I was able to meet key people here at Kunming municipality to present the world charter for bicycle friendly communities. The talks happened naturally, as here in Kunming, as in Chengdu, the bicycle has its place.

Kunming is the city of bicycles and also the city of eternal spring. The weather conditions help a lot, however if it were not for the professionals of Kunming municipality who have taken countless planning decisions over the years to actively include the bicycle, things would be a lot different here. There does not seem to be a concept for bicycle inclusion that Kunming has not considered to date, and this made my visit here all the more exciting: to meet a leading bicycle city for the world.

Today, 31% of all transport in this city of 3.7 million people is done by bicycle. The car remains low at 10%. In fact the main danger here is that there could be too many bicycles which would then overflow from the already large bicycle paths, thus influencing infringements of traffic law and safety. A balance is therefore sought here in Kunming, where the bicycle numbers will have to be controlled, but where also the car numbers will be limited.

Will the bicycle still be as strong in 20 years time? Yes of course! Was the immediate response from Lin Wei, Director of the Urban Transport Institute.

It is no news therefore that Kunming is in fact a bicycle friendly community. Now, after my visit, we can but wait and see, as the Charter is being reviewed by the municipality, and a formal answer will be given in the coming month. Were Kunming City to sign the Charter, the city will be asked to host the world bicycle planning conference to be held in 2012.

The Velo Mondial conference 2006 is being held in Cape Town, South Africa, from 5th to 10th march. Read more.

Bicycle paths have always been in place in the city, and today the bicycle paths have developed along with the rest of the city’s infrastructure: the paths are wide and present in most streets, enabling a large proportion of workers to very safely, cycle from home to work.

On the 26th august, I presented to the City of Chengdu the Charter for Bicycle Friendly Communities. My hopes were high, as if there were to be advanced bicycle friendly communities in the world today, then Chengdu would certainly be an important contender for the first places.

No direct response was possible considering the size of the city and the nature of its bureaucracy. Indeed, Chinese cities are closely linked to the Chinese central government and formal approval at many levels is necessary before signing any international document. However, the Charter has passed the first steps in the signatory process, and is now in pass to be handed upwards.

360ways and Velo Mondial have made themselves available to the City of Chengdu for guidance and information during the approval process aiming at the signature of the global bicycle charter for Bicycle Friendly Communities, by the mayor of Chengdu.

We all now wait for the news and feedback to come, and hope that Chengdu will participate into what is a global movment for the preservation and development of the bicycle for urban transport!

Chengdu and indeed many Chinese have a lot to teach cities around the world on how to keep an enormous city liveable for its people. Now we can but wait, see and learn.

This I will do on my bicycle as as I leave Chengdu, full of amazement and new dreams on what cities can look like, to cycle further south, to where the second Chinese city awaits us, in the Yunnan provice: Kunming, just a few weeks away.

Over and out here in Chengdu, China.

Following the last few days of discussion with the staff of Kathmandu City, the decision was reached to sign the Charter, as the values of the bicycle as a mode of urban transport are shared by the city.

40% of travel is done by bicycle today. This proportion is to be protected against motorised transport which could seriously damage the transport, atmosphere, health, reputation and safety within the city.

The Bicycle friendly Communities will enable the City of Kathmandu to pronounce at an international level, its will to preserve and develop the place of the bicycle within the city. Kathmandu is seizing this opportunity to pronounce a definite Yes to the bicycle for future development of the city.

Concrete projects have been conducted in the past (using bicycle paths around Kathmandu connecting the rest of the valley), and concrete projects will be happening in the future (implementing car-free zones in central and touristic sites). These projects and their inherent challenges will be shared now internationally, for the benefit odf the biccyle, globally.

The press conference was indeeed a magnificient scene! The Executive Director of Kathmandu and myself, exchanged views on the reason we had come together today, and two national TV channels, radio and all major newspapers were there to listen.

One TV channel has promised me a copy of the cd, which I will do my best to put up on the site!

The cherry on the cake, was that after the ceremony, once the 2 were charters and exchanged, the honorable Executive Director of Kathmandu invited me to join him for dinner, tonight, with the Ambassador for France.

Over and out for now, as I need to buy a new pair of special trousers to suit the event!

The environment is the main reason why, on the 2nd August, the honorable Dikawar Bastola, Mayor of Pokhara, officially signed the Velo Mondial Charter for bicycle friendly communities.

The second reason for Pokhara’s decision is to reconcile the rich-poor gap which is very much apparent in the city, as in the rest of the country.

The bicycle will preserve the environment, displaying idealic scenery for tourists and locals alike. Furthermore, the bicycle will enhance equal opportunities to the rich as to the poor when it comes to transport throughout the city: notably for home to work displacements.

