos of the programme.

Exploring GROW HQ (Photo credit – Chefly from Biciclistas de Corella)

For me the highlight of the day was the transition from Picasso to Viking – our final workshop of the evening was with the amazing team from Deise Medieval. This comprised a fantastic blend of activities and information, and a living history workshop. It was particularly nice to see my daughter Danielle so engaged, who by now had become a Viking warrior and during a Viking battle she managed to fight her way through no less than three waves of opposing warriors! One of the trainers in battle later mentioned to me that he wouldn’t want to meet her on a dark night (or should that be knight!?). It was indeed such an interesting way to finish off the first day of a well enjoyed and educational Erasmus experience. My daughter Danielle made many new friends and it was somewhat of an achievement being the oldest person on the trip and my daughter being the youngest – you could say that we covered both sides of the aging spectrum. 

Deise Medieval with additional fierce Vikings drawn from the Cyclist.ie warrior group – Front row (R to L): Danielle McAuliffe (Great Southern Trail), Allison Roberts (Clon Bike Fest), Mary Sinnott (Waterford Bicycle User Group); Back row / standing (R to L): Jo Sachs Eldridge (Leitrim Cycling Festival), Denis and Catherine McAuliffe (Great Southern Trail), Siobhán McNamara (Dublin Cycling Campaign), Dave Tobin (Limerick Cycling Campaign), three of the Deise Medieval group, Chefly from Biciclistas de Corella, Damien Ó Tuama (Cyclist.ie), Hugh Raftery (Dublin Cycling Campaign) 

The following days were filled from beginning to end with multiple trips and events of which, no doubt, my Cyclist.ie partners do justice in their own recording of their most memorable moments of their time spent in Waterford. Hopefully our paths will cross once again at another Cyclist.ie Erasmus educational event.

Denis Mc Auliffe
Vice Chair of Ireland’s first planned Greenway, The Great Southern Trail
http://www.southerntrail.net/
Now known as The Limerick Greenway
https://www.limerick.ie/greenway 
On behalf of Catherine, Denis and Danielle McAuliffe.


Saturday 24 June – Allison Roberts
After breakfast everyone made their way into the city centre, and the students were divided into teams by country and given €50 per team to come up with outfits for an upcycling fashion show. Meanwhile the adults headed for the Waterford Medieval museum.

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The Cyclist.ie Delegation! L-R: Mary Sinnott, Siobhán McNamara, Denis McAuliffe, Catherine McAuliffe, Dave Tobin, Olivia Tobin, Damien Ó Tuama, Hugh Raftery, Jo Sachs Eldridge and Allison Roberts

First up we were given headsets and got a bit of a history lesson via virtual reality. The VR program was called ‘King of the Vikings’ and I think everyone enjoyed the novelty of VR and graphics, but it may have been a bit hard to follow as it wasn’t available in Spanish or Polish or Portuguese, but I think we all got the gist! Much better was the tour that followed of the ‘Viking Triangle’ which is a very small block in the centre of Waterford. 

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A few facts that have stayed with me – Waterford is a very Georgian style city with a history of famous architects, the theatre being an example that has tall and wide doors to allow for top hats & hoop dresses. Reginald’s tower on the main waterfront was used as a cell for the drunk & disorderly. The large Viking sword sculpture crafted with a chainsaw was actually made in another county from a tree fallen in one of the big storms, and the sword is complete with tree roots. 

After the tour we had a coffee and the first annual Brompton unfolding competition – Dave Tobin was pronounced winner with his double-handed flip being the move that clinched it.

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Nervous entrants of the Brompton unfolding competition just seconds before starting

After lunch at the school everyone boarded the bus for Kilmurrin beach for beach clean up except Mary, Jo, Damien and I who wanted to get the bikes out for a spin. Mary led the way with her electric cargo bike (with dog Teddy along for the ride) followed by the three of us on our beloved Bromptons. It took a fair few hills to get out of Waterford and then we followed what would have been some lovely tree-lined narrow, windy country roads if it hadn’t been for the amount and speed of the motor traffic. Unfortunately a van decided to overtake us on a blind bend just as a car was coming from the opposite direction. The van swerved back in front of us as the car slammed on its brakes and swerved towards the ditch only to be rear-ended by another car behind it which was traveling at speed. Thankfully everyone was OK (the cars weren’t).

We set off again but Teddy (the dog) was itching to stretch his legs so we took a long-cut and walked our bikes through a lovely new park just outside of Dunhill. The Anne Valley Walk was developed as part of a plan to deal with wastewater from the town. It’s a beautiful walk through trees flanked by reed-bed ponds that are filtering the town’s wastewater. 

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When we finally made it to Kilmurrin Beach the sand circle art session was already underway, the plan being to recreate the Erasmus+ logo on the beach. The man running it was great and got everyone involved, making lines, tracing each other on the sand, doing slow-mo actions to be captured on the time-lapsed video. We also took a chance to have a dip and eat our packed dinners.

You can watch the time-lapsed sand art video here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1329984940468995/permalink/2819490974851710/ 

Around 7pm we all boarded the bus to head back to town where Pride celebrations were in full swing. Most of us adults stopped in at a patio for some drinks and food and the students had some free time in town before we all made our way slowly back to school for the night. All in all, a great day, weather and activity-wise, with the few of us who had witnessed (and been a bit too close to) the crash being reminded of why so many people don’t feel safe cycling on the roads in Ireland. Thankfully the next day we got to enjoy some much better infrastructure on the greenway.

Allison Roberts
Clonakilty Bike Festival
https://clonakiltybicyclefestival.org/ 


Sunday 25 June – Jo Sachs Eldridge
I loved the eclectic collection of activities that were put on for us. My main motivation for taking part was the opportunity to spend some time with the cycling crew – to have conversations in-person rather than online – but I wasn’t expecting to have so many new and wonderful experiences along the way.

The card workshop in the morning had some brilliant elements – it used plastic and other matter found on the beach and on completion the students all sat in rows facing each other where they ‘speed dated’ while describing their beautiful work of art. As the facilitator explained – often when we create something we don’t get a chance to really look at it or talk about it. Simple but brilliant. 

