1,000 million euros in grants for cycling infrastructure

The regulatory bases for the Aid Program for municipalities for the implementation of low emission zones and the digital and sustainable transformation of urban transport, within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, are approved and the call for applications for the 2021 financial year is approved and published..

As progress has been made in relation to the Next EU Funds, the first call for grants has been published for the implementation of low-emission zones and the digital and sustainable transformation of urban transport with a total amount of one billion euros.

The objective of the grants in this call is to subsidize actions aimed at increasing the implementation of low emission zones, promoting the sustainable transformation of transport and modal shift in urban and metropolitan environments, as well as boosting the digitization of mobility in general and of public transport services in particular.

Eligible grants for cycling infrastructure up to a maximum of 90% of the eligible costs

Among the actions that can be financed for municipalities with more than 20,000 inhabitants or groups of municipalities, we highlight:

• Implementation and commissioning of a Low Emissions Zone
• Platforms and priority lanes (or exclusivity) for collective transport.
• Platforms and lanes reserved for bicycles through new construction or new layouts, as well as other types of cycling infrastructure (e.g. secure parking facilities). In particular, establishment of cycle corridors in peri-urban areas linking industrial polygons, neighbouring municipalities, university centres, etc., with Low Emission Zones.
• Adaptation of roads and urban space for bicycles and/or personal mobility vehicles.
• Adaptation of urban spaces for the implementation of pedestrian zones and itineraries and improvement of accessibility.
• Road traffic calming actions.
• Dissuasive car parks and regulated parking areas.
• Actions that improve intermodality, both between means of public transport and with last-mile vehicles. Provision of bicycles or other last mile vehicles at these points. Secure parking for bicycles and personal mobility vehicles.
• Implementation of public bicycle rental systems and/or PMVs
• Actions to improve the urban distribution of goods: «minihubs». With great potential for the development of cycle logistics systems.

Performance requirements and beneficiaries

To qualify for these grants, the beneficiary municipalities must have approved a Sustainable Mobility Planon the date of submission of the application. In the case of groupings of municipalities, this requirement shall apply to each of their components.

The ministry has also published a quality mini-guide for the development of cycling infrastructure, by way of design recommendations for bike lanes (direct, safe, comfortable and attractive) and bike racks (also accessible). The scoring quality criteria are identified in the guide.

Regarding grants for bicycle parking, the following objectives must be met:

• Accessible to all citizens.
• Insurance for both bicycles and users.
• Attractive for potential users.
• Comfortable, allowing other activities.

They must also meet a series of requirements to be scored in the quality section (connected to the municipal bike lane, guarantee safety and integrity, have a compact network of car parking facilities, etc.).

For all this Mobility by Cycling Friendly, offers the best mobility solutions on cycling infrastructures where around 90% will be provided.

A unique opportunity for municipalities to commit to new mobility.

Similarly, the quality mini-guide for the implementation of low-emission zones is published.

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