They gathered with the aim of being the voice of citizens who want the basic conditions to move actively and safely on two wheels in Podgorica and throughout Montenegro. Thanks to them, thousands of people, from three-year-olds to those over a hundred years old, in all weather conditions and during all seasons, participated in mass bicycle rides throughout Montenegro.
In Podgorica, thanks to their efforts, in 2015, for the first time after the Second World War, a cycling culture began to be created anew, the first cycling paths were formed, the first Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan was adopted...
For the municipalities of Kolašin, Rožaje and Žabljak, draft strategies for the development of cycling were prepared last year, two of which have already been adopted in the local parliaments.
This is only part of the activities that have been carried out in the non-governmental organization Biciklo.me during ten years of work.
It's as if we got together yesterday, they say on the occasion of their tenth birthday in an interview for "Vijesti" Stefan Bulatović, Sonja Dragovic, Dejan Tofcevic i Blažo Crvenica.
In the first years, the wish was for the first kilometers of bicycle infrastructure in Podgorica and for the bicycle to be popularized as an efficient, ecological and affordable means of transportation.
"Already after three years of work and (re)creation of cycling culture in Podgorica, the construction of the first cycling corridor in Podgorica was completed at the end of 2015," says Blažo Crvenica.
Why "again"? Because, adds Stefan Bulatović, in the first decades after the Second World War, until an affordable car appeared, Podgorica had a culture of using bicycles.
"In the last decades of the 20th century and the first decade of the 21st century, the bicycle was so marginalized in Podgorica that its use was limited to rare enthusiasts and the famous 'pony' as a favorite children's pastime. At the same time, other countries realized in time that cities with such a traffic policy would become unbearable to live in, so they decided back in the seventies of the last century that we must start giving the streets over to people again. A group of people from Podgorica recognized that something like this is needed in our city and founded Biciklo.me", said Bulatović.
They watched how they were created, now they are hearing about the cancellation of some of the lanes
During ten years of work, the NGO Biciklo.me was started and formed in Podgorica, and these days, the city administration is announcing the cancellation of part of the bicycle lanes.
"Those strips were made at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, when there was an increased interest in the use of bicycles. "Podgorica then decided to join numerous European and world cities that decided to encourage and facilitate the use of bicycles by converting one of the four road lanes into bicycle lanes," reminds Tofčević.
Stefan Bulatović adds that due to the way it was carried out, the pressure and indignation of part of the public were expected, because research has shown that more than 70 percent of the inhabitants of Podgorica use a car as their primary means of transportation.
"It is quite logical that they will not look favorably on attempts to cede part of the roadway to other road users. However, in order to encourage more people to use bicycles, which is an urgent need of our city, we must create a network that is safe, well connected, comfortable, attractive and direct", he said.
Bicycle lanes, said the NGO, should have been the first step towards a more serious expansion of the bicycle network.
"Unfortunately, everything stopped there. Due to the pressure of part of the public, the previous administration did not continue to work on improving and connecting the bicycle network, while the new administration showed from the very beginning that it was not willing to resist the pressure of those who are the loudest opponents of a different organization of street space", they said from Biciklo. me.
A few months ago, that NGO published a comprehensive analysis of the bicycle network in Podgorica, in which they pointed out failures in the implementation of this and other bicycle infrastructure.
"We can state that the lanes have fulfilled their purpose, which is to increase the number of bicycle users, of whom there are more and more on the streets of Podgorica. Is it enough, probably not, because it has not continued further in the direction of true promotion of the use of bicycles", they said.
Spatial planning is also a big problem, as they said.
"Which is still trapped in the last century and completely devoid of strategic direction. Because of this, today we have an infrastructure that is not satisfactorily designed and executed, and which is disconnected and unsafe in many places. When bicycle lanes are not planned at the beginning, their subsequent integration into the street space appears to many as a usurpation and taking away of already given space, and the aforementioned lanes are a typical example," said Dejan Tofčević.
When it comes to solutions, the answer to that, according to Stefan Bulatović, should be provided by a multidisciplinary team, made up of different actors and which will be guided by the goals established in the most important strategic document of the Capital City in the field of traffic - the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan.
"During the summer, the capital formed a special commission, which recommended that those bicycle lanes on the existing routes be replaced by bicycle lanes, which will be harmonized with the relatively new Ordinance on bicycle infrastructure. What we are hearing as announcements is that the lanes will be removed first without first providing an alternative on those sections. We still hope that the capital will respect the commission's recommendations and approach this responsibly and systematically, despite the announcements that would take us not one, but three steps back," he says.
The tapes are important, but there are also more important topics
The NGO Biciklo.me is also of the opinion that bicycle lanes are unfairly given a lot of attention, while at the same time essential problems in the functioning of traffic are pushed under the carpet.
"These are: excessive use of cars, absence of strategic planning, low traffic culture embodied in illegal parking, non-compliance with regulations in the field of traffic and spatial planning and still insufficiently functional public transport," said Blažo Crvenica.
In that NGO, they expect the new administration of the Capital City to be more open to cooperation and to include end users in all phases of infrastructure planning for urban mobility.
Cyclotourism as a chance
Apart from Podgorica and to some extent Tivat, Kotor and Bar, in Montenegro the policy aimed at developing the use of bicycles and sustainable urban mobility is at a very low level, Dejan Tofčević assesses the situation at the state level.