The Charity Shop Fashion Show was also more impressive and entertaining than I expected. The students put huge effort into their themes and outfits. And the calibre of the judge – a sustainable fashion designer – added another level of appreciation to it all.

I had heard great reports of the Waterford Greenway over the years so I was really looking forward to this activity. And it didn’t disappoint. Kilometres of beautiful scenery – long, majestic coastal sections, acres of farmland and rich hedgerows – all with a smooth surface, plenty of width to chat and overtake and chicanes that would allow any (?) bike to navigate.

Hugh Raftery from the Cyclist.ie delegation enjoying the greenway!

The route also includes a number of viaducts and a magical fairy tunnel. Although my favourite bit was through the section of what felt like a tropical forest – shown here.

Even the thunder and lightning storms and heavy showers didn’t take away from the fabulous ride. Karen, the amazing coordinator, had also cleverly arranged for the last torrential downpour to happen while we stopped for lunch. Brilliant!

I did get a puncture along the way but luckily I had just passed the support van when it happened and later Damien patched it up for me – turns out he knows a thing or two about bikes! Thanks Damien!

We finished the day again with some good food and conversation.

All in all, it was a great opportunity to spend time with the gang, meet the other partners, explore Waterford and enjoy lots of Brompton nerdery.

Jo Sachs Eldridge
Leitrim Cycling Festival
https://leitrimcyclingfestival.com/


Monday 26 June – Hugh Raftery
After the workout on the Greenway cycle, we were delighted to have a relatively easy day on Monday. It started with a coach journey to Shanagarry, County Cork where we could rest and enjoy the scenery passing the window. Our destination was Ballymaloe.

First stop was Ballymaloe House. The hotel and farm have been operating using sustainable methods since the 1960s. The head groundskeeper, Tobias (pictured below), gave us a tour of the gardens and he explained how even small changes at home can make a big difference. We should all make some space in our gardens for nature, just leave it alone.

Next stop was Ballymaloe Cookery School. Our host was Lydia Allen. In the kitchens, we were shown how nothing goes to waste – all the ingredients are used to their fullest, an important lesson for home too.

Lydia brought us around the gardens to see where they have corridors for pollinators, and to see the veg growing in the greenhouses. 

After Ballymaloe, we were back on the bus as there was a ceilí mór planned for the evening. We were not disappointed. To start us off, we had some interactive fun with the drama teacher. We were swapping chairs and testing our numeracy; a challenge and good fun at the same time. A surprise on the night was a quick lesson in sign language.  We learnt to sign Somewhere Only We Know, with some help from Danielle for the lyrics. Danielle (age 10) was the youngest participant in the project, accompanied by her dad Denis, the most senior of the Cyclist.ie crew. 

Denis and Danielle Mc Auliffe

We were then treated to some Irish dancing, performed by four local stars. The talent on display was a super finale. The dancers then lead us all on a few reels, showing us the steps, which we tried to follow. I was certainly out of my comfort zone but gave it a go anyway.

These four days have been a wonderful experience. I learned some tips for social media, shared some of my knowledge, and made some great friends. The activities were great fun, and informative too. I will be using some of the ideas learnt in the future.  

A final reflection for me was that the availability of e-bikes for those less fit or experienced participants for the (40km+) greenway cycle was a real boon – it enabled delegates with different fitness levels to cycle alongside each other and chat and enjoy the amenity together.

Hugh Raftery
Dublin Cycling Campaign
https://www.dublincycling.com/


Some Final Remarks – Damien Ó Tuama
The Waterford leg of the Erasmus+ Generations Pedaling for Inclusion and Climate Action project was a wonderful success. The Cyclist.ie delegates got to spend some quality time with our Continental counterparts, but also with ourselves – a nice contrast from all of the Zoom meetings over the last few years. You can’t beat meeting up in person for plotting and scheming!  

We wish to pay a special thanks again to Karen Keogh and all of the staff from Newtown School for the warm welcome and the fine programme of activities laid on for us. 

We hope that Cristina (from Biciclistas de Corella) and Libia (from IES Estella) are back on track after their respective leg and ankle sprains incurred on the first day of the trip. We look forward to spending time with them and all of our new colleagues at the next Erasmus+ gathering which will take place in Azambuja in Portugal in October 2023. 

Note that you can find more photos from the trip here https://www.facebook.com/BiciclistasdeCorella – a big thanks to Chefly from Biciclistas de Corella for all the great pics.

Finally, we wish to acknowledge the funding support of the European Union without which this Erasmus+ project would not happen.

International Posts

Velo-city 2023 Leipzig – Report from Cycling Solutions Ireland

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Cillian O Boyle, Business Development Manager with Cycling Solutions Ireland, recently returned from Leipzig in Germany after attending the Velo-city conference. In his report below, he shares his experiences with Cyclist.ie of the latest edition of ECF’s Velo-city conference. As always, we encourage supporters of Cyclist.ie’s work to join up or make a donation so as to enable us to ramp up our cycling advocacy programme.

Velo-city Conference
Velo-city is the world cycling summit, where advocates, cities, decision and policy makers, researchers and industry leaders meet to shape the future of cycling. As the annual flagship event of the European Cyclists’ Federation, Velo-city plays a valuable part in promoting cycling as a sustainable and healthy means of transport for all.

Like no other event, the conference offers a knowledge-exchange and policy-transfer platform to the more than 1400 Velo-citizens from over 60 countries attending, involved in the policy, promotion and provision for cycling, active mobility and sustainable urban development. Taking place under the theme #LeadingTheTransition, Velo-city 2023 Leipzig asked the inevitable question: What future do we want to live in? 

Cycle Friendly Employer Scheme
Cycling Solutions Ireland (CSI), Ireland’s European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF) certified cycle-friendly employer accreditors, were one of a number of Irish organisations represented at Velo-city in Leipzig. CSI were joined by the Department of Transport (DoT) in a programme discussion about the importance of cycle-friendly employer certification in the public sector. Carol Lodola of DoT gave a presentation on behalf of the Department. 

