Cycling to work

Three hundred people gathered on June 18 in Maidan Nezalezhnosti on the initiative of the Association of Cyclists of Kyiv to show that this transport means can and should be used not only at leisure, but for getting to work too.

“We want to draw people’s attention to the fact that many people today switch to bikes, which is why the quality of traffic must be improved,” the coordinator of the work of the Association of Cyclists of Kyiv in the capital, Kyiv’s mayor advisor on development of cycling infrastructure Ksenia Semenova says. “A cycling route to Troieshchyna is being developed right now. Drivers have started to pay more attention to the fact that cyclist are participants of the traffic too. I would like this process to speed up, because this is an important initiative which will help to unload the transport system of the capital.”

Apart from solving the problem of the transportation system, people who use bikes in their everyday lives, also bring down the negative impact on the environment, says the co-organizer of the action, Ekocenter activist Yevhenia Kravchenko. “We have joined this event within the framework of the EU Sustainable Energy Week, therefore we emphasize that a bike is a tool that will help to reduce a negative impact on the environment. Cars cause the emission of CO2 which is the main reason for the climate change. And cyclists not only bring use to the city, which is becoming more mobile, but also influence the global question,” the activist explains.

The Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine Ihor Shevchenko attended the event as well. Recently on his personal FB page he expressed his negative attitude to the bicycle race across Kyiv’s center. According to the minister, it causes long traffic jams. The cyclists considered the participation in the action was rehabilitating for Shevchenko and welcomed him in their community. Shevchenko in his turn expressed his support for Kyiv’s cyclist movement and announced the encouragement for the employees of the Ministry who would switch cars for bicycles.

“Kyiv is not well enough equipped for bicycle movement and we should work on improving the transport conditions. At the moment we lack bicycle tracks, parking lots, the public transport lacks equipment for transporting bicycles, which is why people are not eager to use them. As for our ministry, we are planning a special program of financial encouragement for the employees who will go to work by bicycles. We also plan to install shower booths and equip special parking lots in the street,” the minister said.

The action “Cycling to work” has been held for five consecutive years. It is planned to be held three times this year. On the whole, nearly 1,000 people joined the action.