"It is necessary to educate local self-governments and decision-makers about the need to draw up plans for sustainable urban mobility, because the elemental way of spatial planning will lead to irreparable damage. The absence of vision is best reflected in the fact that local governments in Montenegro have not done anything to build the infrastructure for the Mediterranean route - EuroVelo 8 and the Via Dinarica route, which pass through Montenegro. In the area of recreational cycling, mountain and Top Trail cycling routes have long been waiting for adequate marking and vertical signage. "Cycling tourism can be an important segment of the tourism offer in Montenegro and it is truly devastating that this potential is not seen and used", he says.
Sonja Dragović adds that a bicycle is a means of transportation that is not intended exclusively for athletes or young people or those who are in good physical condition, but for everyone who wants to move through the city more sustainably, cheaper and healthier, and often faster than by car. "At the same time, the more of us on bicycles, the fewer of us are in cars, so even those who have a real need to travel through the city by car will be able to reach their destination more easily and quickly. In other words, a greater number of bicycle users on the streets of our cities is good for everyone," she said.
When it comes to sports driving, the NGO Biciklo.me said that it must be regulated by the Law on Traffic Safety, with all its specificities.
National cycling strategy, movement by electric scooters...
Investing in the development of the use of bicycles and other forms of sustainable urban mobility, according to Sonja Dragović, is extremely important for improving the quality of life, including the economy.
"When it comes to public policies, it is necessary to create a comprehensive cycling strategy at the national level as soon as possible, but also to approach its implementation seriously. Podgorica especially needs a strategy for the development of bicycle traffic, and we expect that the activities started in this regard will finally be brought to an end. Measures from such a strategy must be integrated into the planning documents, so that we do not reach for it again and other forced solutions. Last year, Biciklo.me drafted cycling development strategies for the municipalities of Kolašin, Rožaje and Žabljak, two of which have already been adopted by the local parliaments," she said.
Tofčević added that fundamental amendments to the Law on Road Traffic Safety are needed, both in the part of bicycle traffic, and in regard to the regulation of movement by other means of micromobility, such as electric scooters.
"Although the Ordinance on Traffic Signals was passed last year, it did not bring the desired improvements and it needs to be supplemented with specific standard signals for marking the cycling infrastructure. It is very important to legally regulate the area of the public bicycle system, as well as the scooter rental system, because these innovations have experienced rapid development throughout the world," he said.
Infrastructure is being built for the future
"Vijesti" interlocutors have no doubt that bicycles are being used more and more in Montenegro and that there will be even more cyclists.
"When institutions and decision-makers understand that the bicycle is part of the solution for increasing the quality of life in cities, as well as for numerous other problems such as public health and climate change," says Stefan Bulatović.
Dejan Tofčević adds that the number of people who currently use bicycles for the purpose of transportation is less important, because that number, he says, directly depends on the capacity and willingness of local governments to create a safe and high-quality bicycle infrastructure, which will motivate citizens to turn to this type of transportation.
"Infrastructure should not be built for what you have on the streets today, but for what you want to have tomorrow. For such a thing, it is necessary to make bold, but smart and long-term useful political decisions, and populism, which has been destroying the entire society for decades, will not bring a better quality of life. Today in Podgorica, there is talk about the abolition of bicycle lanes, because allegedly 'there are not enough cyclists', as if the people are responsible for this, and not the capital city of Podgorica, which in seven years failed to build a decent bicycle infrastructure that will encourage the use of bicycles, help to free up traffic and bring a number of benefits to the entire society," he said.
"Critical mass" as protest and celebration of freedom
During 80 years, thousands of people paraded through the streets of Podgorica and other cities on 10 "Critical Mass" rides and eight rides intended for children.
"It turned out that the critical mass is the best possible promotion of the use of bicycles, because people from three to 100+ years old have the opportunity to experience city streets free from motor vehicles, at least for a moment," says Stefan Bulatović and adds that for them the greatest satisfaction is when participants at the end they ask "when will it come again?".
"Critical mass" is a mass ride, which takes place at an announced time and is secured by the police.
In the early years, those critical masses were a form of protest. Today, in addition, they say from Biciklo.me, they represent a holiday of freedom, socializing and positive emotions while turning the pedals.
Those mass rides are also an opportunity for education, because the participants then also hear about driving rules and duties prescribed by law.
Members, and everyone else, say from Biciklo.me, they try to teach tolerance, but also responsibility for their own actions.
The NGO Biciklo.me in Podgorica is organizing a pre-New Year's "Critical Mass" on December 24.
And decision makers to pedal
For several years, the capital gave subsidies to citizens for the purchase of bicycles. The NGO Biciklo.me says that this has accelerated the purchase of bicycles, which is good, but at the same time, satisfactory conditions have not been created so that people can freely and safely use bicycles for daily transportation.
"The Law on Road Traffic Safety does not provide a satisfactory framework to ensure safe cycling. Moreover, outdated provisions make it difficult to use bicycles to a certain extent. If we want greater participation of cyclists in urban mobility, adequate infrastructure must first be provided for that," said Dejan Tofčević.
He also adds that according to an earlier survey by the NGO Biciklo.me, 56 percent of the citizens of Podgorica cited fear of theft as the primary reason for not using a bicycle, and that significant attention should be paid to this as well.
"Also, it is necessary for decision-makers to encourage people to move actively by their example," he said.
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