Record 84 municipalities join 20th European Mobility Week
Ljubljana, 16 September - Walking, cycling and other alternatives to motorised vehicles wil be promoted in a record 84 out of Slovenia's 212 municipalities that have joined this year's European Mobility Week, which starts today and is running until 22 September under the theme Safe and Healthy with Sustainable Mobility.
Ljubljana.
Infrastructure Minister Jernej Vrtovec (centre) running to work in Ljubljana from Domžale, more than 10km from the capital, at the start of the 2020 European Mobility Week.
Photo: Nebojša Tejić/STA
File photo
The main event marking the 20th anniversary of the European Mobility Week will take place today at Ljubljana Castle, where the seven municipalities which have taken part in the campaign throughout the two decades will be honoured: Koper, Ljubljana, Maribor, Murska Sobota, Nova Gorica and Gornja Radgona.
Until Wednesday, the 84 municipalities will invite residents to sustainable and active forms of mobility, while many of them will also close their city centre to cars for a day, organise "a walk-bus" for school children to walk to school and various activities in public areas.
Workshops will be organised alongside day hikes, trips on a bicycle, and campaigns to encourage people not to drive to work by car.
Several municipalities will take the opportunity to present their sustainable mobility achievements, including improvements in the infrastructure for bicycles.
Infrastructure Minister Jernej Vrtovec has welcomed sustainable changes, such as giving priority to pedestrians and cyclists in municipal transport infrastructure.
"These are the measures that enable us to travel more comfortably and safely in a sustainable manner," he said in a written statement before the Mobility Week.
Among the many events, Kočevje will host a discussion on whether to close the city centre to cars and Bled will label its bus stops with names and install maps.
Velenje will host a fathers' run, Celje a day for bicycle riders, while Maribor will present the city's portal of sustainable mobility.
This year's motto is based on research into mobility habits, which has shown a strong correlation between health and the potential to change travel habits.
The Slovenian Platform for Sustainable Mobility has said that the need for moving in open-air has additionally increased as a result of the consequences of the pandemic, while active forms of mobility bring people enormous benefits.