11 cities on 2 wheels for 3 years The Nordic Cycle Cities Project – Experience and results

1 Foreword Contents

11 Nordic communities join together to promote cycling Foreword...... 2 Cycling is a healthy and environmentally friendly transport mode; it im- proves public health and reduces CO2 emissions from transport. For this The Nordic Cycle Cities Concept...... 4 reason 11 Nordic communities in , and decided to join together in a cooperative venture to encourage cycling in the - Bicycle Account...... 6 Skagerak region. Bicycle Strategy...... 8 The interregional project was co-financed by the European Regional Devel- opment Fund IVA program for the Kattegat-Skagerak region. Bicycle Action Plan...... 10

The participating were: Children on Bikes...... 12 • Denmark: (lead partner), , , and Viborg • Norway: (Norwegian project owner) and Cycling to Work...... 14 • Sweden: Mölndal (Swedish coordinating partner), , , and Astra Zeneca’s Cycling Motivator ...... 16

Cycling addresses major challenges Serving Cyclists Better...... 17 In recent years politicians and public authorities have been confronted with a number of major challenges including rising health care costs and interna- Security and Safety...... 18 tional regulations aimed at reducing CO2 emissions. Nordisk Bicycle Day...... 21 Experience from other cycle city projects shows that investing in cycling significantly improves public health, resulting in significantly lower health Press Cuttings...... 22 care costs. Furthermore, when citizens switch from cars to bicycles road congestion and CO2 emissions drop. Making cycling a priority is a forward Summing Up...... 23 looking, win-win solution.

The cornerstone of the project was to develop new approaches through in- novative knowledge sharing, collaboration and concept development. The project partners met regularly throughout the entire period to learn from each other’s and other players’ experiences so as to be better equipped to successfully deal with the challenges of promoting cycling locally.

Ownership and anchorage Throughout the project the partners focused on creating political commit- ment and ownership of the promotion of bicycle transport and on solidly anchoring it in the municipal organization. The project also focused on creating campaigns and activities for citizens, the purpose of which was to encourage drivers to switch from cars to bicycles as their daily transport mode.”

In the present publication we’ve collected the experience gained in the pro- ject and give specific examples of the activities we organized. It is the hope of the other project participants and myself that other cycle cities, present and future, may find here a systematic, structured framework that will prove useful in their own efforts to promote cycling.

We hope you enjoy it.

Published by Frederikshavn , May 2012

Lars Møller Finn Rasmussen Text and layout: Project manager Lead Partner, Lead Partner, Frederikshavn Municipality Frederikshavn Municipality 2 3 The Nordic Cycle Cities Concept

For us, the main thing is that Nordic Cycle Cities got cycling onto etween 2009-2011 11 Nordic ” the political and municipal agenda to a far greater extent than be- communities collaborated on the interregional Project Nor- fore. Drawing up the bicycle action plan gave us a concrete plan B for addressing 7 focus areas and the structured approach to bicy- dic Cycle Cities, the aim of which was to encourage more citizens to cle strategy, the bicycle action plan and the bicycle accounts really cycle. Bicycle Account seems to have given the coming cycling budget allocations a major

The 11 communities found them- boost. The Nordic Cycle Cities project is almost over, but it feels as selves facing a host of challenges though it’s just starting. when it came to cycling: Ulf Bredby, project manager, Nordic Cycle Cities, Mölndal.

• Fewer and fewer people use bicycles as a transport mode. • CO2 emissions from motorized traffic are on the rise. • Health care costs resulting from physical inactivity among citizens Bicycle Action Plan Bicycle Strategy are on the rise. Interregional collaboration and ex- range of professional disciplines opener for many of the participants, • Cycling promotion is often a change of experience (traffic engineering, urban planning, showing them what a systematic random, ad hoc affair. The aim of bringing 11 Nordic mu- climate, health, tourism, and com- and holistic approach to cycling can nicipalities together was that they munications) deepened the collabo- achieve. These were the challenges the three should each impart new knowledge, ration, creating a positive synergis- year Nordic Cycle Cities project set share their experience from former tic effect out to address. The aim of the pro- cycling initiatives, and gain new in- ject was to devise common meth- sights from working on the project. Working groups odologies and solutions in order to Working groups were established create a solid foundation for future Organizational anchorage The three core documents are: from the outset to serve as focal cycling promotion. To achieve this and political ownership The best part of the collabo- points for the discussions and ex- the 11 municipalities developed a The primary aim of Project Nordic • A bicycle account, or balance ” ration with the other Nordic change of ideas. There were four three pronged strategy: Cycle Cities was to create a solid sheet, which contains key perfor- countries was the professional working groups: Children on bikes, platform for future cycling promo- mance indicators for bicycle trans- feedback. It was fantastic cycling to work, security and safety, Nordic Cycle Cities, in contrast to • Quality assurance and systema- tion in each of the 11 communities by port, ensures knowledge building, how it made us see things and serving cyclists better. The former cycle city projects, focused on tization of cycling promotion. drawing up a number of core strate- and provides a solid foundation for differently when we were working groups’ mandate was to small and medium sized communities. • Citizen activities such as promo- gic documents that would establish drawing up a bicycle strategy and back at work planning cycling provide a survey of existing experi- The communities differed from each tional campaigns, information political commitment and ownership action plan. promotion. The discussions ence in their own working area and other in terms of size, demographic and events. of cycling promotion and ensure • A bicycle strategy, which defines made us question our own develop new ideas for concrete makeup and topography. The 11 municipalities are: • Investing in a bicycle friendly that it was solidly anchored in the the visions, goals, objectives, and legislation. The network and citizen-oriented local activities. urban environment. entire municipal organization across focus areas for bicycle transport. the exchange of experience Denmark: all disciplines. • A bicycle action plan, which among all 11 of us were invalu- • Frederikshavn (Lead partner) operationalizes the strategy into Inspiration able; this is something we’ll be • Viborg Process plans concrete actions and timelines. able to use for many years to The project involved three annual • Silkeborg A key element of the interregional collaboration was a jointly developed process plan come. meetings to exchange knowledge • Randers for drawing up the bicycle strategy and bicycle action plan, and the bicycle account. This systematic, holistic approach to Gitte Merstrand, project and ideas. In addition, study trips Drawing on the experience of other cycle cities, the participants drew up their own cycling promotion was highly suc- manager, Nordic Cycle Cities, were arranged to and , Norway: joint process development plan as the starting point for the individual municipality’s cessful in anchoring the project po- . generally considered to be two of • Kristiansand work. litically and administratively in the Europe’s leading cycle cities. • Sandefjord local communities, which was one of The ongoing professional discus- One of the main focus areas of the planning process is to promote citizen and stake- Sweden: the main objectives of the project. sions and exchange of ideas were a Both cities have been successful in holder involvement so as to create a broad basis for cycling promotion. Some munici- • Varberg source of inspiration to the partici- establishing a cycling infrastruc- palities chose to follow the process plans to the letter while others adapted them to • Mölndal local conditions and only followed selected elements. See the actual process plans pants and ensured a high standard ture, giving priority to cyclists, and • Svenljunga for bicycle strategy, bicycle action plans and bicycle accounts at of cycling promotion in the indi- encouraging more people to cycle • Mariestad www.nordiskecykelbyer.dk. vidual municipalities. The fact that by means of information and cam- • Tranemo the participants represented a wide paigns. The visits were a real eye