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L to R: Froso Christofides (European Cyclists’​ Federation), Michael O’Boyle (CEO Cycling Solutions Ireland), Carol Lodola (Department of Transport)

Leipzig, Host City
Known for its rich history, vibrant culture, and state-of-the-art transport infrastructure, Leipzig was an ideal host city for Velo-city 2023. Attendees were provided with the use of Nextbikes from the TIER bike sharing scheme in Leipzig during the conference 

Coming from a country that is still very car-centric, a few days spent in Leipzig opens up the mind to the possibilities available to cities that commit to shared mobility; or as Leipzig refers to it, the Environmental Alliance: walking, cycling and local public transport. The goal is to reach a 70% modal share of the environmental alliance (23% public transport, 23% cycling and 24% walking). In order to achieve this milestone, the city will invest more than 1.5 billion Euro in cycling, walking and public transport by 2030.

The city administration intends to create new cycling facilities on its main roads, expand bicycle parking facilities, build a bicycle parking garage at the main railway station and improve road maintenance on important cycle routes during the winter. A new last-mile logistic concept will also be implemented. This will see all deliveries destined for the city bundled outside the city centre and delivered with low-emission vehicles, such as cargo bikes. 

New opportunities to capitalise on Leipzig’s week in the cycling spotlight were not wasted. Decision makers in Leipzig’s local government teamed up with STADTRADELN, a climate alliance organisation, who gathered data on the most used cycling routes by attendees throughout the conference. The resulting data will be used by urban planners to propose new cycle lanes in the city. At the time of writing, over 1,700 kilometres of cycling data had been gathered by STATDRADELN. 

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Screenshot of STATDRADELN data gathering of cycling journeys

The Netherlands: Lessons from a cycling Mecca
The Netherlands wasn’t always a fietsparadijs (“bicycle paradise”). As with their counterparts, post-war planners were carving out space for the car in their cities; demolishing buildings and filling in canals. Converging (road safety and oil supply) crises in the 1970s set them off in a different direction, but it required a great deal of experimentation, as well as a few high-profile failures. It wasn’t until the mid-1990s that best practices were codified in national street design and road safety policies. The resulting principles have been a “game changer”, resulting in 20,000 kilometres of separated cycle paths—over half the existing network—in the past 25 years.

With fifty years of experience resulting in the highest levels of cycling on the planet, the Dutch are far from resting on their laurels. In fact, this success creates new pressures around space and speed in the city, with recent developments offering opportunities to build on it. 

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The five key learnings from Dutch experts at Velo-city 2023 were:

1) Start with a link, plan for a network: To provide for a maximum diversity of users, Dutch planners have learned to look beyond individual lanes, and think more holistically at the network level.

2) Don’t give up at the intersection: Knowing a network is only as good as its weakest link, and most collisions occur at these points, the Dutch-style “protected intersection” is a staple throughout the country.

3) The most important part of a bike plan is the car plan: As Dutch planners have discovered, measures that offer an attractive alternative to driving (“the carrot”) must be complemented with efforts to make driving indirect and inconvenient (“the stick”).

4) Design for the speed you want: When it comes to calming traffic, the reality is that engineering—not education or enforcement—is the biggest influence on the success of that scheme.

5) Use cycle tracks to feed mass transit (and vice versa): Rather than view cycling and mass transit as competitors, Dutch planners have learned to embrace them as allies, capturing their synergy in a virtuous circle of sustainable travel.

Velo-city Handover
Velo-city Leipzig wound down with a flag hand-over to next year’s hosts – the Belgian city of Ghent. The final sign off for an excellent week was a post-event party at Leipzig’s Moritzbastei, one of the city’s oldest fortifications, which now doubles as a performance and cultural centre. 

You would be forgiven for thinking Leipzig is an established city on the global conference scene, but this German city never had it easy – after German reunification, the Eastern city tumbled into decline, its population dropping to 437,000 in the mid-1990s. Since then, Leipzig has been reinventing itself at a rapid pace. The turn of the century, a pivotal period for the German city, saw Leipzig’s economy gather momentum, and the implementation of ambitious urban development policies saw people flooding back into the city. Today, its creative buzz and vibrant street life shape the image of a healthy, happy city. 

A large Irish cohort could be found around the Moritzbastei on closing night – an encouraging sign that our own country is becoming increasingly alert to the benefits that cycling can bring, when urban development policies allow for it. If Leipzig can do it, anyone can. 

Velo City 2024
For anyone interested in discovering the future of sustainable mobility in Europe, make sure to check out the plans for Velo-city Ghent 2024!

Cyclist.ie sends its thanks to Cillian for his report above. We also refer our readers to the excellent report from Katleen Bell Bonjean from Cyclist.ie’s Executive Committee on her experiences at Velo-city. 

International Posts

Velo-city 2023 Leipzig – Cyclist.ie Report – Katleen Bell-Bonjean

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In the following article, Katleen Bell-Bonjean from Cyclist.ie’s Executive Committee (and Gort Cycle Trails) shares her reflections on the 2023 Velo-city International Cycle Planning conference that was held in Leipzig in Germany. The event was co-organised by the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF), of which Cyclist.ie is the member for Ireland, and the City of Leipzig.  As always, we encourage supporters of Cyclist.ie’s work to join up or make a donation so as to enable us to ramp up our cycling advocacy programme.

Mary Sinnott from Waterford and I were the two Cyclist.ie Executive Committee members that represented Cyclist.ie at this year’s Velo-city conference in Leipzig. With 1500 participants attending from around the world, it was the biggest Velo-city event yet. 

It was also a special event for me, as I was taking part in an international panel discussion about Pushing for Action – Leadership in Cycling. Keep on reading to find out more!

Mary and myself getting drenched at the Bike Parade

Check out this video compilation of the bicycle parade. I am glad to say that by the time we finished, the sun was shining 🙂

My main areas of interest are around cycle tourism, rural cycling routes / cycle safety, bike-sharing, cycling data about gender, and questions around how do you best design the public realm?

Giving the thumbs up at Velo-city!