Pokhara’s declaration marks the city’s will to commit itself to the development of the city whilst respecting the people’s rights to equal opportunities and to their inherited environment. Pokhara’s commitment is one the city would like to share today with the other bicycle friendly communities of the world, to form a basis for future transport policy making.

This article appeared the next day on the 3rd august. Its headline is unfortunately translated to “a round the world cyclist declares the Maoists are no threat to foreigners”. The article itself testifies on Pokhara’s commitment to the Velo Mondial Charter as a solution to the growing pollution in the city, describes the 360ways project, and finishes with a crucial viewpoint on the Maoists.

The article appeared in a national royalist newspaper, and reflects surprisingly well what is going on in this country today. Please read the Pokhara news update for more details.

For now though, Kathmandu City, the capital of Nepal, has been informed that the Velo Mondial Charter is on its way!

Over and out.

On the net:

The Tribune India

The CDA (Capital Development Authority), the governing body of Islamabad, expressed great excitement at the arrival of the 360ways project, as the proposed Velo Mondial Charter truly reflects local development policy.

Islamabad was built during the 1960’s to replace Karachi as Pakistan's capital. The city’s young age means that today it is left with little choice but to constantly look to the future, as it has done since its birth.

The city was drawn up by a Greek firm of architects, Doxiadis Associates, to follow a triangular shape, based on a grid system.  This has laid out the base for the future growth of the city, by zones, where what is needed now is to fill in the gaps.

Islamabad is divided into eight basic zones: Administrative, diplomatic enclave, residential areas, educational sectors, industrial sectors. commercial areas, rural and green areas. Each sector has its own shopping area and public park. Zones are linked by the so called “green strips” which provide space for choice, future development, and quality of life today.

Today, the planners are constantly maintaining the balance between the city’s mouldable infrastructure and the city’s sharp population increase (from 380 thousand in 1998 to 1 million in 2000).  Eventually, Islamabad will absorb Rawalpindi, its sister city of 1.5 million inhabitants, situated 15km away.

Crowds are rare and traffic jams are weak in Islamabad, which gives planners and policy makers the time to identify, plan and counter arising urban problems such as uncontrolled development, pollution and congestion. The 360ways visit has provided CDA directorate with the possibility to officialise such a measure : to integrate the use of the bicycle as a mode of urban transport within its grid system, and within other development procedures.

With the help from Velo Mondial, Islamabad will implement a bicycle network throughout the city as part of its aim to look to the future, and to build upon the sustainable urbanisation it set out for itself in the 1960’s.

The bicycle has its natural place in Islamabad, as each zone will be re-identified by intra-zone journeys by bicycle. Furthermore, the bicycle network will provide bicycle communication from one zone to another, making use of the green strips already in place today. Extensive infrastructure development is already being carried out today, as part of a first step prior to linking of the network as a whole.

The signing of the Charter coincided with the UN’s global environment day, during which Islamabad demonstrated its foresight and environmental friendliness. During this day, the city’s young and hopeful bicycle policy was brought out to the streets, as students of a local college held a bicycle rally together with leading personalities. These cyclists carried messages on the importance of the environment and on awareness about the healthy, environment-friendly means of transportation, which is the bicycle.

Through starting a dialogue with Velo Mondial, the city of Islamabad has taken a step towards promoting the bicycle as a form of transport for its citizens. This step means that today, Islamabad and the CDA, are no longer alone in pursuing their policies and objectives. Velo Mondial, and other signatories will maintain and develop bicycle presence in the world, so as catalysing one of the most important moves towards sustainable urbanisation.

The CDA will be invited to the next Velo Mondial conference in Cape Town, South Africa (5-10 March 2006), in order to represent the city of Islamabad, and voice their views. 

Christopher Huggins countersigned the Charter on behalf of Velo Mondial, with the sponsorship of UNESCO (Paris, France).

This Charter provides a blueprint and a set of directives for promoting the bicycle as an efficient, environmentally friendly alternative to motorized transport.

The signing represents a major achievement in the round-the-world 360ways venture which began in Paris in June 2004. Having crossed 7 European countries, Turkey and Iran by bicycle, Christopher Huggins and Peter Kennedy reached Pakistan on 27th March and Lahore on 2nd May.

Lahore with a population exceeding 7 million has, as in big cities everywhere, environmental challenges and transport problems. A large number of citizens in Lahore own bicycles and continue to use this highly economical mode of transportation. However, existing facilities for bicycle riders in Lahore are not sufficient. An increasing number of cities worldwide now look upon the bicycle as a solution to improving the environment, reducing congestion, enhancing public health and more.