4 5 Bicycle Account Bicycle Account

bicycle account is a key ele- Citizen satisfaction Satisfaction with the municipality as a cycle city 2010 ment of systematic cycling The 11 municipalities conducted citi- (excellent/good) planning, and forms the ba- zen surveys in connection with the A 100 sis for the bicycle strategy’s overall bicycle accounts of 2009 and 2010. goals and objectives, and the bicy- Cykelregnskab 2010 Among other things, the surveys 85% cle action plan’s concrete initiatives. asked cyclists to rate their overall 80 It provides a number of perfor- satisfaction with various local cycling mance indicators and a survey on facilities. Cykelåret i Mölndal 2010 57% 57% 57% how citizens rate the municipality’s 60 Cykelbokslut 49% performance when it comes to cy- As the diagram shows, there is con- 45% 42% 42% cling. siderable variation in citizen satisfac- 41% 39% tion. Varberg has a top rating: 85% 40 31% What do cyclists think? of cyclists are satisfied with the mu- Cyclists themselves are the best nicipality as a cycle city. Second best judges of cycling facilities, which is are two Norwegian communities and 20 why a major element of a bicycle Frederikshavn where cyclist satisfac- account is a citizen survey targeting tion is almost 60%. The other munici- 0 Frederikshavn Kristiansand Mariestad Mölndal Randers Sande ord Silkeborg Svenljunga Tranemo Varberg Viborg local cyclists and non-cyclists con- 1 palities rank between 40-50% with cerning their transport habits, their Mariestad ranking lowest; here only reasons for choosing their preferred 31% of cyclists are satisfied. Antagen av gatunämnden transport mode, and, especially, what could motivate them to cycle Citizen satisfaction data is primar- more. In addition, citizens are asked ily of interest to the individual local to point out specific locations where authority, which can use the data to they feel unsafe or insecure, where prioritize resources and initiatives. If cycle tracks are lacking or in poor the local authority conducts the sur- More cyclists in Sandefjord = NOK 25 million annual profit condition, where bicycle parking fa- veys on an ongoing basis the bicycle In Silkeborg, before Project Nordic Cycle Cities, we had Sandefjord is an excellent example of how a bicycle cilities are inadequate, etc. account can be useful in document- ” neither a bicycle account nor any other report on the account is an effective instrument for prioritizing cy- state of cycling facilities. But as we worked with the ing whether the initiatives have had cling initiatives. The Norwegian national travel habit The Nordic cycle cities drew up two bicycle account we systematized the data collection the desired impact and whether the surveys and regional cycle city surveys have carried bicycle accounts during the course process for the first time by simultaneously counting bicycle strategy objectives have been out bicycle transport measurements since 2005 and of the project, of which two citizen the number of bicycle parking places, the number of achieved. can document an 81-92% increase in bicycle transport surveys were an integral compo- kilometres of cycle track, and by collecting other local between 2006 -2010. In 2005 4.4% of all journeys nent. Keeping regular tabs on the were cycled; cycling data. We were also able to carry out many bicy- Bicycle Account spurs Randers in 2009 the figure had risen to 8%. The Norwegian effect of cycling initiatives enables cle counts at various locations thanks to Interreg, which to action Board of Health evaluated the cost-benefit effects of the local authorities to evaluate co-financed 8 new counting stations. In 2009 the Randers bicycle account the increased use of bicycles and calculated that the their success in achieving their ob- Jane Næsborg, engineer, Technical and Environmental showed that only 26% of cyclists annual benefit of cycling was NOK 25 million. jectives so it’s an excellent idea to Administration, Silkeborg Municipality. were satisfied with cycle track and draw up a bicycle account every cycle lane maintenance (road surface, two years. sweeping and snow clearance.) This resulted in the local authorities allo- cating funds to prioritize maintenance and improve cycling facilities. What data is typically included in a bicycle account? • Data from survey of travel habits • Data from citizen satisfaction surveys concerning attitudes to cycling, obstacles to cycling, and satisfaction with local cycling facilities • Road safety data • Local traffic count data if possible The Nordic cycle cities drew up a joint process plan for developing bicycle accounts. For further information see www.nordiskecykelbyer.dk

