Minsk is gradually becoming more like other European capitals. Maybe not in everything, but definitely in the number of bikes. According to recent estimates, this season on the streets of Minsk there will be more than 300,000 cyclists. To protect their interests a new NGO has been founded.
Here's the problem: the number of cyclists is growing quickly, but the infrastructure is not keeping pace. Although Minsk is potentially an ideal city for cycling, the conditions that exist today are not optimal. There are problems for everyday cyclists and for athletes, as was evidenced by the recent massive accident on the ring road. There are not enough bike paths or bike parking spots, and too many high curbs at intersections.
And so in order to collectively overcome these challenges a new NGO has been created: Minsk Cycling Community – an organization that aims to develop and expand cycling in Minsk and the Minsk region. The NGO was registered by the Ministry of Justice on March 16, 2011, creating the first official organization in Belarus that will defend the interests of all cyclists.
The main objectives of the organization are simple and straghtforward:
- Planning of urban infrastructure that takes into account the interests of cyclists;
- Eliminating high curbs at intersections;
- Bicycle lanes and paths that throughout the city.
Also, of course, the organization will cooperate with the cycling organizations in other countries, and share experience in creating bicycle infrastructure. The new NGO plas to become an active participant of the European Cycling Federation and participate in the creation of the Belarusian part of the route EuroVelo EV2 – the bike super-highway that runs from the Irish city of Galway to Moscow. But most importantly – the Minsk Cycling Community plans to make the bicycle a dignified alternative to other vehicles and not perceived, as now, as a pariah among the elite with internal combustion engines.
