A kick-off event for EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK in Luxembourg attracted delegates from more than 40 municipalities on 13 May.

The event was organised by Verkéiersverbond, the National Coordinator for the campaign in Luxembourg. The importance of the campaign was highlighted in presentations from François Bausch, Luxembourg's Minister for Sustainable Development and Infrastructure; Camille Gira, State Secretary for the same ministry; Madeleine Kelly-Tychtl representing the European Commission's DG MOVE; Peter Staelens from EUROCITIES; and Luxembourg National Coordinator David Everard, from Luxembourg's transport community Verkéiersverbond. The event attracted 112 delegates who came to get information on and debate how to organise a good or a better EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK in 2016.

Mr Staelens and Mr Everard presented international best practice examples that could be implemented by small and medium-sized municipalities, such as a street-painting campaign from Austria or rewarding cyclists with vouchers and small gifts from Norway. As well as municipalities, delegates from groups such as Luxembourg's national cycling lobby and organisations working with and for people with disabilities attended. The event aimed to identify local coordinators and have them appointed by the municipalities.

Almost half of the Luxembourg's 106 municipalities were represented at the conference, who wanted to know how the campaign could help with the mobility problems they face. As jobs are mainly concentrated in Luxembourg City, the country’s capital, this means commuters living in other parts of the country and in neighbouring Belgium, France and Germany travel by car, resulting in daily traffic congestion. Public transport in the country also suffers from overcrowding. This means that the urban mobility problems in Luxembourg are of a different character to those in other countries, especially as the average population of Luxembourg municipalities is quite small, between two and five thousand inhabitants.

To view photos from the event click here. For more information about the event, visit mobiliteit.lu (in French).

Photo: Verkéiersverbond Lëtzebuerg

Cooperation is a key to success. That has been the consistent theme during visits by the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK outreach coordinator, Jerome Simpson, in Warsaw (Poland) and Chisinau (Moldova).

In both countries, the environment and transport ministries have realised that a truly successful campaign depends on their collaboration. All concerned made their intention clear to establish inter-ministerial working groups that would seek to involve NGOs and international organisations besides municipal associations and the private sector.

Fortunately, neither country is a stranger to EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK, and both aim to involve a large number of cities in the campaign in 2016. Adrian Mazur of Poland’s Ministry of Infrastructure and Construction looks forward to increasing the number of town, city and community registrations in 2016 than in the previous year. In Moldova, Viorica Staver, at the country's Ministry of Environment, stated that she would convey the responsibilities of a national coordinator to her respective minister, recognising that a formal appointment will boost Moldovan participation.

The week’s outreach also highlighted the importance of allying more closely with those campaigning on matters of road safety and equitable access. Chisinau's streets currently cater to cars moreso than cyclists and pedestrians, while those with impaired mobility face even greater challenges.

The first European Day Without A Road Death (EDWARD) on September 21 2016 will be a welcome boost to the campaign. It is a joint initiative of the European Commission and the European Traffic Police Network (TISPOL). Transport ministries in various countries are showing increased interest in this topic, while Moldovan NGOs were eager to register their activities under the campaign's MOBILITYACTIONS series saw NGOs eager to register their activities. There is much to look forward to in these countries as this year’s EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK gets underway.