Photo: 6 7 Bicycle Strategy

number of the participating municipalities had previously Adrawn up cycle track plans or transport plans which would I think what was most productive for us in Kristian- often contain a section or two on ” sand was working with the bicycle strategy and the bicycle transport. However, prior to bicycle action plan. The work was productive since it the project none of the cities had resulted in major funding to expand the cycle track any experience working strategical- network. The objective to double bicycle transport ly and holistically with bicycle trans- within 10 years has been incorporated into other port. Drawing up an overall bicycle plans and strategies. Working with Nordic Cycle Cit- strategy was therefore a challenge ies has strengthened all regional cycling promotion to everyone. efforts, and the contact with the other Nordic cities has proved invaluable; it really gave us a profes- What is a bicycle strategy? sional boost. A bicycle strategy aims at focusing, Siri Gilbert, project manager, Kristiansand Municipality systematizing and prioritizing bicy- cle transport initiatives. It contains: • The municipality’s vision for bicycle transport Political ownership is and stakeholders so as to be able • Prioritized focus areas a prerequisite to identify any special interests and • Concrete, measurable objectives The first step when it comes to obstacles in relation to future cy- formulating a bicycle strategy is to cling promotion activities. The strategy must be politically ap- gain an overview of existing policies proved to ensure that it is solidly and plans to ensure that the strat- On the basis of the stakeholder anchored in the municipal organiza- egy is in line with other municipal analysis the cities established refer- Photo: tion and in line with other municipal visions, objectives and focus areas. ence groups consisting of ordinary initiatives. Politicians must be involved so they citizens and other stakeholders, can feel ownership for the bicycle such as local cyclists, cycle clubs, it’s important to align expectations interest organizations and municipal All 11 of the Nordic cycle cities for- strategy. recreational clubs, trade associa- from the outset so that participants employees. The participants were mulated bicycle strategies on the tions, and major employment nodes. are aware of the degree of partici- given the task of formulating a joint basis of a long-term process focus- One way of working with holistic The aim of the reference groups was pation they may expect. future vision of Viborg as a cycle The Vision seminar was fan- ing on citizen and stakeholder in- cycling promotion is to establish to ensure that the city’s cycling ini- city and of providing ideas for focus ” tastic because we got so volvement, the aim of which was to an internal working group within tiatives were broadly anchored and Viborg’s vision areas on the basis of a report on the many different stakeholders ensure widespread support for the the local authority including repre- that local resources and competen- Since citizens are the ones who current status of bicycle transport. to get together at a meeting bicycle strategy from citizens, politi- sentatives from different sections cies were effectively utilized. know best what cycling in town is to discuss Viborg as a cycle cians and other stakeholders. and administrations such as health, like, an obvious step is to involve The participants discussed visions, city. The turnout was impres- climate, operations, children, young Project experience shows that there them in the process. focus areas and objectives for Vi- sive and the general enthu- The project partners jointly developed people, etc. This gives cycling pro- was a lively external interest in join- borg, cycle city of the future. Work- siasm helped boost bicycle and tested a process plan focusing on motion a political and organizational ing the reference groups. Unfortu- In Viborg the local council held a 4- shop facilitation successfully raised a high level of citizen and stakeholder transport in Viborg. We now legitimacy within the municipal or- nately it turned out that it was diffi- hour vision seminar for citizens, pol- the level of debate from discuss- involvement. For the most part eve- have a firm foundation for a ganization across sections and ad- cult for the 11 Nordic cycle city pro- iticians, external stakeholders and ing the details of local cycle track ryone followed the main steps of the broad collaboration on cycling process plan below : ministrations. ject managers to find time to meet internal staff across administrations. construction to formulating future promotion, which means that 1. Overview and analysis regularly with the reference groups, 65 people participated in the semi- visions, focus areas and concrete cycling promotion in Viborg 2. Stakeholder analysis Listen to different interests and which was subsequently a source of nar, including citizens, politicians, objectives. extends far beyond the Roads 3. Vision seminar exploit local resources! disappointment for the participants. and Transport administration’s 4. Drafting the cycle strategy Many people have an opinion on area of responsibility. 5. Workshop – input for defining ob- and an interest in cyclists and cy- A number of participants stated A Nordic Cycle Cities result Anders Korsbæk Jensen, jectives cling facilities. To meet them half- that the group’s potential to act In the municipalities where the project managers focused on carrying deputy chairman, 6. Drawing up the cycle strategy way the majority of the cycle cities as active ambassadors for cycling out stakeholder analyses and organizing workshops for citizens, col- Technical Committee. 7. Hearing performed stakeholder analyses as promotion could have been better leagues, external stakeholders and politicians, two results were noted: 8. Political approval and PR a component of the bicycle strategy exploited, especially during cam- • Political and organizational support of the bicycle strategy and the process. The aim of the analysis was paigns. Reference groups are there- bicycle action plan increased. The bicycle strategy process plan may • Cycling promotion objectives became more ambitious. be downloaded at: to provide an overview of internal fore highly recommended. However, www.nordiskecykelbyer.dk and external competencies, resources

8 9 Bicycle Action Plan

Preparing the bicycle action plan helped us to think in bicycle action plan formu- ” completely new ways in Tranemo. We see the whole pic- lates the concrete actions ture now, not just the infrastructure. By drawing up a that must be implemented in bicycle action plan that solidly documents the need for cy- A cle tracks we got SEK 3 million from the state to establish order to achieve the bicycle strat- egy’s goals and objectives. Actions cycle tracks along state roads. Without a solid foundation and initiatives are described and pri- like the bicycle action plan it’s very unlikely that we would oritized, including when the actions have got so much funding so fast. will take place and who is responsi- Lars Vesterlund, second deputy director, ble. The Bicycle Action Plan can also municipal administration, Tranemo Municipality contain budget considerations, but not necessarily.

