The European Commission has declared Ljubljana the winner of the European Mobility Week Award, praising it for setting up an extensive programme of activities promoting sustainable travel, and for introducing permanent measures in favour of public transport, cycling and walking.
Rivas Vaciamadrid in Spain has moreover been picked as the winner of the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan Award. The two cities were presented the awards in Brussels on Monday by Commission Vice-President Siim Kallas and Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik of Slovenia.
Ljubljana was hailed for maintaining a consistent focus on the 2013 theme - "Clean Air, It's Your Move", for successfully engaging a wide variety of stakeholders, including research centres, schools, kindergartens, sports associations and citizens associations.
By extending the existing noise and air quality measurements, Ljubljana was able to get a better overview of the impact of motorised traffic on public health and quality of life, the Commission moreover wrote.
The Slovenian capital, which already won the award in 2003, also used the occasion to carry out research on travel behaviour and gather data on bicycle use.
On the occasion of car free day, Ljubljana restricted car access to Slovenska Street, one of the main boulevards of the city that was heavily affected by car traffic. This area will now be gradually redesigned as a pedestrian zone, the Commission pointed out.
The European Mobility Week Award, rewarding the local authority which most actively promotes sustainable travel and introduces new measures to encourage a shift towards sustainable urban transport, received 30 applications from 12 countries in 2013.
Source: TheSloveniaTimes
