Today we talk with Ján Roháč, Nadácia Ekopolis (Ekopolis Foundation) progamm manager and SABRINA project partner from Slovakia. We have digged not only in relevat insights about cycling infrastructure in Slovakia, but also succed to have Ján‘s top 3 cycle distination.

1.  Ján Roháč, your organization The Ekopolis Foundation in 300 words

The Ekopolis Foundation supports citizens and NGOs realizing their responsibility for societal development and environmental issues, who are interested in participating in public policy, have courage to adopt a critical stance and care about avoiding detriment to future generations.

It is focused on four main pillars: environment, civil society, cities for people and sustainable mobility. The support consists of grants, expert work/consulting and realizing of own projects focused on above mentioned areas. 

Cycle transportation and cycle tourism is one of the main Ekopolis’ areas of activities and it touches all four pillars. The main areas are advocacy and lobbying for better conditions for using of bicycle, education of public administration in areas of cycling and sustainable mobility, supporting of local cycling groups and NGOs in their effort. We are active also in expert field, mainly in development of cycle tourism in destinations, monitoring of cycling and incorporating of cycling as part of tourism destination’s offer.

Ekopolis is national-wide active organization. We have many local partners in cities and villages of Slovakia what gives very good overview about situation of cycling in Slovakia. On the other hand many of Ekopolis’ staff are active daily cyclists and cycle tourists so we know cycling also from point of view of ordinary user of bicycle either for commuting or for recreation and tourism.

2.  Why you choose to be a project partner in SABRINA and which is the most important output from your point of view?

Safety is widely underestimated in cycle infrastructure design in Slovakia. The main parameter of constructing is a price and number of kilometers. Therefore, safety is neglected very often when new projects are designed and approved. As we found, it is not only a problem accessibility of funds, but more a lack of awareness and knowledge on how to design and build safe cycle paths, lanes, and routes.

Therefore, we consider the SABRINA project as very useful as far it provides us deep insight into topics of safe cycling infrastructure and its rating, inspiration from abroad and networking with the most relevant and experienced partners. Our ambition is to increase awareness of expert public (public administrators, decision makers, project engineers) about safe cycling infrastructure.

3.    50% increase in E-bikes sales in Europe last years, great increase in numbers in Cargo bike as well and the future looks to be on two wheels. How can we maintain the safety of the users when it gets faster, bigger (the bike dimension) and crowded on our bike lanes?

Though a volume of cyclists is not going to be an issue in Slovakia in upcoming years, no doubts we must take this future problem seriously already today, as far cycling infrastructure is built for many years. There are three  main preconditions of safe cycling traffic even if it is in high intensity:

• Safe design without dangerous spots and sections and is “forgiving”; we talk here about design from the point of view of a multimodal (cars vs. bicycles, bicycle vs. pedestrian) and of a bicycle only traffic.
• Sufficient space for high cycling traffic volume, mainly in existing or supposed main transportation corridors. Even in case no cycle path is going to be built there in upcoming years, it is necessary to incorporate sufficient space for bicycles in zoning and land use plans already today.
• Planning and building cycling communications in wise networks to distribute bicycle users in the area

4.   Top 3 cycle routs you would recommend for a vacation on bikes.

This is a difficult task, as there are so many, but my favorit 3 would beȘ

• In Europe: in 2021 we cycled a spectacular combination of EuroVelo 6 Danube Route from Donauworth against the river stream to its source, then whole Neckar Radweg and then EuroVelo 15 Rhine Route in Germany to Cologne. I do recommend it for people who like it less crowdy, it was probably our the most scenic cycling holiday yet;
• Slovakia - touring: stay in the Orava and Kysuce Regions in Northern Slovakia, there are a couple of rail-to-trail projects and other routes, suitable for one day tours. Therefore, you can stay several days in very specific Slovak landscapes, close to the High Tatras Mountains, Orava and Bystrica water reservoirs, open air museums of folk architecture and more …
• Slovakia – MTB: network of natural routes Bajkom k tajchom near Banská Štiavnica – 300 km of great routes in forests and meadows in the middle of the UNESCO World Heritage region with 24  artificial lakes and a mining heritage.

5. Tech and cycling – will this go well together? Give us an example

Yes, they go together. Here my favorite examples:

• electric shifting – tiny servos adjusted to tenths of millimeters change gear even in a rough environment – dust, water, mud, vibrations and shocks;
• e-bikes – sophisticated sensors and controlling unit dose support of pedaling in real time;
•  automatic counters – use sensors and control units to evaluate signals of passing vehicles and differentiate bikes from scooters, strollers, cars …
• … many more – bike sharing systems, bike parking systems, using sensors (GPS, power…) to navigate, control and evaluate rides and trainings…

However, a bicycle itself is still a simple machine using the same unchanged principle for almost 150 years.

6.  How much should a km of a 5 star rating cycling infrastructure really cost? Leaving from no bike lane to a 5 stars one.

The hot question in Slovakia today. We set a benchmark 500-thousand euro of total expenses per average 1 km in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, what seemed to be very generous and “safe” a year ago. However, sharp inflation and increase of material and energy prices unexpectedly made this generous threshold quite tight particularly in urban environment. So, a price depends on location, character of environment available space… a range per 1 km is very wide, from 200 thousand in the middle of fields to above 1 million in densely urbanized area, with lack of space, many intersections, etc.

For more questions please don’t hesitate to contact Ján Roháč

Nadácia Ekopolis (Ekopolis Foundation)

E-mail&Teams: rohac@ekopolis.sk

skype: jrohac

www.ekopolis.sk