A bicycle action plan is an impor- In addition to the Technical and En- deal of time and energy was in- tant instrument for politicians and vironmental administration’s own vested in the process of drawing up the administration when it comes to sections (Planning, Nature and the the plan. In the early phases of the municipal budget negotiations since Environment, Roads and Transport), collaboration with the other Nordic what the bicycle action plan pro- the working group consisted of cycle cities, Randers was already vides is precisely a prioritized list of representatives of the administra- developing a bicycle path plan; the concrete actions aimed at support- tions for Health, Schools, Culture internal working group followed this ing and complying with the politi- and Leisure, as well as the cross up with a more holistic bicycle ac- Photo: Varberg Municipality cally approved objectives. administrative unit Business and De- tion plan focusing on bicycle trans- velopment. The cross collaboration port based on a cross disciplinary Cross-disciplinary collaboration on helped extend the scope of cycling approach. This meant, for exam- The “Unmixed Benefits” Facebook and Twit- the bicycle action plan in Randers promotion; the focus was no longer ple, that promotional campaigns Campaign in Varberg ter. There’s a bicycle The municipality of Randers was on merely drawing up cycle track and health promoting initiatives at In Varberg, working with the bicycle journey planner on interested in putting cycling on the plans, but on engaging more citi- schools and day care centres were strategy and action plan resulted the homepage as agenda in the whole municipality. zens in cycling. written into the bicycle action plan. in one comprehensive initiative: the well, making it easy The idea was to create networks and The bicycle action plan was thus “Unmixed Benefits” (Bare Fördelar) to combine cycling ownership of the common cause Reaping the fruits of cross much more than a bicycle path plan campaign. Project manager Annie with other transport across the municipal organization disciplinary collaboration which would have solely focused on Friberg confirms that working sys- modes. and across professional bounda- From the outset there was a com- extending and improving the bicy- tematically has given continuity to ries. Drawing up the bicycle action mon interest in Randers in promot- cle path network. Instead, the focus the city’s cycling initiatives: plan for Nordic Cycle Cities inspired ing bicycle transport and a general of the Bicycle Strategy and Action “The assessment showed that we Randers to establish a cross- disci- will to ensure that this was solidly Plan was “to encourage more citi- were working with a number of dif- plinary internal working group. anchored in the community. A great zens to move more”. ferent projects, but there was no common thread, so we decided to The meticulous work involved in focus on cycling so as to try and Part of the project was to develop a process plan for drawing establishing the working group build up something lasting requiring up the bicycle action plan. Like the bicycle strategy process paid off. Roads and Transport is no continuity.” Silkeborg will not stop giving priority to plan, it is based on a high degree of citizen and stakeholder in- longer the only project manager ” cycling and road safety just because the volvement. The process plan consists of the following phases: for cycling initiatives. For example, The campaign focuses on the un- project has ended; cycling is in focus now, 1. User needs analysis the Danish Cyclists’ Federation ap- mixed benefits of being a cyclist. in the committee and in the organization. 2. Internal working group workshop and reference group proached Roads and Transport with The hub is the homepage www. workshop Frank Borch-Olsen, chairman, Roads and an offer to train day care teachers barafordelar.se where all Varberg 3. Draw up a catalogue of ideas Transport Committee, Silkeborg Municipality. for the new mobile bicycle play- cycling information is gathered. 4. Internal workshop to prioritize initiatives Here cyclists can download a mobile 5. Draft a proposal for the bicycle action plan ground. At the time Roads and 6. Hearing Transport didn’t have the capacity application to challenge themselves 7. Approval of the bicycle action plan to manage the project, but all it took and their friends to cycle more by For further information and to download the process plan was a phone call to the contact per- recording each kilometre they cy- please visit: www.nordiskecykelbyer.dk son in the health administration for cle and comparing results. The app them to embrace the idea instead. is linked to social media such as

10 11 Our collaboration in the working group was a source of inspiration ” to everyone who participated, and was of great value when we were planning the campaigns. It provided a platform for our dis- cussions that I think we all benefited from. For me personally, be- ing part of the working group really opened my eyes to campaigns targeting children. We have very few such platforms (if any) in our own community, which is why I feel that our meetings in the working group were so exciting and professionally rewarding. Ole Jakob Hansen, project manager, Nordic Cycle Cities, Sandefjord.

