MINSK, 20 March (BelTA) – A conference on sustainable urban mobility will take place in Minsk on 24 March, BelTA learned from Interakcia Foundation, the Belarus-based organization promoting international cooperation.
Partaking in the event will be more than 20 experts from Belarus, Lithuania, Russia, Ukraine and Sweden. They will discuss how to resolve the problem of traffic jams, make public transport more attractive, promote cycling and increase traffic safety.
Along with the experts from Vilnius, Lund University, Vinnitsa and Moscow, the discussion will feature representatives of Belarusian Research Institute of Town Planning, Metropolitan Transport and Communications, the Road Police Department of the Interior Ministry of Belarus, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, Belarusian Trade Union of Workers of Automobile Transport, and Minsk cycling community.
The participants will study the foreign experience in resolving traffic problems and provide recommendations on the ways to enhance urban mobility. The participants of the conference will also make suggestions on the ways to amend the legislation, to develop paid parking and introduce IT-technologies to the management. The experts will speak about the project "From energy efficiency to urban mobility" which has been implemented in Polotsk since 2014 with the financial assistance of the EU. A 10km bicycle track was constructed as part of the project last year.
Another point on the agenda of the meeting will be the initiative to help reduce carbon dioxide emissions. This refers to the Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy, the document with more than 7,000 signatories, including 23 Belarusian cities.
