Mobility Day at Ciney: mentalities are changing little by little

Cycling was in the spotlight this Wednesday on Place Monseu in Ciney for a day dedicated to active mobility. On the program, among other things: a BMX circuit, a bicycle repair workshop and a procession of students on two wheels in the Condrusian city center. In short, it is an awareness event aimed at young people in which Pro Vélo and Raphaël Lemmens, training coordinator of the ASBL, take part:

They are between 10 and 11 years old. At this age, they begin to be aware of their place in the environment. This is a good time to teach them skills. We accompany them on the street, in traffic, to explain to them how to behave on a bike in traffic.

This awareness is not a first at Ciney: mobility week or even cycling day,… For several years, events have been happening but have mentalities changed? Raphaël Lemmens thinks so.

I believe there is still a lot of work to do but around this day, there are more and more actors. The police are present, the commission for disabled people, several bicycle dealers, bicycle repairers, etc. There are more and more cyclists on the roads. For example, we see more and more of them at Ciney station, in the bicycle parking lot. There is a positive development but we would like things to go faster.

A major political issue

And to go faster, we have to take greater gear in terms of infrastructure. Mobility is one of the major issues of the various electoral campaigns. Sophie Mercier, member of the advisory commission for disabled people, just bought a bike after a mobility day.

In the City of Ciney, there are almost no cycle paths. The Ravel is relatively accessible but on the streets, motorists are not aware of cyclists, especially on one-way streets. We have permission to take them in the wrong direction but the motorists stick to us on the right, as if we had nothing to do there.

Raphaël Lemmens starts:

If there is no Ravel, it is very difficult to travel from one village to another on a priority road at 90 kilometers per hour.

In Ciney, the City, organizer of this event, is in the process of developing its cycling network.

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