DRAFT RESOLUTION NO. 376 /X

NATIONAL BIKE PROMOTION PLAN AND OTHERS

SOFT TRANSPORT MODES

Exhibition of Motives

One of the reasons that most contributes to environmental degradation and quality of life, morally in our cities, are the high levels of traffic and private cars that congested urban arteries, pollute the atmosphere and the air that we breathe, usurp the public space by hindering the mobility of pedestrians and in particular of citizens with reduced mobility, further contributing a heavy share of responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions and, consequently, for the national default of the reduction targets agreed upon in Kyoto. The issue of mobility and transport, not only by the environmental component of emissions that it presents, but also social, while right that it is, instrumental in the access and enjoyment of goods and services and therefore of fundamental rights (health, education, work, culture, leisure, civic participation and politics), needs to be looked at in a serious, responsible and proactive manner, not only, although definitely also, by the citizens, but first and most by the public powers that have responsibilities inalienable to ensure the public interest, also in this area. Unfortunately the modes of smooth transport, alternative to the private car, morally in small pathways, or complementary with public transport, which can effectively constitute a powerful means of our reach to change behaviours and improve the quality of life of our cities, making them more car-free and helping to return public space to citizens, so that the use and of it fruity safely and without embarrassment, have not been taken seriously, in the greater part of the cases, by our public powers. Old-fashioned prejudices, accommodating habits and ideas made like that of a supposedly invincible and traditional laziness and national modorra, have been serving for too long to delay decision making and measures aimed at changing the present scenario and the promote the soft modes of mobility or alternative means of transport.

By alternative means (to the car, understood) of transport, or soft mobility, we understand, as we said elsewhere, that which is done with recourse to modes of displacement and reduced speed transport, occupying little space and with little impact on the via public and without emissions of gases into the atmosphere as the simple pedonability (walking on foot) or travelling with resort to bicycle, roller skates, skateboards, trotinies or any other analogues. Unlike Portugal, other countries have been betting, in addition to the fundamental integration, intermodality, investment and billetic simplification in public transport, advocacy and promotion of these modes of soft mobility, ensuring security for cyclists with creation and expansion of bike lanes and bicycle parking, rethinking public space to the measure of human and pawn, including the one that presents, temporarily or permanently, reduced mobility, ordering the territory, bringing down barriers to their use, promoting these modes as real alternatives and advantageous for all who are. In this sense, "The Greens", have presented various initiatives and promoted various actions, over the years, with the aim of ensuring the understanding of the smooth modes of transport as mobility alternatives. At the same time with the present Draft Resolution we have presented another one that aims for the smooth modes of transport to integrate the road component of the new Tejo crossing and two Law Projects, one aiming to amend the Road Code by ensuring more rights to cyclists and pedestrians and the other advocating for the creation of a National Ciclovias Network (i.e., clues especially dedicated to the circulation of motor-free speedways). However, we believe that it is possible and desirable to go further. We believe that it is necessary and could be extremely useful, with a view to helping to change attitudes and to create a positive and proactive attitude in defence of the means of soft mobility, the drafting and approval of a National Plan for Promotion of the Bicycle and other Transportation Modes. Thus, the Assembly of the Republic, on a proposal from the Parliamentary Group of the Party Ecologist "The Greens" deliberates to recommend to the Government the following: 1-The Government should set up a working group with the presence of representatives of the responsible ministries by the areas of transport, environment, spatial planning and education, from representatives of the ANMP and ANAFRE, of the National Council for Sustainable Development with a view to the drafting, approval and presentation to the Assembly of the Republic of a Plan National Bicycle Promotion and other Transportation Modes of Transportation. 2-This Plan to address public and private entities, associations as well as to the individual citizen by presenting innovative strategies, proposals and recommendations, and as a key objective to promote the modes of smooth mobility, understood as the means of displacement and reduced speed transport, occupying little space and with little impact on the public track and without gas emissions to the atmosphere as the simple

pedonability or displacement with recourse to bicycle, skates, skateboards, trotinies or any other similar ones, viewed as an added economic, social and environmental, and real alternative to the automobile. 3-This Plan should contain, among other objectives: -The establishment of verifiable targets such as to increase the percentage of cyclists in circulation in Portugal by 2012;-Development of campaigns and awareness raising strategies and education actions for the use of these means of transport Security;-Strengthening the means in school context targeting the learning of using the bicycle and other modes of soft mobility in safety and learning of traffic rules;-Promotion of dialogue and reflection between public entities and the different levels of power and responsibility with a view to breaking down barriers to these modes of smooth mobility;-Support for research projects and the implementation of pilot projects in national urban space aiming to improve the integration of modes of soft mobility and their interaction with public transport systems;-Promotion of the cycling. Palace of S. Bento, September 15, 2008. The Member, Deputy Heloísa Apollonian Francisco Madeira Lopes