Trends in Cycle tourism globally and various EuroVelo Routes
I found this session particularly interesting, with speakers from Canada, The Netherlands and  the ECF giving a detailed overview of usage stats on the various EuroVelo routes around Europe. As I live a short distance from Adrahan/Kinvara, one of the access points of EuroVelo #1 in the west of Ireland, I was keen to learn about the usage stats. Cycling tourism is becoming more popular in Ireland, and data shared showed that, even in winter, there are 52 cyclists using EuroVelo1, trebling in the summertime to 159.


One interesting statistic presented was about when people start during the day and when they take a break. In warmer countries like Spain or Portugal, cyclists tend to start earlier and have a break shortly after lunch for a siesta.

In Ireland, thanks to our maritime climate – read, it’s not that hot – cyclists tend to start later in the morning, and don’t have a siesta :). Find out more in the ECF Data hub.

Note that EuroVelo #1 in Ireland was recently officially opened and members of Cyclist.ie were there too! Check out this article. 

Pushing for Cycling: Leadership in cycling Panel Discussion
I was very excited in January when my abstract for this year’s conference was successful to talk about the social media campaign I headed up, and how we as a group of volunteers campaigned in the depth of Covid to advocate for the Athlone to Galway Greenway to come via Gort by collaborating with local communities along the route.

There were two further panelists from France and one from Australia, and in our warm-up call prior to the conference, I learned how a traumatic event was a catalyst for change in cycle safety in Australia. Stuart Outhred explained how Amy Gillett died after a car crashed into her near Leipzig. The  Amy Gillett Foundation is Australia’s leading cycling safety charity. Their vision is for zero bike rider deaths on Australian roads. 

Find out more about what #redroute5 has to offer here and the website of the Galway to Athlone Cycleway here. Below is my presentation:

There were a few questions posed during the panel discussion and the one that stood out for me was as follows – Your campaigns are great, but shouldn’t that be done by the local policy makers? I think it’s a good point, but I believe that sometimes grassroots community activists lead the way on topics to show the opportunity, and how working together can lead to real change.

The little city that could – Bike-sharing policy in Tartu
With a population of less than 100,000 persons, Tartu in Estonia may not be on anyone’s radar, as most bike share schemes focus on much larger populations. However, bike-sharing is very successful in Tartu because it is integrated with public transport. Once the user has a public transport pass, use of the bikes is free (or a very small charge). The result is that high school students were the biggest users! I talked to the presenter afterwards to find out if there was a breakdown in gender. As it turns out, there was no significant difference between boys and girls. Typically there are more boys cycling than girls, however this study shows that both genders equally used bikes.

NextBike Bike-sharing Scheme 
On that note, we were all given free access to a Nextbike, Leipzig’s main public bike-sharing company. I picked up my bike near the accommodation we were staying at. I still have to get used to seeing bikes parked at random places and the amount of graffiti in Leipzig!  There is  QR code at the back of the bike, and scanning the QR codes enables you to unlock the bikes – simples!

It was those bike locks that proved the weakest link in their bike-sharing scheme. Social media can be tricky… a TikTok video became viral where someone showed how you could smash the lock with a hammer and, in the space of a few days, their stock of functioning bikes went from 3000 to just 600. Eventually, they developed an in-house lock that was indestructible. A video was then made to show that no matter how hard you knocked on the lock with a hammer, the lock would not break. I never knew that vandalism is a real issue when operating a bike-sharing scheme! 

Public Realm: Practical  Workshop about a Leipzig junction
I found this one of the most interesting sessions as it was hands-on with real-life situations where we are asked to add public realm to what I would call a spaghetti junction somewhere in Leipzig where you have pedestrians, cyclists, trams , buses and, oh yes, cars:) There were a few questions to ask yourself: how would this new public realm make you feel, what use will this public realm have? As I am not an engineer, I found the maps hard to read, and as we started to understand what we were dealing with, our initial reaction was to just think about the cyclists. As this exercise was about public realm, it made me realize that when designing public realm projects you really have to design for all users and the status quo of traffic flow/speeds needs to be questioned. 

Finally
Thank you to Cyclist.ie for giving me the opportunity to attend. As always it was an invigorating conference with much knowledge sharing and proof that we are leading the transition! 

Note:
All images above were taken by Katleen Bell Bonjean except for the featured image which is an ECF photo – used with thanks to ECF.

International Posts, Irish Posts

Cyclist.ie in Corella 2023!

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Cyclist.ie is delighted to be part of a European Commission funded Erasmus+ project that involves seven partner organisations from Spain, Portugal, Poland and Ireland. Five of these are schools (two from Spain and one each from Portugal, Poland and Ireland), while the other two are bicycle advocacy groups – Biciclistas de Corella (based in Navarre in the North of Spain) and Cyclist.ie.

Following a call out to our members back in January, we gathered together a Cyclist.ie delegation of four to take part in the inaugural project meeting in Corella. The delegation comprised Emily from Leitrim Cycling Festival, Reg from Galway Cycling Campaign, Hugh from Dublin Cycling Campaign and Damien (National Cycling Coordinator with Cyclist.ie and An Taisce) – all up for an adventure in the North of Spain!

L-R: Reg, Emily, Damien and Hugh – the Cyclist.ie (and An Taisce) delegation!

In this article, our four Cyclist.ie ambassadors offer some reflections on the trip with each of the crew focusing on one of the action packed days. 

Hugh’s reflections – on Friday (19 May)
Our day started in the local school, IES Alhama, the host partner of the trip. The school is named after the Alhama river which flows through the town. We had a series of presentations from representatives of each of the seven partners. It was great to see the creative talents of the various groups, particularly the pupils presenting in a foreign language. This was a lovely ice-breaker, giving us all an introduction to the other partners. Not too serious, and setting the tone for the following few days.

The Mayor welcomes the Erasmus+ partners to Corella.

Next up, we cycled to the town-hall, where the Mayor welcomed us and presented us all with the town’s bandana. Viva!  

Now that we were suitably dressed, off we went for a cycle tour around the old narrow streets of Corella – perfect for bikes, and any cars on the route gave us plenty of time and space.

