On October 20, within the framework of the GIZ Mexico Urban October, the virtual workshop “Emerging Bikeways for Latin America: Creating Safe and Sustainable Spaces for New Mobility” took place, with the aim of promoting the implementation of temporary mobility infrastructures in response to the health emergency caused by the new Coronavirus. This event was carried out thanks to the coordination of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, with the Transformative Urban Mobility Initiative (TUMI).
At the beginning of the event, Benjamin Jeromin (BMZ – Germany) spoke, indicating that the key element for the development of cities is, and will be, modes of transport such as bicycles. Likewise, Mariana Orozco, (SEDATU – Mexico), shared the experience of the Mexican federal government and its emerging mobility strategy “Plan M4S”, which seeks to provide key tools for the implementation of emerging mobility projects in Mexico, through intergovernmental and multisectoral collaboration and coordination. Later, María Elena Castro (IMPLAN Leon, MX) presented the results of the emerging bike lane in her entity. The 12km-long bike lane has seen an average of 1,850 weekly trips and was connected to two other bike lanes, thus expanding the city’s cycling network. This project was guided by GIZ Mexico.
During the second part of the workshop, a practical exercise was carried out based on 4 case studies from different Latin American contexts, with the intention of exchanging solutions and experiences during the design of temporary routes to guarantee safe bicycle routes. Four cities in Latin America participated in this activity: Cali, Colombia; Leon, Mexico; Rosario, Argentina; and Lima, Peru. These cities presented their local cases and provided key elements for the development of comprehensive active mobility projects.
Finally, Dennis Quennet from GIZ Mexico (CiTIS), mentioned that these projects are driving cities towards a new normal with a green recovery approach. Further, these types of emerging strategies must be viewed as something permanent to promote active mobility in the population and the local economy. With this, we will have healthier, safer and more prosperous cities.
