The European Union’s spending on bicycling and walking infrastructure over the past fifteen years has added up to more than €2.7 billion, and is only expected to grow under the European Green Deal.
The European Cyclists’ Federation says that the spending amounted to €700 million between 2007 and 2014, and over €2 billion between then and 2020.
The Federation pointed to Leuven, Belgium as an especially successful implementation of new facilities and regulations. There, street patterns were reorganized to limit car and bicycle interactions and other changes; in the end, bicycle traffic went up 44%, bus traffic rose 18% and car traffic went down 19%.
The most extensive cycle highway network in the EU is currently under development in Belgium’s Flanders region. Under that plan, 110 routes will form a 2400km network across the region. Sixty-one of the routes are already in operation.
Flanders is not known for its spectacular mountain scenery … 🙂