There were guides organised to show us around some of the old churches, beautifully adorned in gold.  Reg even got the keys to the castle, although they kept a close eye until he gave them back!

Once the tours were done, we were back on the road – there would be no rest on this trip! We had a bit of a bike-malfunction en route, but luckily we had plenty of experts on hand who were well used to such challenges. Well done Damien for coming to the rescue!

Team Erasmus+ on the case

Our next stop was to Erasmus Park, an area that was derelict ten years ago. The community came together and created a lake, and planted numerous trees – as also did participants on some of the subsequent Erasmus+ trips (including one of the trips that Cyclist.ie / An Taisce took part in back in early 2019 – see here). Wildlife returned and it is now a haven for biodiversity. 

There is a nursing home closeby, and the residents are brought out by the local Cycling Without Age pilots. Interestingly, they have a different name for the trishaws – they call them “Yayaclettas”, which translates as “Grannybikes” – as emblazoned on the side of Biciclistas de Corella’s support van! This is a much friendlier name and instantly understood.

Emily’s reflections – on Saturday (20 May)
Our itinerary on Saturday had us up and out early to get on a bus to Zaragoza – a city about an hour’s drive from Corella.

We arrived outside the city’s famous palace called the Aljafería where we were treated to a guided tour. The palace was home to the Muslims and then to the Christian Kings of the Kingdom of Aragon and is now where the parliament of the Region of Aragon is housed. It is an extremely beautiful and well preserved building.

Photo Credit: Biciclistas de Corella – https://www.facebook.com/BiciclistasdeCorella

After that we were taken to La Ciclería which is an inspiring bike workshop/cafe where you can bring your bikes and either use the workshop space and tools to repair your own bike or get it repaired by the in-house mechanics. While you’re there you can enjoy a coffee and cake. We were also treated to a speedy bike tour of the city which took us along the city’s river.

Hugh passing over the River Ebro in Zaragoza on one of its new bicycle bridges

As Reg comments further below, I had no expectations of the trip and I had a fantastic time. The ease of cycling around Corella and Zaragoza was wonderful. The food that we were offered was delicious and the kindness which the local people showed us was heartwarming. Even though Corella looked like a small town it was brimming with culture and history.

Damien’s reflections – on Sunday (21 May)
It was lovely being back in Corella after spending time with the gang from Biciclistas de Corella and IES Alhama back in 2019. It feels like a very long time ago with a pandemic sitting between the two visits. On the other hand, it felt like just a few months since I spent time with Tono, Cristina and Chiefly and co, such was their hospitality, friendship and general sense of mischief!  

Photo Credit: Biciclistas de Corella – https://www.facebook.com/BiciclistasdeCorella

Sunday was the hottest day of the trip and we headed off early on our 10-km Bike ride to Alfaro. The route taken was mainly on bone-try trails. We learned that the lack of rainfall in 2023 has been a real cause of concern to locals and is putting pressure on the irrigation systems needed for their allotments and wider food growing. 

Alfaro is well known for it storks, and especially the concentration of them nesting on the roof of the church. Directly across the road from the church is the stork interpretation centre where we learned that some of nests weigh close to 500kg. This puts serious pressure on the historic buildings. 

After cycling back to Corella and enjoying some fine outdoor dining and fresh produce, we had more little adventures later that evening visiting a cherry orchard and a vine-yard. 

Reg’s reflections – on Monday (22 May)
We were treated to a great intergenerational experience first thing Monday morning when we were met at Corella school by Santiago. He is 91 years young and he led us on the bicycle tour around the edge of the town to bring us to one of his two extremely well tended allotments. It was a lovely sight to see the students also on their bicycles following him. At the allotment he gave us a guided tour and we were able to pick some strawberries.

Reg holding the bespoke Cyclist.ie Insect Hotel

After this, we made our way to Villa Maria, the house and garden of local woman Maria, where we had spent some time earlier in the trip. Emily and Reg planted some pear trees.

Emily hard at work!

We then completed an operation to repair a broken limb on an almond tree.

Reg works for the national Ambulance Service in Ireland, but this was his first time repairing a tree limb. This turned out to be a bigger job than we thought, but together with the students we came up with a plan which was supervised by our Spanish host Maria. We had to utilise the materials on site – some bed sheets torn into strips being the main components but we also needed some long poles and lots of man and woman power to raise the branch to its original position. A local was passing and he remarked on how professional it looked. We also learned that almond trees produce a lot of sap.

The day was finished off with a trip to a local social enterprise who employ people with varying abilities.

I had no idea what to expect before I departed for the trip, but I really enjoyed my Erasmus+ experience. As an adult when you holiday or do trips it is difficult to meet locals and to get involved in the local community. However, from the first day to the final day of this trip, it was all about the local communities and engaging with them while doing different activities.

In Short
All four of the Cyclist.ie delegation really enjoyed the exchange and wish to pay a special thanks to our fabulous hosts for putting together such a diverse programme and making us so welcome. We look forward to meeting them in Waterford in June! 

Note that more photos on the trip can be seen on the Facebook page of Biciclistas de Corella – https://www.facebook.com/BiciclistasdeCorella  

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ECF AGM 2023 – Report by Jo Sachs Eldridge

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This year I was fortunate to be able to attend the ECF AGM as the representative of Cyclist.ie. It took place on 31 March and 01 April 2023. 

After my two days at the ECF AGM in Brussels, I better understand the role of this umbrella group and our place within it. I learnt lots, gathered stories and ideas for change. I saw things differently. I listened. I was proud of Ireland. And I drank some great beer. 

Here is the official report from ECF on the AGM. 

Some key take-aways from my experience include the following:

  1. There is, rightly, both much confusion and quiet excitement about the forthcoming Cycling Declaration(s), the EU Cycling Strategy, and the potential European Year of Cycling in 2024.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/9UoOdRgn3x_POg4vB_YqI88UckUAWpHK_bY67rsKHmmDaB5drRuna7DKOIiiwZkqhlXdsf30SihE4y5_TSV2E3fCefQAM9uLKGCy5DF50o_mLdYvMMYt6qoteqpWuOfgQUBEZc2mbgshLwAfo7CkyTk

Developments are well worth following as these strategies / declarations etc. have the potential to bring about greater emphasis, greater political will and more funding for cycling. 

