This year, during the European Mobility Week from September 16 to 22, citizens are invited to take part in the Step Challenge, the Tweed Ride, the Smart Cities Conference, the Riga Cycling Conference, follow the digital content creators and use environmentally friendly ways of getting around that will provide positive surprises.
The theme of this year's European Mobility Week is "Mobility for All". It emphasises access to sustainable mobility for everyone: regardless of income, gender, ability or where they live. Riga City Council has set the slogan "Sustainable Mobility: Accessible to Everyone!" for the city's activities, reflecting the city's commitment to greener and more inclusive mobility.
"A modern European city is based on inclusive mobility, and we are still working on this in Riga, but initiatives like European Mobility Week are a step in the right direction", says Riga Mayor Viesturs Kleinbergs. "Only us together – pedestrians, cyclists and drivers – can create safe and comfortable traffic for all road users. I am delighted about this year's theme "Mobility for All", as it emphasises that sustainable mobility should be possible for everyone. I will definitely cycle as much as possible during the week and encourage others to do so too," adds Mr Kleinbergs.
The Step Challenge organised by the European Commission in cooperation with the app “Walk 15” will take place for the first time this year to find out which is the most active city in Europe. Citizens are encouraged to actively walk and accumulate steps for their city, thus promoting environmentally friendly mobility and healthy lifestyles. Together with Riga, more than 450 cities have now signed up for the Step Challenge. Riga residents are invited to join the Riga team and make Riga the most active city in Europe.
To encourage students to adopt a healthy lifestyle and to walk, a special step challenge is being organised for schools in Riga: schools that collect 2.5 million steps (symbolically walking all around Latvia) will be entered into a prize draw for a guest performance by illusionist Pecolli. School teams can be joined by students, teachers, family members and friends to inspire each other to spend their free time in nature and on the move.
During Mobility Week, several discussions and conferences will take place in Riga. On September 18, the Smart Cities Conference will take place at the University of Latvia, where experts will discuss the development of sustainable urban environments, public safety and the role of artificial intelligence in urban governance. On September 18, the European Union House will host a youth workshop "Mobile Riga", where young people from Riga will meet with experts, assess different mobility modes and the suitability of the urban environment for their needs, and develop a mobility roadmap for Riga. On September 22 and 23, the Riga Cycling Conference will take place in Riga, focusing on "Cycling culture in cities", to discuss cycling culture and its role in the urban environment.
On September 20, the traditional and much-anticipated Riga Tweed Ride will take place, this year passing through the most beautiful places in the city centre. The ride will start and finish in the Kimmel Quarter 2 Bruņinieku Street. This year, with the support of Žanis Lipske Memorial "House of Courage", special charity cycling workshops for children from SOS villages will take place. The Tweed Ride is organised by the Latvian Old-Time Bicycle Club in cooperation with Riga Local Government.
On Sunday, September 21, children and adults are invited to the Imulrings cycling competition, where they can test their skills in various disciplines and cycling classes. The race will take place in the Imulas and Kalvenes Street circle and is organised by Riga Technical Creativity House "Annas 2" in cooperation with Riga City Council.
To showcase the different mobility options in Riga, this year there will also host a special digital content creators' activity: "Mobility Influencers", featuring digital content creators Lauris Zalāns, Edgars Fresh, Kristaps Putniņš, and Paula Birzniece. Each of them will compete for the support of their followers and the title "Mobility Influencer" by completing specific mobility tasks.
Additional activities are also planned in public transport and urban environments. From September 16 to 19, a special campaign called Riga Rolls will take place in Riga city centre parks and squares, on pavements and at public transport stops. Every pedestrian, cyclist, rollerblader, etc. on the move will receive encouragement/thank you from the campaign ambassadors for their choice not to drive, but to move in an environmentally friendly way.
And, in order to make travelling in public transport more pleasant and to thank people for environmentally friendly choice, on September 20 and 21, both SIA Rīgas satiksme and AS Pasažieru vilciens (VIVI) will organise special “positive emotion” routes in public transport, where a cartoonist, a smile expert and other pleasant surprises are planned. Whereas, on Saturday, September 20, a DJ will ensure a positive atmosphere and will energise passengers at one of the public transport stops in the centre of Riga.
During European Mobility Week, from September 15 to 19, Radio SWH, Radio SWH LV and European Hit Radio (EHR) will host competitions for all radio listeners to enter and win tickets to Riga Zoo for the whole family, aiming to draw attention of drivers to various mobility types.
A detailed programme of events is published on the Riga City Council website riga.lv/mobilitate.
Businesses and organisations are also invited to promote European Mobility Week by encouraging their customers or employees to use public transport, bicycles, micro-mobility tools or to walk to work.
European Mobility Week is the European Commission's annual education campaign from September 16 to 22 to raise people's awareness of sustainable urban mobility. Each year, the campaign draws in even more cities by organising activities aimed at changing the commuting habits of the public and thus reducing traffic jams and the volume of transport exhaust gases, and also improving the living quality of citizens, promoting active mobility, and construction of people-focused infrastructure.
Further information: Tatjana Smirnova, Project Coordinator at External Communication Division of Riga City Council, e-mail: tsmirnova11@riga.lv.