Safer Cycling

Project "Traffic safety near schools" envisages enhancement of safety, while decreasing the number of traffic accidents and improving quality of education programs for training of cyclists. Three training fields for cyclists have been set up so the pupils have a chance to acquire skills for safe cycling down the streets of Jelgava. The project is implemented in cooperation with the partners from Sweden. The necessity for such project can be justified by the statistics of the road accidents in Latvia. Children suffer in every fifth road accident. The municipality pays much attention to the development and promotion of the public transportation and cycling opportunities.

Two of the newly set up training Thelds are situated in the area of Jelgava elementary school. One of them is an imitation of crossroads so that pupils will be taught how to behave on road. At the second, the pupils and everyone else can try riding hurdles, special equipment helps cyclists to learn how to keep balance while driving.

The work is also continued with developing a training program for cyclists, drafting technical projects for two bicycle routes in the city and spreading information about traffic safety.

In cooperation with experts from Road Traffic Safety Directorate, a special course for pupils regarding safe cycling is developed. Such important issues like cyclist's duties, road signs and their meaning, organization of traffic, driving rules, maneuvering and stopping, instructions for crossing crossroads, first medical aid and other topics will be definitely included in the training programme.

Project is co-financed by PHARE 2003 programme for Cross-border cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region; this financing constitutes 175.701 Lats.

This project is inwrought in a project from INTERREG III B programme - "Baltic Sea Cycling", which foresees analysis for cycling development opportunities in middle-sized cities of the Baltic Region, thus ensuring competitiveness of the region. This project aims to integrate cycling in the transportation network of city. The Leading partner for the project is Örebro (Sweden).