The ECF has influenced the need for and wording of many of these strategies and declarations either directly and indirectly – highlighting their key role at the European level. 

  1. Building on ECF’s open letter at COP26, which was signed by 350+ organisations and managed to secure a last minute addition acknowledging the need for a wider system transformation, last year’s COP27 saw ECF presenting an open letter calling for more investment in walking and cycling to tackle the climate emergency. 400+ organisations from 73 countries signed it – including Cyclist.ie (see our article on this from Nov 2022 here).  

As a result of the COP26 open letter, ECF alongside Walk21 and other organisations co-founded PATH – Partnership of Active Travel and Health. This global coalition calls on governments to make a real commitment to and greater investment in walking and cycling as key solutions to climate, health and equity solutions. It also provides expertise that makes the case and can be a useful resource. 

  1. There was a useful workshop on the ECF re-branding and a panel discussion on membership – both of which are pertinent for us as we embark on our own re-branding and membership recruitment drive. 
  1. It was also great to see Ireland almost at the top of a cycling leader board! The image below shows the total annual investment in cycling per capita (in Euro per capita) – Ireland is second from the right behind Flanders and ahead of Norway, the Netherlands and Germany. We just need to help ensure that level of investment continues and results in quality infrastructure that has the potential to cater for real journeys. 
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/8otaDcDplVQ25o22axdItxyn_TB3wgcyAtVGg1k_Qqu6jqXTvWyOOcuICrXNywPPski-X50xg0LcZDjmijc4yoAdyou-VO00ADYgDg8sr2jJmxB-ew0q42JLA5xk83RsJ_kReJ2Op9xKBdbYLIjhG2Y
  1. I’m also pleased to report that Dr. Damien Ó Tuama, Cyclist.ie’s National Cycling Coordinator, was elected by members to sit on the ECF Nominations Committee. 

I would highly recommend attending an ECF AGM. 

The 2024 edition will take place in Zagreb, Croatia – get your names down quick!

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Cyclist.ie Space at Paramore’s Upcoming Dublin Gig

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Cyclist.ie is incredibly excited to have been contacted by REVERB, an environmental organization based in the US that works on music tours like The Lumineers, Billie Eilish, The 1975, and many more.

REVERB is partnering with the band Paramore on their tour of Ireland and the UK. The band is a supporter of environmental and social causes, and it is hosting a space in its Action Village that is reserved for local organizations to engage with fans about their work and mission. The Action Village will be inside the venue concourse and will be active from the time doors open until Paramore takes the stage. 

Cyclist.ie has been invited to host a space at their upcoming fully sold out show on Thursday, April 13 in the 3Arena (the old Point Depot!) and we will be receiving two passes for tabling staff to watch Paramore perform. 

We are offering one or else two lucky members of Cyclist.ie an opportunity to attend the show and to help us out at our space at the venue to talk to fans about the amazing work we do to make everyday cycling safe and easy and normal! We will have our Cyclist.ie / Dublin Cycling Campaign banners and flyers and display stands with us on the day (and possibly also our festival cargo bike if we can get it into the venue!). 

We would like to offer the ticket(s) to the biggest fan(s) of Paramore out there who are also committed cycling activists and who would love the opportunity to chat to many other Paramore fans at the gig!!

If you fit the description here, please drop a line to Damien Ó Tuama, our National Cycling Coordinator setting out your rock credentials and letting us know why you would love to come along. Deadline for contacting us is Monday 03 April. 

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Cyclist.ie Taking Part in Erasmus+ Project – Volunteers Sought

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Cyclist.ie has been successful with an Erasmus+ funding application to the European Commission, where we are one of seven partners collaborating on a brand new and exciting three year project. The name of it is Generations Pedaling for Inclusion and Climate Action or, in its abbreviated form, GenCy4In&ClimA. 

For those less familiar with it, Erasmus+ is the EU’s programme to support education, training, youth and sport in Europe. We are delighted with this news as it will enable us to deepen our connections with organisations doing good cycling / environmental advocacy work in several European countries, and to help nurture a new generation of cycling campaigners in Ireland. 

This story on our website summarises what the project is about, while this presentation (prepared by the lead organisation) provides more information on the partners (from Ireland, Spain, Portugal and Poland) and on the exchange trips happening in 2023, 2024 and 2025. And you can check out the brand new project website here (still under construction). Note that the main project themes (and work packages) are centred around Social Inclusion, Climate Action, Intergenerational Relationships and Cycling Promotion – all core campaigning areas for Cyclist.ie.   

Overall Project Coordinator: Toño Peña (in the whiteT-shirt) with his colleagues from the IES Alhama School

At this point, we want to find out if there are active members of our network who are interested in being part of the project. There will be a few different ways to get involved.

  • Firstly, we will need one or two people, in addition to Damien, to attend (at least some of) the online Project Team Meetings, where we all check in with each other (say, over 1 to 1.5 hours) and plan the next strands of the project. These meetings typically take place once every month or six weeks or so.

  • Secondly, we will be looking for participants to partake in, what are called, the LTTs (“Learning and Teaching Trips”) over the coming years. Cyclist.ie will be looking to send, maybe, 4/5/6 people on each trip (lasting 4 full days plus a day’s travel at either end – i.e. 6 days away in total per trip). The essence of these trips is doing multiple (mainly outdoor) learning activities with lots of people from different countries.

    The draft schedule of trips is as follows:
    – Corella (in Navarre, in the north of Spain), late March 2023
    [Update note of 31.01.2023. Dates still to be confirmed. Also a possibility that this trip will take place around / during the week commencing Mon 24 April. Will be confirmed ASAP.]
    – Waterford, last week in June 2023
    – Azambuja (just north of Lisbon, Portugal), Oct 2023 (date TBC)
    – Wodzislaw (in the south of Poland), Oct 2024 (date TBC)
    – Estella (also in Navarre, near Pamplona in the North of Spain), June 2025 (date TBC).

