After a survey of the population conducted at the beginning of this year, the municipality has concluded that residents lack adequate bicycle infrastructure and bicycle routes.
Where exactly to start to make the city environment more suitable and comfortable for cyclists? Where to build bike lanes or install bike lanes? These issues are being addressed in Daugavpils and in Latvia in general by the association "Green Freedom" (Zaļā brīvība), this time focusing on two municipalities of Latgale.
Līga Krastiņa, a representative of the association, said: "We have colleagues who work in Daugavpils, Liepāja and also in Cēsis. We go for environmentally friendly choices in all areas, and this is one of the environmentally friendly choices, which is also healthier for people and improves the urban environment. We have two such points in Latgale: the city of Daugavpils and the district of Rēzekne."
Daugavpils could be a friendlier city for cyclists, according to Gunita Vanga, senior specialist of Daugavpils Youth Affairs Department and an active cyclist herself: "I've been riding a bicycle for five years, but we don't have these bicycle paths. And if I ride on pedestrian paths, then often there aren't smooth ramps, then I have to drive over these barriers, and I very often tear my bike's rear wheel on them. We raised this issue about the creation of bike lanes several years ago."
Faculty members of Riga Technical University (RTU) have been invited to study the topic of bicycle traffic accessibility in Daugavpils. This is an issue for many Latvian municipalities, says RTU Institute of Architectural Design Professor Sandra Treija.
"We visited Daugavpils for the first time with this issue in April, then in May, and we are trying to listen to the opinion of Daugavpils residents. It is important to understand the opinion of cyclists – local people – about what is current, what needs to be done right now and what wishes should be realized in the future. This issue is very hot right now a development issue in the entire Baltic region, how could we move more intensively with such a simple and beautiful way of moving as a bicycle. In Daugavpils, when we explore the urban environment, it is positive that quite a lot is already being done, in all the new streets that are being rebuilt, there are already these bicycle paths sections. But the biggest problem is that they are fragmented – there is a very nicely arranged section, but it is not safe for cyclists to ride further," Treija said.
It is important for Daugavpils municipality to improve the cycling infrastructure in the city, and Olga Tolmačova, the representative of the council's Development Department, admitted that there is still a lot of work ahead.
"The Development Department has been working on this problem for a long time. The topic was proposed seven years ago. I myself ride a bicycle to work every day. There is something to be done in this area, but on the other hand, it is very difficult. We cannot rebuild the city from scratch, and it is difficult to make the streets wider. Conceptually, this issue is very much supported, more and more people would like to ride bicycles. But the situation in this area is improving. We have more and more bicycle paths in the city," Tolmačova said.
Currently, almost 40 kilometers of bicycle paths have been built in Daugavpils. How to make the use of sidewalks and their exits more attractive to cyclists and how to solve another painful issue – the availability of bicycle parking – RTU researchers will develop their perspective by analyzing the opinions of the citizens of Daugavpils and make recommendations to the municipal specialists, which should happen by the end of this year.
