4 cities win the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Awards 2020

Bilbao, Grenoble, Lilienthal, and Mönchengladbach were awarded by the European Commission

Yesterday, 19 April 2021, the European Commission confirmed the winners of the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Awards 2020, the 9th Award for Sustainable Urban Mobility Planning (SUMP Award) and the EU Urban Road Safety Award.

Mönchengladbach (Germany) won the EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK Award 2020 for larger municipalities, while Lilienthal (Germany) received the award for smaller municipalities. The 9th SUMP Award was won by Grenoble-Alpes (France), and Bilbao (Spain) won the EU Urban Road Safety Award.

The distinctions were given out during an online ceremony hosted by Adina Vălean, European Commissioner for Transport, and Matthew Baldwin, Deputy Director-General of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Transport and Mobility.

“I would like to extend my congratulations to all finalists and winners. Your inspiring achievements really show how cities and towns across Europe can improve people’s wellbeing by shifting towards cleaner, greener and more sustainable travel options for all. I invite others to follow this path and to join forces in building a mobility system for future generations that is smart, resilient, and does its share to achieve our ambitious emission reduction goals,” said Commissioner Adina Vălean, on the occasion.

Cities showed numerous activities towards sustainability and mobility

The diverse activities and events in the German city of Mönchengladbach impressed the jury. The city set up a variety of information and awareness-raising activities during EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK 2020 such as town hall meetings for the general public.

The city organised colouring contests for children, poetry recitals for those who could bring awareness to urban transit use and replaced 50 parking spaces with places where people can read, play mini-golf or park their bicycles. Jurors also took note of the many collaboration events and the importance of community support.

There were numerous EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK 2020 initiatives in Lilienthal, too, including "zero-emission mobility for all". Activities extended to walking and cycling rides, information workshops with senior citizens, a garbage collection event, and an exhibition on the history of city transport.

About 2,000 people participated in the associated activities. Additionally, Lilienthal worked together with the City of Bremen to organise a Car-Free Day, where over 60,000 students were involved. Local leaders stressed the importance of commuting to work by taking public transportation to prove their commitment to the cause.

SMMAG’s Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) sets clear targets that are consistent and focus on both active and car ownership while making it easy to travel around. Grenoble aims to reduce the carbon footprint on the planet with this. The audience really liked SMMAG's strategy, which made an effort to serve the needs of the economically disadvantaged population in addition to everyone else.

Bilbao has sought to improve road safety in the city by reducing the speed limit to 30km/h. In September 2020, Bilbao extended the 30km/h speed limit to cover the entire city. The jury was also impressed by Bilbao’s communication and awareness-raising activities to promote road safety, and its steps to include residents in discussions and decision-making.