Good news for cyclists: Ljubljana hires a cycling coordinator
In December 2009, the City of Ljubljana took on a cycling coordinator, who focuses only on problems related to urban cycling. Officials concluded that taking such person on board is necessary for the city’s needs, as the number of cyclists is increasing not only during the regular cycling season, but also in winter.
The role of cycling coordinator was assigned to Mr. Janez Bertoncelj, who will continue to perform a broad range of tasks within CIVITAS ELAN measure 4.6 (Comprehensive cycling strategy) and put his efforts into improving cycling conditions in Ljubljana.His responsibility is to connect different bodies and departments within the municipality, non-governmental organisations, associations, educational institutions, interest groups, stakeholders, public media and general public. Creation, development and implementation of the programs and projects in local bicycle plans is also in his area of resposibilites, as well as serving as public contact for inquiries, complaints and suggestions related to cycling. The traffic, environment and urban spatial planning departments of the city of Ljubljana have already welcomed the cycling coordinator and agreed to help him achieve the CIVITAS ELAN goals. One of these is to increase the number of cyclists in Ljubljana by 20 percent in three years and make cycling more safe and friendly for all traffic users. This will put Ljubljana in line with other “cyclist-friendly” cities in Europe.
Author: Vita Kontić
