The first 4 kilometres of cycling infrastructure are part of the EUROCLIMA+ project.
Montes de Oca, Costa Rica, February 4, 2021. - On 4 February, the canton of Montes de Oca inaugurated a 4-kilometre bicycle lane in the east. These are the first fruits of the project “Promotion and development of urban cycling in Montes de Oca and Curridabat”, which is part of the EUROCLIMA+ programme. This new project responds to the imminent needs of mobility in the face of climate change and will promote urban cycling as a means of transport, thus integrating cyclists into the current road network.
"If we in Local Governments want to see more people being an integral part of the city, living together in a sustainable, healthy, and safe way, we must promote and lead projects and initiatives that change the paradigm for urban mobility and have a real impact on lifestyles in the canton. For this reason, we did not hesitate to take the necessary steps to make this new bicycle lane a reality", explained Marcel Soler Rubio, Mayor of Montes de Oca.
The initiative is implemented in Curridabat and Montes de Oca, and it aims to improve mobility and accessibility for cyclists between the two territories, so in the next stage, cycling infrastructure will be built to connect both cantons. In this way, the Municipalities will be a model for the country and the rest of Latin America. It also responds to the needs and recommendations that the populations of these municipalities have been expressing through workshops with neighbours in the framework of the project and, in recent years, through the country's cycling collectives.
The project has an overall amount of 400,000 euros financed by the European Union. It is implemented by the Centre for Environmental Law and Natural Resources (Spanish acronym CEDARENA), with the support of German Development Cooperation (GIZ) and the Costa Rican Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MOPT). In the coming months, the project will continue with the extension of the cycle infrastructure network in both Montes de Oca and Curridabat.
For María Antonia Calvo, European Union Ambassador, this project reaffirms the EU's commitment to more sustainable, green, and inclusive urban transport:
"I am very pleased that our EUROCLIMA+ programme has funded and been part of a project like this, as it is a successful and participatory example that involves the actions of many actors; the European Union, a Member State and Costa Rican multi-level institutions: ministries, municipalities, organised civil society and the community as such. I have no doubt that this initiative is an excellent example of multi-level cooperation that can be adopted by many other actors in other parts of the world.”
The event was also attended by Claudia Dobles Camargo, First Lady of Costa Rica; Andrea Meza, Minister of Environment and Energy; as well as representatives of cycling collectives and organisations, who have been involved since the first studies and planning of the project. Ana Lucía González, deputy mayor of Montes de Oca, emphasised responsibility for climate change and urban planning.
On the other hand, Aarón Mora, head of the Municipal Traffic Police of Montes de Oca, emphasised that the responsibility not only involves demarcating cycle lanes, but also constant monitoring for their maintenance and removal of obstacles, as well as education and awareness-raising among the population: "This cycling path is of great importance for our municipality and the country because more and more people are finding in the bicycle an economical and efficient way to move in the city; to go to their jobs, go shopping or exercise; hence we must encourage a transition to optimal and safe conditions."
Progress of the project
These 4 km of bicycle lanes are part of a broader infrastructure network that will be developed during 2021 in both cantons.
"We are very excited to inaugurate this project, not only because we are adding more kilometres of cycling infrastructure, but also because it is a reflection of the coordinated inter-institutional work to develop urban improvements in our city. We hope to continue collaborating with the Municipalities of Montes de Oca and Curridabat in the next phases of this project and that our cycling infrastructure will continue to grow. It is with the mix of projects like this one, with sectorisation that we will be able to have an impact on our mobility paradigm", commented Eduardo Brenes, Vice-Minister of Transport and Road Safety.
During 2020, the local governments of Curridabat and Montes de Oca worked on the design of the infrastructure, taking into account the cyclist profile, potential routes, public transport stations, as well as areas with appropriate speed limits, the connection between the two cantons, the most frequent destinations and integration with existing infrastructure. In addition, educational components were developed to train the public on the use of bicycles and to obtain important data for the design variables.
In Costa Rica, the transport sector accounts for about 44% of net carbon dioxide emissions. This is why, in addition to improving mobility, from an environmental point of view the project seeks to mitigate the emission of greenhouse gases by reducing road congestion, making it easier for users to switch from vehicles to bicycles as a means of transport. This is in line with what is stipulated in the National Decarbonisation Plan, in its Infrastructure, Mobility and Territorial Planning axis. In this sense, the Municipalities hope that this project will be a spearhead for the development of many similar ones in the country.
To learn more about the project "Promotion and development of urban cycling in Montes de Oca and Curridabat, Costa Rica", go to the following link.
Here you will find the video of the event:
About EUROCLIMA+
EUROCLIMA+ is a programme funded by the European Union to promote environmentally sustainable and climate-resilient development in 18 Latin American countries, particularly for the benefit of the most vulnerable populations. The Programme is implemented under the synergistic work of seven agencies: the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), the French Development Agency (AFD), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Expertise France (EF), the International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policy (FIIAPP), the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), and UN Environment.
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