SEVILLE, Spain (BRAIN)—The city of Seville, Spain has been selected by the European Cyclist Federation (ECF) to host the 2011 edition of Velo-City.
Velo-city 2011 expects to welcome more than 1,000 visitors from all over the world who, during the three-day conference, will highlight cycling as a means of urban sustainable transport. The conference slogan, “The Cycle of Life," refers to the bicycle as a part of everyday life and source of health for people of any age in more inhabitable cities and regions.
In just three years the Infrastructures for Sustainability department, a part of the Seville City Council with their Steering Plan for Bicycles (2007-2010), created a fully segregated cycle tracks system of more than 120 kilometers in length, ten times the daily cycle usage, from 6,000 to 60,000 trips a day. This means that almost 7 percent of all journeys with a vehicle are made by bicycle today and 30 percent of these “new” cyclists actually switched from their cars.
“In a very short time, we have combined our economic efforts with a firm, decisive policy aimed at developing road interventions, sectional programs and strong policies to foster the use of bicycles as a healthy and sustainable means of transport with a positive impact on both the individuals involved and on society in general,” said José Antonio García Cebrián, member of the City Council of Seville and director of Velo-city 2011. “We are now confident that we have established the basis for Seville to become a member of the club of cycling-friendly cities, making for happier citizens, and there is no going back. We proved that it is possible to prioritize in favor of sustainable transport and make a significant contribution to the necessary battle against climate change.”
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