The Orihuela City Council has presented the strategy action plan Orihuela 100% Cyclable City. The project, written by Bikefriendly Consulting, seeks to promote the sustainable urban mobility in the city.
At the presentation event, Carlos Martín, manager of the area of mobility of Bikefriendly, the Environment Councilor of the Town Hall of Orihuela, Damaso Aparicio, and the mayor of Urban Transport, Jose Galiano.
During the presentation, Aparicio presented to the media the main lines of action regarding cycling infrastructure:
- Expand and consolidate the bike lane network segregated and continuous.
- Signal and intervene in the public space.
- Ensure good maintenance and cleaning of the local cycling network.
- Increase the supply of bicycle parking.
- Promote a network of services aimed at facilitating the bike maintenance.
- Make the urban belt of St. Michael's Mount a CO2 free space that becomes a reference for the rest of the municipality.
The bike, a tool for social transformation
Carlos Martín, technical editor of the strategy, emphasized that the bicycle is "a tool of transformation of urban space”. And also, he said, a tool ofe social transformation that has repercussions on other areas of the city. He pointed out, therefore, the need to promote mobility campaigns that encourage the use of bike as a means of transportation between neighbors and tourists.
From the Department of Urban Transportation, Galiano stressed the intention of creating a more sustainable transport plan that gives citizens more alternatives when traveling. Thus, he said, it will be achieved that Orihuela is 100% cycle tourism while improving the environment.
Along these lines, the mayor of the Environment also announced “the intention to soon present a more specific project on the use of bicycles in the urban area".
The Orihuela 100% Cyclable City strategy is a project that is part of the Sustainable Urban Development Integrated Orihuela (EDUSI). It is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) within the Operational Program Sustainable Growth, 2014-2020.
