From 3 to 5 of April 2022, the 13th Austrian Cycling Summit took place in Vienna. Various experts from the fields of science and administration, as well as representatives of politics and NGOs presented, discussed and developed solutions to promote cycling.  

During the two days of the conference, many exciting speeches were given on the topic of cycling, climate change and future challenges. Leonore Gewessler, the Austrian Federal Minister for Climate Protection, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Infrastructure and Technology, Jill Warren from the European Cyclists’ Federation, Lucy Saunders from Healthy Streets London and many more shared their expertise and knowledge. There were some interesting statements, as Lucy Saunders mentioned in her talk, that "Streets have the biggest impact on public health“. Anke Schäffner, Head of Policy & Advocacy at the German Bicycle Industry Association said that "the bicycle industry in Germany and Europe is growing – it was growing even before the pandemic, even more so now. Sustainable powertrain concepts, sustainable jobs and smart business models are emerging in the vehicle industry with us." Further, Kirsten Pfaue, Head of the staff unit Coordination Mobility Transition in the Department of Transport and Mobility Transition in the Hanseatic City of Hamburg, focussed on in the closing session of the Austrian Cycling Summit on cycling as the key to lively and vibrant spaces in a city. She said that "…in order to find viable answers to the challenges of a functioning mobility transition that relies on public transport, cycling and walking, it is also necessary to consider these modes of transport together. They have very different requirements and it is important to bring them together.“

On 5 April 2022, the SABRINA project was presented in the framework of the Danube Cycle Plans session, continuing the successful cooperation with the Danube Cycle Plans project (see our Joint newsletter published in December 2021). Maria Fleischer from the SABRINA project’s partner Austrian Road Safety Board (Kuratorium für Verkehrssicherheit, KFV) presented our project and the results achieved so far. The session was moderated by Andreas Friedwagner from Verracon, who presented the Danube Cycle Plans project and the importance of having minimum infrastructure quality standards that ensure coherence, directness, safety, comfort and attractiveness of cycling networks. Further, Jitka Vrtalová from Partnership for Urban Mobility, which is also a SABRINA project partner, talked about cycling ambassadors, as they are of great importance and as stated in Jitka’s presentation "Without a strong ambassador, strategy is only a piece of paper.“ The session was followed by a lively discussion by the participants from which the main conclusion is that safe infrastructure is the crucial thing if we want to get more people cycling. 

Overall the Austrian Cycling Summit 2022 has created a good opportunity to exchange opinions and build networks with various professionals, experts, NGOs and all those interested in cycling.  The programme was very multi-faceted and enabled new insights into the areas of strategy, planning, infrastructure, climate change, children and cycling, prevention measures, safety, safer cycling infrastructure and many other topics related to cycling. 

Photo credits: Katarina Sladoljev and Willy Raiumund, Danuve Cycle Plans project