  • Thirdly, when the crew come to Dublin (sometime in late 2024) for the LTT, we will need plenty of helping hands to formulate and run a diverse programme with a focus on cycling advocacy / events, especially targeted at a youth / younger adult audience. The programme can plug into some events that we might be running anyway – all to be figured out. A decision about the date of the Dublin LTT meeting in 2024 will probably need to be made by mid/late 2023.

  • Forth, there will be blogging work to do in between the LTTs. This will include penning stories for the project blog (reporting, for example, on what is happening in Ireland on various cycling advocacy fronts and linking to articles on https://cyclist.ie/ and https://www.dublincycling.com/), proofing articles drafted by those without English as a first language, posting articles and social media pieces about the LTT trips to our own platforms, and other bits and pieces.

  • Finally, we will need a hand on the admin and project management side – mainly around making sure we get a good spread of our people attending the LTT trips, and keeping a careful track of expenses etc. This item links back to the first one above (on Project Team Meetings). 

We are assuming that we may have more people interested in taking part in each LTT than there will be spaces available, so the Cyclist.ie Executive Committee (EC) is developing a fair and simple system to figure out who goes on the trips (and acts as ambassadors for Cyclist.ie). In Appendix I below, you can see the criteria we propose to use to assess applications (for the first trip anyway – we may tweak it subsequently). We also wish to flag it up here that we will require everyone going on trips away to be Garda Vetted in advance because five of the seven partner organisations are secondary schools. We will formalise the process around this soon, but in the meantime you might like to check out this ‘Garda Vetting’ web page.  

As above, the first LTT will take place in Corella in the North of Spain from Thu 23 to Tue 28 March inclusive. [Update note of 31.01.2023. Dates still to be confirmed. Also a possibility that this trip will take place around / during the week commencing Mon 24 April. Will be confirmed ASAP.]

The trip will comprise four full days of activities, plus a day for travel at either end) and we expect we will be sending, maybe, 4, 5 or 6 people from Cyclist.ie on the trip. The trips will be fully paid for – to include travel, accommodation, food and all of the various indoor and outdoor activities. Note that with the new ferry services from Ireland to the north of Spain, which now take foot passengers and cyclists, we may look into weighing up the pros and cons of traveling over land and sea, as against flying, from the perspective of low carbon travel (but we will also consider the travel time and costs involved for each option, and hence the numbers of delegates we can support).

Members of Biciclistas de Corella (local cycling campaigners) at an event in Corella Town Square

We are now seeking expressions of interest (EoI) from potential participants in attending this first LTT in Corella at the end of March, which promises to be an action-packed trip!

We ask that you submit a short letter of application (no more than two pages long) which explains why you would like to go on the trip and which responds to the criteria listed in Appendix I below. Please email [email protected] by latest Tuesday (night) 7th of Feb 2023 with your letter attached.

A sub-committee, comprising reps from the Cyclist.ie Executive Committee and from the board of DCC CLG / Cyclist.ie, will assess the applications, aiming to revert to (successful) applicants ASAP so that we can book our travel arrangements without delay.  

Please discuss this opportunity with colleagues in your local cycling advocacy group as soon as possible. If you have any questions on any of the above, please email Damien by 6pm on Wed 25 Jan. Note that if there is lots of interest in the project or questions on the above, we may organise a special Zoom meeting (most likely during the week commencing Mon 30 Jan). 

Many thanks. 

Damien

Dr. Damien Ó Tuama
National Cycling Coordinator, Cyclist.ie http://cyclist.ie/ and An Taisce https://www.antaisce.org/
The Tailors’ Hall
Back Lane
Dublin D08 X2A3
Ireland
E:  [email protected] 

Appendix I – Criteria for Assessing Applications for Partaking in the first LTT trip to Corella in Spain 

CriterionFurther Details / Background / ExplanationMarks (out of 100)
1.Member of a Cyclist.ie Member GroupThe current list of groups is here. Please confirm that you are a member of your local cycling advocacy group – and include a copy of a short email from your group Chairperson or Coordinator confirming that (i) you are a member of that group and (ii) your Chair / Coordinator supports your application for being an ambassador for Cyclist.ie on the LTT.  Mandatory
2. Active in your local groupPlease describe in your letter of application what you have been active in within your own cycle campaigning / advocacy group, particularly over the last year. Extra marks for those who have been on the organising / Executive Committee of the local group and/or of Cyclist.ie.   35
3.  Enthusiasm, experience working with younger groups and broader skills!  The Erasmus+ trips are very much convivial gatherings of diverse people, brought together under common themes – in this case social inclusion, climate action, intergenerational relationships and cycling promotion / advocacy. If you are especially sociable / easy to get along with, or perhaps you play an instrument or sing a song or do a dance, or have experience working with younger groups (maybe in outdoor settings), please let us know in your application! These ‘softer skills’ are valued a lot in this project where it’s all about nurturing exchange between diverse groups. 35
4. Younger adults Erasmus+ focuses particularly on the youth and younger adults (see here), so we are especially keen that within the Cyclist.ie delegation we have at least some members who are under 30 years of age. Let us know if you are under 30 (but also 18 years or over). 10
5. Language SkillsThere are partners on the project from Spain, Portugal and Poland so it would be advantageous if you have (even basic) conversational Spanish, Portuguese or Polish. Please let us know in your application. 10
6. Organised / Can help out with some basic adminBesides the trips themselves, there is an amount of admin support work to help to manage the project well – plus a need to post lively / informative web articles and blog posts. Let us know in your letter of application if you are prepared to help out with this and/or if you have experience writing articles of various types. You will receive guidance and training on this as needed / appropriate.10
Additional Criterion to be used in assessing all applications collectively, after the initial individual assessment has been completed
7DiversityFor this project, we are keen for the Cyclist.ie delegation to be diverse in every sense of the term. We are especially keen to have a good spread of active members of our network from all around the country, both urban and rural, with a good gender balance and mix of backgrounds. Do please tell us a bit about yourself in your application! To be considered before final team is chosen
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Playback: Developing and Cycling EuroVelo Route #1

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Listen back to a special online public meeting jointly hosted by Cyclist.ie and Dublin Cycling Campaign on Tue 15 November 2022 on the topic of EuroVelo Route 1 (EV#1) in Ireland, also known as the Atlantic Coast Cycling Route.