Velo Mondial is a global organisation which supports the position of bicycle planning on the agenda of local and national governments. Velo Mondial provides an opportunity for cities to improve their support for bicycle planning in order to achieve the benefits that cycling can offer. Velo Mondial is partly funded by the European Union. Mr. Christopher Huggins, as their official representative, made a formal proposal to the city of Lahore on the 3rd of May, which today has been officially accepted by the Mayor.

Through signing this charter, Lahore municipality has made public its will to bring respect and dignity back to cyclists. The bicycle, seen by many as the 'poor man's transport' is in fact the healthiest type of transport, along with walking. Bicycle usage has reduced in recent years, in many cases because of safety issues and the rise of air pollution, both caused by motorized vehicles.

The 360ways project aims at promoting the bicycle as a mode for urban transport and a solution for sustainable urbanisation. The project was created by Christopher Huggins and Peter Kennedy, with the support from the project sponsors, to "give a new life to the bicycle globally".
Christopher Huggins and Peter Kennedy left Paris, France on the 6th June 2004, to perform a round the world bicycle trip to promote the use of the bicycle. To date they have visited 29 municipalities, including Paris, Versailles, Lyon, Cannes, Genoa, Parma, Ferrara, Udine, Venice, Graz, Vienna, Budapest, Szeged, Belgrade, Sofia, Plovdiv, Istanbul, Bursa, Eskisehir, Ankara, Teheran, Isfahan, Shiraz and Quetta.

In each city, they present to the municipality the Velo Mondial Charter for Bicycle Friendly Communities. This world Charter gives an international voice to local governments around the world that wish to count on the bicycle within their transport system.
Cities such as Berlin, Dublin, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Budapest, Cannes, Udine, Plovdiv, and Bursa have already signed the Charter.

This is a starting point for cities that realise the benefits of the bicycle for all. Among these benefits are reduced air pollution, reduced noise pollution, less dangerous accidents, less traffic congestion. The health and well being of citizens of 'Bicycle Friendly Cities' is improved not only by the routine physical activity itself, but also through lower air pollution and less road accidents.
 
Through starting a dialogue with Velo Mondial, the city of Lahore has taken a step towards promoting the bicycle as a form of transport for its citizens. In the following weeks, an analysis will be made on the current state of bicycle friendliness in the city of Lahore. Factors such as bicycle safety, cycle paths, funding and partnerships will be explored. Representatives of the city of Lahore will be invited to the next Velo Mondial conference in Cape Town South Africa (5-10 March 2006) in order to represent the city of Lahore, and voice their views.

In the news:

The Nation, Pakistan

The International News, Pakistan

Deutsche Welle South Asia News

Sustainable Urban Transport Project

The Tribune India

Next, Bursa will enter its bicycle related criteria into the Velo Info Database, and begin contact with representatives from Velo Mondial.

Bursa will be awarded Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum and will then be given directives in order to reach the next level.

A benchmark will follow, with the 37 other cities (eg. Berlin, Helsinki, Budapest) which are already part of the Velo Mondial initiative.

The city of Bursa will thus be able to exchange thoughts and realities with sister cities, over bicycle promotion.

The main reason for officially signing the Velo Mondial charter in a special press conference, is a fast growing usage of cars, for short trips.

This in turn has meant an increase in congestion, and air pollution.

Bursa now accepts the bicycle as a safe, healthy and sociable alternative to the car.

With the help of Velo Mondial and Velo Info, Bursa will, over the next few years, continue to build an efficient infrastructure for bicycle usage, and promote the bicycle as a form of urban transport to her citizens.

This is a historical moment and we, at 360ways, are thrilled to welcome Bursa as a bicycle friendly community!

Udine has now signed the Charter for Bicycle Friendly Communities.

Dott. Cristiano Lesa, Presidente 1 ^ Circoscrizione, Commune di Udine, after discussion with his team of advisers, decided to sign the charter, in front of a press conference organised by Massimo Plaino, Director of International Relations, University of Udine.

Next Udine will use the Velo.Info Benchmarking Tool  to find out what status they will get (bronze, silver, gold or platinum) and where they could improve.

This is a further success of 360ways in Italy; by September we expect more results in the area.

Previously we could report good news i.e. from various cities in France and from cities in Italy like Parma, Venice and Ferrara.

Dott. Massimo Plaino (International Relations Office of the University of Udine) has offered to organize a support group for Velo Mondial / Velo.Info in Northern Italy.

They will translate the Velo.Info Benchmarking Tool in Italian, invite other cities to join and be focal group for other countries
in the area.

As Peter and I slowly make our way to the Austrian border, which we should reach by tonight, we cannot help but feel a little emotion...

The 360ways dream is working, the cities are listening, the bicycles are regaining their dignity.

For more information, please read the following press article (Messagerro Veneto, 60 000 copies sold a day).