Press release

Brussels, 7th December 2022

This weeks started for the Sabrina Project in Brussels in a co-organized event with the European Cyclists’ Federation showcasing in front of representatives of the EU Commission, EU Parliament,  civil society and professinals, the key lessons and recommendations from SABRINA on improving cycling infrastructure for use at the EU-level.

In his opening remarks, Rob McInerney, the CEO of iRAP, stressed out that “sustainable mobility is first and foremost safe mobility”. The tools developed in the Sabrina Projects – SAFER CYCLING ROUTES TOOLKIT (SCRT), as well as CyclRap and IRap help professionals as well as decision takers to reach their safety goals.

Philip Amaral, Policy, and Development Director of ECF “We need the EU to raise the level of cycling across the continent through a cohesive strategy that funds and implements cycling infrastructure. We need all European governments to promote cycling as a way to reduce transport emissions and achieve other societal benefits, such as reducing air and noise pollution. Cycling must be integrated as a fully fledged mode of transport."

The presentations of the Sabrina project results, by project partners Marko Ševrović, Ph.D, European Institute of Road Assessment (EIRA),  Anđelo Marunica and Leonid Ljubotina, Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences of University of Zagreb (FAZ), and Aneja Roze, Municipality of Ilirska-Bistrica (OIB) the Best Practice Report & 30 factsheets on Risk, Effects and Solutions for safer cycling infrastructure, together with the Safer Cycling Routes Toolkit (SCRT), opened up a discussion of SABRINA’s results and their implications for integrated cycling into the EU’s key policies and funding streams.

In reaching our common goals of more cycling, more often, on safe cycling infrastructure, MEP Vlad Gheorghe of the TRANS Committee encouraged cycling advocated to put more pression on the EU institutions. “Politicians are sensitive on the vocal and augmented voices of the civil society, therefore projects as Sabrina, can truthfully support the cause by offering important responses for decision takers”.

Pedro Homem de Gouveia, Polis Network underlined the importance of know-how transfer, education and forming of actual and future road- and urban planners in the sense of fully integrating cycling as a mode of transport.

In her final remarks, SABRINA Lead Partner, Olivera Rozi, European Institute of Road Assessment (EIRA), reinforced that SABRINA results are created for stakeholders: on one hand to consider cycling infrastructure safety and current situation improvement as one of the key elements of the sustainable transport that will enable massive increase in cycling and on the other hand to make use of SABRINA proposed tools to make informed decisions when planning and designing new and improving existing cycling infrastructure. The baseline data, at least in the Danube area, now exists in SABRINA and shows that future improvements are needed. All SABRINA PPs are ready to support national, local and EU level decision makers to use the tool and work together in the future on its improvement to meet their future needs.   

The event was moderated by Raluca Fiser of the Green Revolution Association and featured talks from the International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP), a SABRINA partner, the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF), MEP Vlad Gheoghe of the TRANS Committee  as well as Pedro Homem de Gouveia, Polis Network.

About Sabrina project:

SABRINA project focuses on road infrastructure safety for cyclists as one of the most vulnerable road users. It tackles cycling infrastructure safety issues on existing, planned, and missing cycling corridors crossing nine countries in the Danube region. Our goal is to improve conditions for road bicycle infrastructure safety in the region by raising the capacities of all relevant national, regional, and local stakeholders to build and improve bicycle infrastructure in a safe and sustainable way. 

More information of the Sabrina project – please find on: https://dtp.interreg-danube.eu/approved-projects/sabrina/news

Safer Cycling Routes Toolkit (SCRT): https://sabrina-scrt.eu/scrt/