ferent day care centres and play cy- schools. Prizes were awarded each “green days”, which means that cling games with the children. week. virtually everyone cycled, walked or took the bus to school. Since Before Nordic Cycle Cities, balance Both campaigns resulted in a signifi- only children with a long school bikes were an unknown concept to cant increase in the number of chil- route would take the bus, the ma- Swedish and Norwegian traffic plan- dren that cycled to school, as well jority of the students either cycled ners. The Danish municipalities had as an increased awareness among or walked. We got a lot of positive excellent experience arranging bal- students, teachers and parents of feedback during the campaign, and ance bike events for toddlers, which the benefits of cycling. the schools noted that there was gave other municipalities, including less traffic chaos in the morning.” Mariestad, the idea of doing the Sandefjord project manager Ole same. Jakob Hansen has this to say about Several members of the working the effect of All-Green School group were so enthusiastic about “I had never heard of balance bikes Routes: “The figures speak for the Svenljunga and Sandefjord re- for toddlers before, and it was a themselves. 1000 out of 3500 stu- sults that they are planning on im- real revelation to see the good dents in Sandefjord participated plementing similar measures in their Photo: Randers Municipality experience Denmark had teach- in the campaign in 2011. A great own communities in the future. ing children to cycle on balance many classes achieved almost 100% bikes, by playing. We found it very Children on Bikes inspiring and bought a number of balance bikes through Nordic Cycle HELT GRØNN SKOLEVEI! HVA? TRYGG AKTIV OG Cities, which we lend out to day MILJØVENNLIG Helt grønn skolevei! er en kampanje for at barna på barneskolene i SKOLEVEI! Platform for discussion and ex- examples targeting children avail- Good cycling habits are like a care centres, and we’ve organized Sandefjord i størst mulig grad skal komme seg til og fra skolen på HVORDAN KOMMER en miljøvennlig måte. Barna skal oppmuntres og premieres for å Helt ! DU DEG MILJØVENNLIG able on EU databases and websites. other activities with them as well.” change of experience game oppnå dette. GRØNN TIL SKOLEN? “Children on bikes” was an obvious Inspired by the Danish Cyclists’ Eva Berdenius, project manager, Skolevei DU KAN GÅ, SYKLE, ELLER KJØRE focus area for Nordic Cycle Cities One concrete result of the work- Federation’s book Cykellege (“Cy- Nordic Cycle Cities, Mariestad Mu- HELT GRØNN SKOLEVEI! HVORFOR? BUSS... since unfortunately the trend in all ing group’s efforts was that in May cling Games”), the working group nicipality. En sikker og trygg skoleveg for barn er alle opptatt av. Noen foreldre kjører sine barn til skolen med bil, kanskje nettopp fordi de ikke syntes skolevegen er sikker nok. Samtidig er de kjørende foreldrene da en del av problemet, ved at biltrafi kken øker langs skolevegene. Dersom barna Les mer om three is that fewer 2009 studies were conducted of focused on ways of introducing cy- går eller sykler til skolen istedenfor å bli kjørt, kan det bli færre biler på skolevegen. Barna får i tillegg mosjon og frisk luft, og forurensende utslipp fra bilene reduseres. )kampanjen på: and fewer children are learning how bicycle parking facilities and bicycle cling skills into the child’s daily life Campaign concept: All-Green www.sykkelbyen-sandefjord.no to deal with traffic. This is a major use at three schools in each local through play, in collaboration with School Route concern since experience shows area. In addition to giving an ac- parents, schools and day care cen- The working group developed a that good cycling habits developed curate picture of cycling schoolchil- tres, and at events. school route campaign that was fª HELT GRØNN SKOLEVEI! HVEM? in childhood continue into adult life. dren the studies were used to meas- carried out in Sandefjord and Sven- Prosjektet Sykkelbyen Sandefjord har planlagt og står for gjennomføring av kampanjen i samarbeid med barneskolene. Kampanjen er et gratis tilbud til barneskolene, som selv velger hvor mange og ure the effect of concrete initiatives. In Randers the focus was on cycling ljunga in 2010 and 2011. The concept hvilke skoletrinn som skal delta. Den enkelte barneskole, gjerne i samarbeid med FAU, tilpasser og velger selv hvordan kampanjen skal organiseres og driftes på egen skole. The working group’s first step was games; citizen-targeted events were aimed at motivating school chil- to conduct a survey of the munici- Focus areas arranged offering cycling games for dren to cycle to school by placing HELT GRØNN SKOLEVEI! HVORDAN? pality’s campaigns targeting chil- The working group decided at an early children such as an obstacle course a “green” sticker on the classroom Alle barna som deltar får utlevert refl eksvest, buttons og eikerefl ekser ved kampanjens oppstart. Hver dag barna går, sykler eller tar bussen til skolen registreres dette på et skjema i klassen eller enheten. dren and cycling and to study the stage to focus on two specific areas: for 2-4 year olds on balance bikes bulletin board whenever a child Alle barna skal inkluderes ut fra sine forutsetninger for miljøvennlig skoleveg. Ved slutten av hver uke oppsummeres antall registrerte miljøvennlige skolevegturer, resultatene meldes inn på nettsidene til physical measures established for • School children’s transport to and or a manoeuvring course for older used green, or environmentally Sykkelbyen Sandefjord av klassens ”lagkaptein” i samarbeid med lærerne. I løpet av aksjonen trek- kes ukesvinnere og totalvinner av kampanjen kåres etter siste uke. Skolene som har deltatt premieres school children. In addition to their from school children. The city of Randers also friendly, transport. The students ved kampanjens slutt. own experience, the working group • Bicycle games for toddlers and trained a corps of cycling game competed both internally within Brochure: Sandefjord Municipality drew on knowledge and practical children instructors whose job is to visit dif- the school and between the local

12 13 Cycling to Work

Photo: Kristiansand Municipality for jer? t B e liv d en r C YK le E LV E k N y L IG C A R B E J D

S Nu kan du bringe din virksomhed helt P frem i feltet som én af Frederikshavn L A Kommunes mest cykelvenlige arbejds-

D

S pladser. Kom fra start med få midler og kom i mål med synlige resultater.

Photo: Frederikshavn Municipality

In this brochure the municipality of Frederikshavn urges large companies in the area to become a certified BICYCLE FRIENDLY WORKPLACE. This means that the company carries out a study of staff transport to and from work and then receives a concrete plan for establishing customized bi- cycle parking, bicycle repair, and showering and changing facilities, and for arranging company bikes and cycling promotion campaigns.

The bicycle commuting potential The Cycling to Work working group as to learn from the experience of In addition, several municipalitiess, ous focus area was to develop cy- Most of us never question the way conducted joint studies of the po- others. One of their sources of inspi- including Mölndal in Sweden, fur- cling promotion campaigns target- we travel to and from work. How- tential for and obstacles to getting ration was the Danish “We bike to ther developed the Danish concept ing the city’s many large companies ever, our choice of transport mode car users to switch to cycling to and work” campaign run by the Danish of “certified bicycle friendly work- so as to encourage corporate staff significantly affects health, the from work. Cyclists’ Federation, which was then places”. to cycle to work. economy, the environment, road adapted to conditions in Sweden congestion and the family. Further- Campaigns: Best practice and local and Norway. (The Danish cycle cit- Interregional collaboration 10 Mölndal workplaces followed more, our choice of transport mode adaptation ies simply signed up for the Danish The interregional collaboration was the city’s suggestion to create a to and from work often determines The working group studied different campaign.) extremely productive since there network focusing on encouraging our transport habits in relation to campaigns targeting workplaces so was a good deal of variation in the more commuters to cycle to work. other activities and errands. working group’s campaign experi- Each of the 10 companies appointed ence. For some of the participants a cycling motivator whose primary It is therefore simply common sense the concept of bicycle commuting function is to motivate and encour- Project Nordic Cycle Cities makes its mark to focus on bicycle commuting as The idea of providing attractive facilities for staff mem- was completely new. Others either age other staff members to leave a means of promoting the cycling bers who cycle to work was an integral part of the con- had some experience implementing their cars at home and jump on their modal share. Furthermore, there is struction plans of Viborg’s new town hall from the outset; existing national campaigns or had bikes. a great potential here since a large the town hall is the workplace of 900 municipal employ- developed their own cycling promo- percentage of the workforce in Den- ees. The town hall was inaugurated in September 2011 tion campaign from scratch. Read more about the cycling moti- mark, Norway and Sweden have less and has 205 covered bicycle parking spaces in front of vator at Astra Zeneca on page 16 than 5 km to work, and thereby lie the town hall and 32 bicycle parking spaces in the base- Mölndal. Corporate cycling within the optimal radius for cycling ment. There are also changing rooms with showering fa- motivator to work. cilities and lockers for cycling staff. Mölndal’s most recent travel habit survey showed that only 10% of all trips took place by bicycle. An obvi-

