Cracow
Cycling Policy
Cracow
cycling policies date back to early 90's, when Polski Klub Ekologiczny
(PKE, Polish Ecological Club, member of Friends of the Earth
International and other NGO lobbied for cycling infrastructure.
The first bicycle actions
in Cracow happened as early as in 1987, led by Tadeusz Kopta, a
traffic engineer, expert with PKE and avid cyclist. In 1993, the Municipality
of Cracow
developed its transport policy, then considered one of the most
progressive in Poland and aimed at curbing car transport and fostering
public transport and bicycles. Unfortunately, the policy has never been
implemented and the realpolitk was just the opposite - heavy funding
for cars. The only exception was limited car access to the downtown
area that started in the 80 and maintained since then.
First
bicyce routes in Cracow were built under the Communist regime in the
50's in the Nowa Huta district
(then a separate industrial town). However, they have never been used
as planned. At first, the broad Nowa Huta streets were almost
empty and simply more comfortable for cyclists. In fact, there were few
cyclists in
Cracow or Nowa Huta, as public transport was heavily subsidized and
very cheap. Bicycles were apparently seen as "rural" means of
transport in the rapidly industrialized (Communist way) Poland. Then
cars became more popular and immediately occupied the cycleways as
ideal parking lots. Cycling was forgotten for a very long time. You can
still see these cycleways used as parking places in Nowa Huta or at
Rondo Mogilskie
dowtown; they are unusable for cycling.
First new cycleway was built (or painted, rather) in 1990 near Błonia
fields in
Aleja 3 Maja Avenue in the recreational area of the city. Then, the
Vistula River bank route followed - a long cycling corridor, if hard to
access from many parts of the city. In 1992, the first "commuting"
cycleway was commissioned. It linked the downtown area with Widok
housing estates west of the city centre. The solutions adopted and the
total quality of the cycleway was rather poor and the cycleway never
became very popular. In 1994, another cycleway was built to link all
three routes - and this was a calamity. All users complained that it is
an obstacle to cycling, not a facility.
Now, the Cracow Cycling Policy
includes:
- Master Plan for Cracow
that defines 12 main cycling routes in the city and states that 100 per
cent of journey sources and destinations must be accessible by bicycle
through the city cycling system, that is traffic calmed streets, home
zones, contraflow lanes and segregated facilities
- Cycling Development
Program that shows the timetable and priorities, along with the
feasibility study for the first stage
- Cycling Task Force
with the Mayor of Cracow: it is the forum for cycling advocacy groups,
experts and city officials involved with traffic and road engineering
- Bicycle Audit: a
procedure to review all new infrastructure development pland as well as
modernization, upgrade and repair to see whether they can improve
cycling conditions with no additional costs and to prevent their
negative influence on long - term cycling policies
- Cycling Infrastructure
Development Standards that set technical guidelines and
requirements for cycling facilities. National requlations in Poland are
insufficient in this respect.
However they are not officially
formulated, the policy short-time goals are to:
- create a core cycling network that will be "piggybacked"
on huge infrastructural developments in the city centre, including the
new railway station and the adjacent thoroughfare system (cycleway
tunnel and cycleway system with bi-level crossings will link the
eastern and western parts of Cracow and make it possible to reach major
cycling hubs without mixing with heavy car traffic
- improve cycling conditions in the city centre
The short-term goals do not need being officially formulated, as
they are embedded in the procedures now implemented (notably the
Bicycle Audit).
Medium time goals (again: not officially formulated) are to:
- construct the core system of main cycle routes that would
link all major districts of Cracow and will eliminate all current
bottlenecks that prohibit many Cracow dwellers from cycling to work or
shopping
- Fundraise and implement the EU grant for cycling
infrastructure
These goals have been formulated by submitting the proposal for
EU funding for the core cycleway system and by commissioning the
cycling implementation plan.
Please, see the cycleway maps in the Cycling in Cracow page.