With 21 kilometres of bicycle lanes, urban cycling workshops and awareness campaigns, active mobility is promoted in Montes de Oca and Curridabat.
25 March 2022, San José, Costa Rica - After two years of implementation, the EUROCLIMA+ project “Promotion and development of urban cycling in Montes de Oca and Curridabat” comes to an end. The two cantons of Costa Rica now have cycling infrastructure in place, as well as a series of lessons learned through citizen workshops, awareness raising campaigns, and knowledge management from the project to be replicated in other cities in the country.
At the beginning of the year, representatives of the European Union made an official visit to tour the cycling infrastructure: 21 kilometres of cycle lanes, signalling and adaptations at junctions. Elements that will help connect non-motorised inter-cantonal travel and contribute to the reduction of private car use and the generation of greenhouse gases (GHG). In addition, it will contribute to an increase in sustainable travel alternatives, thereby improving air quality and creating friendlier public spaces for its inhabitants.
This project was implemented through an institutional effort between the two municipalities, the Centre for Environmental and Natural Resources Law (Cedarena), German Development Cooperation (GIZ), as well as the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MOPT).
It had a budget of 400,000 euros, provided by the European Union. This allowed the holding of a series of diagnostics and participatory workshops to learn about the needs and routes of the cycling population, urban cycling courses, communication and awareness-raising campaigns on active mobility, as well as the systematisation of the process for possible replication in other regions of Costa Rica.
Two cities working for sustainable mobility
In Costa Rica, the transport sector generates 54% of total GHG emissions. This highlights the importance of generating changes in mobility paradigms at the city level. Under this premise, in 2018 the municipalities of Montes de Oca and Curridabat proposed a project for promoting active mobility and inter-cantonal travel to the EUROCLIMA+ programme.
At the beginning of 2020, the project "Promotion and development of urban cycling" was formally launched and efforts began to build cycling infrastructure based on the real travel needs of citizens. For this, technical assistance was provided by GIZ.
The obstacles and opportunities of a pandemic
The first phase of the project involved the design and definition of possible routes for construction and cycling infrastructure. In order to achieve true citizen adoption, cycling workshops were developed. In this way, the most used routes and travel needs were delimited, according to the cyclist profile of the Greater Metropolitan Area.
During this phase, an unexpected change came in March 2020. The COVID-19 global pandemic generated a series of obstacles for the project that made it impossible to conclude the workshops and street diagnostics in person. Virtuality, the generation of alliances with applications such as STRAVA for collecting data in real time, were some of the emerging actions.
With the health contingency, the promotion of emerging bicycle lanes occurred in several cities around the world to prevent the spread of contagions in the public space. Based on the diagnoses carried out, the MOPT supported the construction of the first 4 km of bicycle lanes in the canton of Montes de Oca.
This shows that institutional collaboration and active mobility have major potential for impact on modal shifts, with a strong adoption of trips using bicycles. The inauguration of the first 4 km took place in February 2021.
An encouraging outlook for active mobility
During the second half of 2021, the delimitation and construction of the remaining 17 km of bicycle lanes was started, for a total of 21 km of bicycle lanes between the two cantons. During this period, a number of activities were carried out to enhance the implementation of the Project.
Through an agreement with the Costa Rican Railway Institute (INCOFER), the project generated an adaptation for the construction of a cycle-friendly platform. In this way, the promotion of intermodal travel between bicycle and public transport is consolidated.
Likewise, 9 cantons in Costa Rica, including Montes de Oca and Curridabat, signed and launched the Intercantonal Network for Active Mobility, an initiative that unites joint efforts between municipalities to generate strategies for the promotion of walking and cycling. The lessons learned from the EUROCLIMA+ project lay the foundations for learning and experience exchanges.
In addition, the Climate Change Directorate of the Ministry of Environment and Energy, through the ICAT (Initiative for Climate Action Transparency) project, selected the project for measuring actions for climate change mitigation and transformational change, thereby obtaining analyses and monitoring of long-term environmental, social and economic impacts.
With the completion of the works, work begins on achieving the adoption of cycling infrastructure. A series of virtual workshops on urban cycling were held and these are still hosted online for consultation by citizens interested in adopting the bicycle as a mode of transport. These training sessions included technical bicycle information, road regulations, and travel and safety tips.
In addition, communication and awareness-raising campaigns were carried out with the population of both cantons, as well as neighbourhood meetings, and press conferences, among other activities.
Potential benefits
With the documentation and systematization of the knowledge and the steps for implementation, the project lays the foundation for sharing lessons learned and a possible replication with other cantons interested in the promotion and development of urban cycling.
In addition, institutional capacities are generated for the monitoring of the impacts that cycling infrastructure will have in the short, medium and long term.
"This project was made possible thanks to a very close collaboration between the European Union, the government of Costa Rica, the municipalities, civil society, and implemented with the help of GIZ. It is proof that working together we can build a better future for the citizens of our cities, nowadays overcrowded with cars and pollution”, said María Antonia Calvo, European Union Ambassador for Costa Rica.
The project is expected to benefit 160,000 people of the population floating between the two cantons, 138,000 residents, as well as 75,000 university students who will have better conditions for traveling by Bicycle.
About EUROCLIMA+
EUROCLIMA+ is a programme funded by the European Union and co-financed by the German federal government through the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), as well as by the governments of France and Spain through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation.
The Programme's mission is to reduce the impact of climate change and its effects in 18 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, promoting mitigation, adaptation, resilience and climate investment. It is implemented according to the "Spirit of Team Europe" 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-America Foundation for Administration and Public Policy (FIIAPP), the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) GmbH, and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).
For more information:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.euroclimaplus.org
https://www.euroclima.org/en/mobility