14 15 Serving Cyclists Better

All the Nordic cycle cities put a The Varberg App good deal of effort into “spoiling” Varberg developed a mobile application based on Google cyclists, so as to make cycling more Maps to motivate young road users to walk and cycle attractive. First of all, urban spaces more. Users can calculate their own cycle routes and see how much CO2 they save and how many calories they Photos: Mölndals Stad should be better organized to suit burn. The app is linked to the social media Facebook cyclist needs. This involves pleasant, and Twitter so users can compare their performance and centrally located bicycle parking fa- compete with their friends. In addition to being a fun cilities, well maintained cycle tracks, gimmick for young cyclists, the data record of the cycle and effective cycle route signage. routes provides the city with valuable information for pri- Astra Zeneca’s Cycling Motivator Secondly, the option of choosing oritizing new cycle tracks and maintaining existing ones. cycling as a transport mode should be made visible to everyone, and The biopharmaceutical company cycling staff covered bicycle park- Mölndal got the idea for the ini- cyclists should be rewarded for their Astra Zeneca (2,300 employees) ing facilities and the use of bike tiative through its collaboration healthy, green choice by being pro- appointed senior research scientist pumps. In addition, the company in the Cycling to Work working vided with bicycle friendly ameni- Andrea Ahnmark cycling motivator, has an arrangement with the lo- group. Mölndal project manager ties such as drinking fountains, bike and thereby contact person and liai- cal bike shop to come once a week Malin Månsson praises the working pumps, and cyclist counters in the son officer with the local authority. so the staff can have their bicycles group’s participants for motivat- urban environment. She has this to say about the col- repaired. The bicycle repairman re- ing each other and testing out their laboration: pairs the bicycles at his workshop ideas on their Nordic colleagues. “Astra Zeneca was already working and returns them before 4 p.m. The The EU regional development fund on motivating staff to use sustain- staff only have to pay for repairs; “In the working group we got con- Interreg IVA Kattegat- Skagerak Re- able transport modes to get to work. the company pays for transporting crete proposals for initiatives that gion subsidized a number of bicycle But the collaboration with the city the bicycles and gives the bike shop we can carry out. We got the idea friendly amenities for Project Nordic of Mölndal initiated through Nordic a supplement to make the offer at- for the Bicycle Friendly Workplace Cycle Cities. Cycle Cities put greater focus on cy- tractive. A bicycle repair kit for mi- that we’re working on now from an Count stations 16 cling to work.” nor repairs is available at the recep- initiative carried out by Frederik- Cyclist counters 2 tion desk. shavn and others. Mölndal is a city Signs 176 The 10 companies’ cycling motiva- with a lot of large companies, and Company bikes 47 In Randers flat tires and thirsty cyclists belong to the past tors meet 3 or 4 times a year to Nordic Cycle Cities also helped we’re already working actively on Bike stands 544 Drinking fountains and bike pumps at the bus terminal and the exchange experiences and coordi- the company arrange a number sustainable travel so we think that Drinking fountains 7 Town Hall cater to Randers cyclists, providing them with water and nate future activities with the city’s of events and campaigns focusing the bicycle friendly workplace con- Bike pumps 7 air for their journey. Photo: Randers Municipality project manager. The city’s role is on the benefits of cycling. Safety cept will be useful here. The pro- Bicycle trailers 6 to support the cycling motivators in equipment was distributed to cy- fessional feedback we got from the Information signs 12 their promotional efforts. cling staff, including reflectors, safe- project was unique.” Electronic warning signs 1 ty vests and bike lights, and all staff members received a cycle map. This Questionnaire and bicycle increased awareness of the benefits check-up of cycling, and the result was that Each of the 10 firms had their staff more people were motivated to cy- fill out a questionnaire on what cle to work. Employees also signed could motivate them to cycle to up for the annual “Cykelutmaning” Bicycle signage in Kristiansand work, and carried out an analysis where bike teams compete to see Kristiansand had 20 cycle route signs financed of the workplace’s physical cycling who can cycle the highest number through Nordic Cycle Cities. An entire signage Tourist cycle map in Mariestad. facilities; this provided the basis for of kilometres within a given time plan was drawn up and the city is now at work The municipality of Mariestad attracts many tourists and is eager for them to formulating objectives in relation to period. signposting cycle routes in and around Kris- tiansand. have a good experience, including cy- cycling personnel. cling. Mariestad published a cycle map showing cycle routes and paths, and At Astra Zeneca the result was that offering suggestions for cycling excur- the showering and changing facili- sions and other activities. On the back of the map tourists can read about cy- ties were upgraded and expanded. cling ethics and showing consideration Blommor längs Göta kanal Biosfär Brommöfärjan 12/6 - 31/8 Hälsans stig En färd längs dragvägen utmed Göta kanal Biosfärområde Vänerskärgården med Kin- Vardag: 7.45, 10.00, 13.15, 17.00, fre även 18.30 Hälsans stig är en fem kilometer lång vand- är en upplevelse fylld av blomsterfägring. När nekulle är Sveriges andra biosfärområde. Det Lördag o dag före helgdag: 8.00, 10.00, 17.00 ringsled som går nära centrum i Mariestad. The company already offered their to other road users. du i sakta takt cyklar i grönskan, bland de sträcker sig från Sjötorp och Torsö i norr till Söndag o helgdag: 10.00, 13.00, 18.00 Leden passar såväl barn som vuxna. På vägen vanligaste blommorna - hundkex, smörblom- Kållandsö i väster. Välkommen till Vänerskär- 1/9-31/10, 1/4-11/6 ska turerna förbeställas, 0501-220 27 passeras ett flertal lekplatser, vattendrag och ma, blåklocka, prästkrage - som vajar i den gården med Kinnekulle! Färjan startar på Brommö och går fram och tillbaka. natursköna områden. Läs mer om vandrings- Överfärden tar ca 4 min. svaga vinden är det en glädje för ögat. Läs mer på www.vanerkulle.se leder på www.skaraborgsleder.se

16 17 On average, 80% of cyclists in the Nordic Cycle Cities use a bike Security and Safety light in the dark.

