Batumi city assembly approves general plan to promote cycling

The city assembly in Georgia’s western coastal city of Batumi on Monday approved a general plan regulating cycling in the city, with the move seeking to introduce an integrated approach to making the streets of the popular visitor destination bicycle-friendly.

The goal of the plan, drafted with the involvement of municipality representatives, local cyclist groups, non-governmental organisations and interested agencies, aims to ensure “safe and comfortable cycling”. 

Institutions involved in the development of the plan used the Bicycle Policy Audit methodology - developed by an international consortium of bicycle experts and co-funded by the Intelligent Energy Europe Programme of the European Union - for the first time in the South Caucasus, Batumi city assembly said. 

The city authority also noted the document had been developed as part of the regional Sustainable Urban Mobility in the South Caucasus programme, funded by the German federal ministry for economic cooperation and development.

The German Society for International Cooperation is involved in the implementation of the programme.