The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is pleased to announce that two more cities have been awarded UCI Bike City status thanks to their clear strategies to grow and promote everyday cycling, as well as hosting UCI major cycling events. The successful cities and regions are Saint-Quentin-en Yvelines, France, and Vancouver, Canada.
The UCI Bike City label was re-launched in 2015 with the aim of recruiting cities and regions that can act as inspiring examples of how cycling can help to create better, safer, and more active communities. Since 2016, eight cities and regions have received the label: Bergen, Norway; Drenthe, the Netherlands; Fyn, Denmark; Heusden-Zolder, Belgium; Gelderland, the Netherlands; Limburg-Valkenburg, the Netherlands; Woensdrecht, the Netherlands; and Yorkshire, Great Britain.
Following the ceremony, UCI President David Lappartient said: “We are very pleased to further expand our network of UCI Bike Cities and Regions, especially by broadening the global reach of the label with the inclusion of a new continent. We would like to congratulate the two new cities for the excellent initiatives they have and will implement within their respective communities to develop cycling in all its forms. We look forward to promoting each of their ambitious projects to inspire other countries to develop bike-friendly strategies and environments for their citizens and visitors.”
About the award winners
St-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France
St-Quentin-en-Yvelines has hosted the 2015 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, a 2018 UCI BMX Supercross World Cup round, a 2018 UCI Track Cycling World Cup round and will host a 2019 BMX Supercross World Cup round. Their cycling development plan is structured around elite competition and mobility-focused infrastructure development, support for local and international events and support to local clubs and associations. The local mobility plan is composed of four key themes linked to active mobility: making roads bike friendly, encouraging cycling, promoting walking and developing bike parking.
The current bicycle network offers over 400km of bicycle lanes, with €2m having been spent on the creation or renovation of more than 8km of cycling infrastructures in the past three years. Key areas of infrastructure development include: improving connectivity between permanent cycling infrastructure and local businesses with cycling paths and increasing intramodality between public transport and cycling. Children’s cycling education is provided to elementary school children while numerous events and initiatives are organised for youth, including programmes linked to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games focused both on competition and cycling for all promotion. In 2018, 23 mass participation cycling events have been organised in the city.
Vancouver, Canada
Vancouver will host the 2020 UCI Gran Fondo World Championships, as well as a UCI Gran Fondo World Series qualifier in 2019. Vancouver’s main goal is to encourage cycling to ensure two-thirds of all trips are made by walking, cycling, and shared transport. Cycling ranks as the fastest growing transport mode with a growth from 4% in 2013 to 7% in 2016. Their objective in terms of cycling infrastructure is to build an All Ages and Abilities (AAA) network that is safe and accessible for all. The AAA network consists of local street bikeways that are low-stress corridors, plus protected bike lanes and intersections along busier roads.
The Transportation 2040 plan sets a five-year strategy for infrastructures upgrades and improvements, with a clear focus on road safety. Cycling initiatives also include the requirements to provide: on-street and off-street parking for new developments, bike racks across the city, and end-of-trip facilities for cyclists at major employment sites. Various mass participation events are organised around the year, along with children’s education programmes linked to the school curriculum and active travel initiatives.