Our speakers were Doug Corrie from Sport Ireland, who explained the context around the development of EV#1 and the main considerations in identifying, signing and improving the route, and Florence Lessard, who tuned in from the North Coast of Quebec to share her experiences of cycling EV#1 and camping along the way.

You can see the original notice for the meeting and more information about the speakers here. 

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Developing and Cycling EuroVelo Route 1

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On Tuesday 15 November 2022 (8pm), Cyclist.ie and Dublin Cycling Campaign will jointly host a very special online public meeting on the topic of EuroVelo Route 1 (EV#1) in Ireland, also known as the Atlantic Coast Cycling Route. You can register to attend here (with registrations closing at 6pm on Tue 15 Nov).

EV#1 is the long distance signed cycling route running along the coasts of Norway, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, England, France, Spain and into Portugal (see below and here), and it is one of 17 EuroVelo routes being developed across Europe as coordinated by the European Cyclists’ Federation.   

The emerging EuroVelo network

We will have two extremely well qualified presenters on the night. 

Firstly, we will have Doug Corrie from Sport Ireland who works with their Outdoors unit. Doug has spent the last number of years liaising and engaging closely with the 10 Irish Local Authorities, through which the route runs, so as to identify the optimal route.

While the signing of the route is now nearing completion, the route itself will evolve over the coming years as new greenways come on stream and other interventions are advanced by local Councils. This will improve the cycling experience and widen its appeal to a more diverse set of users. At the presentation, Doug will explain the context around the development of EV#1 and the main considerations in identifying, signing and improving the route. 

Doug Corrie from Sport Ireland

Our second speaker, Florence Lessard, will be tuning in live from the North Coast of Quebec, having recently returned to Canada after cycling almost the complete EV#1 Irish route. Her journey ran from Rosslare, County Wexford, and on through the counties of Waterford, Cork, Kerry, Clare, Galway, Mayo, Sligo, Donegal, Derry and Antrim – and finishing up in Belfast.

Florence will share her experiences of cycling EV#1 and camping along the way. Some images giving a taster of her trip can be seen below. Florence has cycle toured widely in Quebec and also has considerable hiking experience including in the national parks of New Zealand.

Florence Lessard on her journey in Ireland.

The event will take place online (at 8pm Irish time and 3pm Quebec time) on Tue 15 November 2022. You can register to attend via this link here. 

For more on the EuroVelo European Cycle Route Network, see here. 

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COP27 – Cyclist.ie Supports Call for Prioritisation of Active Travel

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The UN Climate Change Conference, COP27, kicked off yesterday in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, launching two weeks of negotiations to deliver on the goals of the Climate Convention and the Paris Agreement. 

The European Cyclists’ Federation, of which Cyclist.ie is the member for Ireland, will be there representing the cycling movement, and joining a global coalition – the Partnership for Active Travel and Health (PATH), comprising leading organisations in the sustainable mobility community.  

The COP27 PATH letter is calling on governments and cities to commit to prioritising and investing more in walking and cycling through Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and integrated strategies.

Cyclist.ie is very happy to have its name added to the letter which can be read below.

On the occasion of the COP27 climate conference, the Partnership for Active Travel and Health, alongside supporters of more walking and cycling, issue this letter to governments and cities:

We call on governments and cities to invest more in walking and cycling to achieve climate goals and improve people’s lives

Enabling more people to walk and cycle safely is essential to achieving the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, yet walking and cycling lack priority in the transport and mobility mix and the wider climate agenda.

A truly sustainable mobility paradigm must include a much larger share of investment in walking and cycling. Enabling a bigger share of urban trips to be walked and cycled is a quick, affordable and reliable way to significantly reduce transport emissions, traffic congestion and road casualties, and will also deliver improved public health, stronger economies and fairer societies.

Transport is responsible for 27% of global carbon emissions and is the sector with the strongest growth in emissions. Road vehicles account for nearly three quarters of transport CO2 emissions and these numbers are not decreasing. However, the potential for replacing motorised vehicle trips with walking and cycling is huge and within our grasp.

60% of urban trips across the globe are shorter than 5 kilometres, with more than half of them currently travelled by motorised vehicles. Walking and cycling could replace a significant proportion of these short trips. Electric bicycles expand this potential further still, and walking or cycling 30 minutes a day is enough to meet WHO minimum health requirements and reduce the risk of premature death by 20 to 30%.

With COP27 being hosted in Africa, it is worth noting that across the continent walking is already the primary mode of transport for the majority of people. Up to 78% walk every day – often because they have no other choice. And they put their lives at risk the moment they step out of their homes due to roads dominated by speeding cars, missing sidewalks, makeshift crossings and high-polluting vehicles. By 2050, low and middle income countries will own over two-thirds of the world’s cars. With that comes an increasing urgency for even greater investment in safe walking and cycling infrastructure.

For all of these reasons, the Partnership for Active Travel and Health, together with the undersigned organisations, strongly appeal to national and city governments to commit to prioritising and investing in walking and cycling, through Nationally Determined Contributions and integrated and coherent strategies, including plans, funding and concrete actions for:

– Infrastructure – to make walking and cycling safe, accessible and easy to do.
– Campaigns – to support a shift in people’s mobility habits.
– Land use planning – to ensure proximity and quality of access to everyday services on foot and by bike.
– Integration with public transport – to underpin sustainable mobility for longer trips.
– Capacity building – to enable the successful delivery of effective walking and cycling strategies that have measurable impact.

We are convinced that placing walking and cycling at the very heart of global, national and local strategies to address climate change will not only contribute to meeting urgent climate goals, but will also improve the lives of people all over the world.

For more information, facts and figures, read our report: Make way for walking and cycling

The full list of signatories to the letter can be found at https://pathforwalkingcycling.com/cop27/.