Demonstration Lithuania: a soft mobility corridor in the center in Vilnius City and to the surroundings Lithuanian
Type of environment: green corridors Partners involved: Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, Vilnius City Healthy City Bureau In and around Vilnius city, numerous sites of recreational, cultural or natural interest are within reach for pedestrians and cyclists. But both residents and visitors mainly use the car to reach these leisure destinations. The Neris River is an important green corridor going through the centre of the city and connecting it also to the surrounding region as a belt of green recreational spaces. Unfortunately, at the moment this green belt is very weakly used for recreation and there are missing links between the inner city recreational areas and those outside. The aim of the Lithuanian demonstration in STREAM was to defend, develop and promote sustainable mobility corridors leading from the city center and the other residential areas to the suburbs.   Identifying and planning green routes   In this phase, inner city green corridors and connecting routes to the outskirts (and to international cycling routes, Eurovelo 11) were identified. A selection of possible routes was made, taking into account the availability of space, the character and quality of landscape and legal aspects of planning. After site visits and discussions in a working group, 3 sections were selected for further planning, all three with specific characteristics   Vilnius to Kernavė: suitable especially for canoe-hikes; Kernave to Trakai: for cycling; Trakai to Vilnius: by regional train, by bicycle or walking.   For these sections, concepts of feasible and sustainable recreational routes were developed.   Obtaining political and public support for the conservation and further development of the soft mobility network
The concept plan of soft mobility routes was drafted by VGTU team and presented in a project team meeting held at Vilnius City Hall. Meetings with representatives of NGOs, the city and the tourist sector took place in order to obtain support for the concepts. On the basis of all these contacts, the Concept plan was improved, corrected and updated following the received reactions, advice and remarks. Furthermore, several public meetings were organized, with citizens of 3 neighbourhoods and of youth organizations.   Development of sustainable tours On the basis of the identified promotable networks, specific sustainable tours were integrated in the Vilnius city tour catalogue. A pilot project was already carried out under the form of a water sports event on Neris River in September 2007. The testing of a complete package took place on June 7, 2008. A group of cyclists started from Vilnius City downtown and headed to the recreation destination Valakupiai beach in the city outskirts, along the Neris River. Having arrived there, and after a break,  the participants transferred to canoes on the Neris River, heading back for a beautiful hike back into the city centre. An event was organized at the arrival point. The whole action was filmed and photographed and the event was covered by local media.   Awareness and promotion actions for the use of the soft mobility routes and for sustainable transport for recreation in and around Vilnius city In 2007, a video-clip about the STREAM-project has already been developed and broadcasted.   A second video was broadcasted in 2008. The soft mobility packages were promoted at tourist offices active in Vilnius region, in order to put these new products in the market. Intensive communication activities were undertaken for the announcement and coverage of the two pilot projects, the water sports event on the Neris River in September 2007 and the testing of the bicycle+boat package in June 2008.   Home Updated 06.02.2009