66% feel “secure” The working group on security Cycling tourism is a major focus area or “very secure” in and safety in Mariestad, and there are always Universally, cyclists throughout the many “new” cyclists on the paths so traffic (in relation to Nordic countries want to be able it makes sense to inform tourists of assault, theft, etc.) to transport themselves safely and good cycling ethics and the need securely in traffic. However, Nordic to show consideration. The leaflet is traffic regulations and legislation do distributed at the tourist office, bi- not provide for this. For this reason cycle rental shops, the library, and is the Security and Safety working also printed on the back of the city’s group focused on exchanging ex- cycle map. periences and examining ways to make cycling convenient, safe and secure. One of the working group’s Rewards rather than fines activities was to conduct a system- Several Nordic Cycle Cities carried out “light in the dark” cam- atic study of local experience, which paigns. The basic concept is that the police stop cyclists riding provided the basis for designing without bicycle lights. Instead of being fined, however, the cy- campaigns aimed at encouraging Vad gäller för dig som clist is handed a bicycle light so as not to have to ride illegally, the use of bike lights, reflectors and and dangerously, for the remainder of the journey. The cam- helmets. cyklist och fotgängare? paign is a good example of the “carrot is better than the whip” principle, in other words, people are motivated to change their behaviour by information and coaxing rather than wagging an On the average, 50%- admonishing finger. of cyclists in the Nor- Photo: Kristiansand Municipality dic Cycle Cities AL WAYS or OFTEN use a helmet. In Frederikshavn only 24% wear a helmet. On the other Mariestad: Be considerate of each other! hand, the citizens of Fred- Allowing cyclists and pedestrians to erikshavn are the ones that share a path presents a challenge. Vid gemensam gång- och cykelbana håller feel safest in traffic (64%). Neither pedestrians nor cyclists are gångare till vänster och cyklister till höger. benefited if both road user groups feel insecure and inconvenienced by the other. Mariestad project manag- Visa hänsyn! The working group gave us a much better understanding er Eva Berdenius was made aware of different types of cycling solutions: designated cycling of this during the working group; ” areas, dual use pedestrian/ cycle paths, cycle tracks, etc., the city then published a leaflet fo- and we learned how the different solutions actually affect cusing on ethics and mutual consid- cyclist safety. Our eyes were opened to cycling legisla- eration among road users. tion and traffic regulations in the other countries, espe- cially Denmark, where traffic regulations make it easier In Mariestad only 31% to be a cyclist than in Norway. In the long run increased awareness and knowledge of such issues and the different feel safe in traffic. But- that doesn’t mean cy Nordic Cycle Cities distributes reflectors at schools ways of addressing them can help change road rules and and workplaces legislation. It’s a difficult area to work with though since clists wear a helmet The working group was responsible for purchasing uniform of course we have to take the national legislation into ac- since only 37% always Nordic Cycle City spoke-mounted reflectors. The reflectors count. or often wear a helmet. were distributed at schools and workplaces during targeted Siri Gilbert, project manager and consultant campaigns, and were also handed out to passing cyclists on for the Safety and Security working group, Kristiansand. The leaflet explains in clear and sim- Nordic Bicycle Day and to interested citizens at information ple language what considerate road meetings and bicycle days and events. user behaviour involves.

18 19 Nordic Bicycle Day

Photos: Mölndals Stad

We wanted to draw attention to cyclists last year on Nordic Bicycle Day ” so we placed cyclists with messages at 7 roundabouts, and we lined up cheerleaders along 3 major commuting sections. The whole thing was highly visible and came as a surprise. A number of the cyclists that I talked to said it felt good to be appreciated. Malin Månsson, municipality of Mölndal.

Photo: Viborg Municipality Photo: Svenljunga Municipality

Spoiling and motivating cyclists in with their bicycles next to large signs between April 22 and September 12. the whole North giving good reasons to cycle. The target group consisted primar- The 11 Nordic cycle cities decided ily of cyclists who felt they were up to draw attention to the concerted Later in the afternoon the city of- to cycling to work or in other situ- Nordic Cycle Cities initiatives by fered free bicycle services and dem- ations where they would normally organizing a joint event that would onstrated bicycle products. have driven. motivate more citizens to cycle. April 21, 2010 was selected as joint Cycling competition between Tranemo won the competition, NORDIC BICYCLE DAY. Svenljunga and Tranemo beating Svenljunga by 19,000 km, Svenljunga and Tranmo are neigh- the Tranemo participants having Each of the 11 Nordic cycle cities bouring communities; they work ridden 79,000 km and the Svenljun- planned activities focusing on the in close collaboration to promote ga participants 60,000. If all those benefits of cycling. The activities cycling in their areas. One of the bicycle trips replaced a car trip, the ranged broadly, including dialogues projects they’re working on is to participants taken as a whole saved with citizens at the local market, establish a joint cycle track on the the environment 20 tons of CO2. events and bicycle shows in the disused railway section between the streets, cheerleaders along the ma- cities to enable cyclists to go from Bike party and activities at Hjultor- jor cycle tracks, and competitions one town to the other without being vet in Viborg. to see who could cycle the highest disturbed, completely segregated The city of Viborg devoted Nordic number of kilometres. from other traffic. Bicycle Day to fun games and activi- ties catering to cyclists. Cheerleaders and living signs Nordic Bicycle Day was the obvious There was a Bike Trial demonstra- In Mölndal cyclists were celebrated choice for kick starting a competi- tion, and the Knabercyklisterne cy- by lining up cheerleaders at the tion between the two communities cle club rode through the streets on three main cycle approaches to the to see who could cycle the highest a special bike designed for 10 riders; city. number of kilometres within a given many citizens accepted their invita- time period. 50 citizen volunteers tion to ride along. In addition, living signs at rounda- from each city received a cycle Cyclists were spoiled further and bouts informed other road users of computer to record the number of given bike pumps, puncture repair the benefits of cycling: cyclists posed kilometres they cycled in the period kits, and reflectors.

