Braga has been announced the winner of the Sustainable Mobility Award for the 2022 edition of the European Mobility Week, awarded by the European Commission, the municipality announced on 24th March 2023.
The city of Braga adds this award to a list of many that the city has already one, in its increasing popularity among both foreigners and the Portuguese. In a statement, the municipality said that the award was due to the cooperation of the council with dozens of companies in closing streets to traffic, the promotion of recreational activities for all ages, awareness-raising sessions on the importance of sustainable urban mobility and efforts to implement permanent infrastructure for sustainable urban mobility.
"Among improvements in the city, the School Bus project in the municipality's schools, the creation of cycle paths, new parking spaces for bicycles, such as a shared system, the extension of pedestrian areas and new green spaces, the modernisation of the public transport fleet for electric vehicles, the reduction of speed limits in school zones, the creation of conditions for people with reduced mobility and a safer road infrastructure are highlighted," adds the statement.
"Investing in changing mentalities and modal split"
For Councillor Olga Pereira, the municipality has done "a very intense job to improve mobility in Braga" and the award "is another stimulus to continue working for an increasingly sustainable mobility, for the benefit of a better quality of life for all".
Olga Pereira highlighted the municipality's commitment to create a better involvement between people, companies and schools and universities, through sustainable urban mobility. Recalling that the modal share of individual transport is "still quite high", Olga Pereira also underlined that cycling lanes are being built so that the city "will have 25 kilometres of dedicated lanes".
The investment in public transport in Braga, with the acquisition of 13 electric vehicles and 25 natural gas ones, was another issue addressed by the Councillor, who said that this year another 30 electric buses will be acquired.
"We are investing in changing mentalities and in modal split. With this, we hope to make the population aware of the advantages of adopting soft modes of transport, such as walking and cycling, favouring individual economy and collective health, by reducing the carbon footprint", she said.
Braga beats Sofia and Zagreb to the title
In addition to Braga - which recently also competed for the European Capital of Culture -, the city of Sofia, in Bulgaria, and Zagreb, in Croatia, were finalists for this award.
"Better connections" was the central theme of the European Mobility Week that took place in September 2022.
Among the activities carried out in Braga, the municipality highlights the implementation of the "Eu já passo aqui" ("I already pass here") project, which consists of widening pavements, eliminating architectural barriers or creating raised zebra crossings.
Other activities include collaborative projects for the redistribution of public space, intermodal rides for the school community, a night-time bicycle tour, the introduction of shared bicycles, conferences and awareness-raising actions on illegal parking.
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