Local services
The Bicycle Friendly Town and Bicycle Friendly Workplace awards were presented on Wednesday in Budapest to 10 municipalities and 11 companies and institutions, including Debrecen.
At the award ceremony, Secretary of State responsible for Transport at the Ministry of Construction and Transport Bálint Nagy said that the ministry will initiate a legislative amendment within days, one of the most important aims of which is to protect the most vulnerable road users, pedestrians and cyclists, Hungarian Telegraph Office quoted.
“Traffic regulation is based on creating safe conditions for all road users,” he emphasised. The Secretary of State also indicated that the Ministry is working together with other ministries concerned on the comprehensive renewal of the traffic rules system, in particular the Highway Code, and as a first step in this process, a broad public consultation has been initiated.
According to KTI Hungarian Institute of Transport Science and Logistics, which is conducting the tender, the ministry responsible for transport launched the tender in 2006, the award recognises measures taken by municipalities and employers to promote and improve the conditions for cycling.
For the 2023 competition, 29 municipalities and 37 workplaces applied, with the best selected in several categories. Debrecen, Kispáli, Kiskunhalas, Szarvas, Vásárosnamény, Kazincbarcika, Budakalász, Lenti, Győr and the District X of the capital were also awarded the title of “Bicycle Friendly Town”.
There are currently 109 kilometres of bicycle paths in Debrecen, which are constantly being developed. In the city’s Green Codex and in the sustainable urban mobility plan, support for modern, environmentally friendly transport is given a prominent role.
“It is very important that the Green Codex includes measures that make life easier for people living in the city, so that they can organise their daily lives in a greener way. For example, there is a measure in it that means green switches, the message of which in practice is that it is easy to combine the bicycle with public transport or another alternative means of mobility,” Deputy Mayor Ákos Balázs highlighted.
The titel of “Bicycle Friendly Workplace” was awarded to organizations including EDC Debrecen Nonprofit Ltd, Halasi City Manager Nonprofit Ltd, Koliken Ltd, BKK Budapest Transport Center PLC, Strabag Hungary, BP18 Unified Kindergarten Green Grove Day Member Nursery in Pestszentimre, the village hall of Kispál, Kőbánya Mayor’s office, the University of Pécs, Szarvas Arboretum and Tourinform in Vásárosnamény.
Winners will be able to use the “Bicycle Friendly” label and logo for one year.
The winners in each category will also take home a bicycle as a symbolic contribution to the municipality’s or workplace’s environmentally friendly fleet. At the award ceremony, it was announced that the competition will be held again this year.
Source: debrecen.hu