20 21 Press Cuttings Summing Up

Ever since Project Nordic Cycle Cities was initiated in the spring of 2009, the partners continually kept citizens and the press informed of the many different activities that were being arranged. This gener- ated a great deal of media interest, resulting in hundreds of articles in local and national media, a few roject Nordic Cycle Cities ran The concrete results of Nordic Cycle In addition, all 11 communities devel- examples of which can be seen below: for three years and created a Cities are: oped campaigns, events and infor- Psolid foundation for promoting mation materials aimed at catering bicycle transport in the 11 communi- • 11 Bicycle Accounts 2009 to existing cyclists and motivating ties for many years to come. • 11 Bicycle Strategies more citizens, young and old, to • 11 Bicycle Action Plans cycle. The project was based on a three • 11 Bicycle Accounts 2010 pronged strategy to: The Nordic cycle cities further fo- The bicycle strategies and action cused on making cyclists visible • Ensure that cycling promotion plans ensure that the 11 communities in the urban environment and the was solidly anchored in the politi- will make cycling a priority for many funds the project received from the cal and municipal organization years to come. Interreg IVA program were used • Carry out activities targeting to establish bicycle friendly ameni- citizens (promotional campaigns, Another main element of the pro- ties including 544 bicycle stands, events, information) ject was to develop process plans 176 signs, 47 company bikes and 16 • Invest in a bicycle friendly urban for drawing up bicycle strategy and count stations, as well as drinking environment action plans, and bicycle accounts. fountains, bicycle pumps, bicycle The process plans were developed, trailers and information signs. The observations and practical ex- tested, and re-assessed throughout amples set forth in this publication the project and are now available The local media showed great inter- show that the 11 communities were to other Nordic communities on the est in the project and covered all successful in creating political and project’s homepage. the events and activities that were organizational commitment to and arranged for citizens and politicians. ownership of cycling promotion.

sykkeltur rundt om i Kristiansand. r. FOTO: Petter Emil Wikøren står av 11 nordiske byer. Her er hele gjengen telagtsamlet for før sykliste KLAR FOR TUR: Samarbeidet Nordiske sykkelbyerkal bevise utsendingene hvordan Kristiansand er tilret Miljøvernrådgiver Siri Gilbert (foran i midten) s - Kristiansand skal bli Norges beste sykkelby

Gjennom samarbeidet Nordiske sykkelbyer skal Kristiansand legge enda bedre til rette foryv satsing-åtte på sykkelen som fremkomstmiddel. Målet er å bli besti Norge i landet.etter og , men kun s Tone Øverland ier Øystein Holvik, miljøvernsjef og - Kristiansand er den tredje beste sykkelbyen KVADRATUREN: iddel, og dette er dårlig i nordisk sammenheng, s prosent bruker sykkelen som transportm ATP-prosjektet. prosjektleder for ske sykkelbyer. stiansand kan Holvik fortelle gjestene fra Nordi Men utviklingen er positiv i sykkelbyen Kri og onsdag. samlet til prosjektmøte i Kristiansand tirsdag en De 11 nordiske samarbeidsbyene var r øket fra 768 i 2004 til 893 i 2008. Dette er at antallet sykkelpasseringer per dag ha - Sykkeltelleren i Hannevika viser utvikling i riktig retning, sier Holvik.

trafikk og legge til Sykkelsamarbeid for å fremme sykkel ske sykkelbyer er å dele kunnskap og erfaring Formålet med samarbeidsprosjektet Nordi l. rette for å bruke sykkel som transportmidde kkelen på korte turer. byene arbeide målrettet for å fremme bruken av sy De neste tre årene skal de 11 samarbeids sunnere livsstil blant innbyggerne. -utslipp fra korte bilturer, samt å fremme en Målet er både å begrense CO2 dsregionen. Her får vi mulighet osjekt for å fremme satsing på sykkel i Kristiansan.000 danske kroner til kampanjer og orteller Siri Gilbert, - Dette er et bra samarbeid og et positivtmmunene. pr Og vi får økonomiske-regionen tilskudd i løpetpå 550 av neste år, f e sykkelstativer i ATP til å høste erfaringer fra de andre ko . utstyr. Blant annet vil det -bliprosjektet satt opp og220 Kristiansand ny kommune miljøvernrådgiver for ATP

agt for Sykkelbefaring i Kristiansand for å se hvordan byen har tilrettel dspartnerne ble tatt med på en sykkeltur De gjestende samarbei il informasjon og kampanjer. Men syklister. obbe overordnet og yer, med hensyn til at det settes av midler t får vi inn friske tanker, og vi får mulighet til å j - Kristiansand gjør mye bra i forhold til andre b tips, sier Gilbert. vi kan selvfølgel ig bli bedre. Gjennom Nordiskelturen sykkelbyer får vi muligens inn noen gode råd og bedre med langsiktige planer. I løpet av sykke

Photo: Cycling Embassy of Denmark

22 23 Sandefjord

Mariestad

Kristiansand

Mölndal Frederikshavn Svenljunga

Varberg Tranemo

Viborg

Randers

Silkeborg

Nordic Cycle Cities was co-financed by: