On Monday, 13 November, Riga City Council, the City Development Committee approved the proposal of the City Development Committee to participate in and pre-finance the project “Promoting Safe, Fair and Enjoyable Mobility in the Urban Environment” (JUST STREETS) to increase the mobility safety of vulnerable citizens and improve the accessibility of the public environment. The project will be implemented by Riga City Council together with partners from 15 countries under the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme.
Riga City Municipality has received the European Commission's approval for funding the project “Promoting Safe, Fair and Enjoyable Mobility in the Urban Environment” (JUST STREETS). The aim of the project is to promote a change in the habits of the population, the mobility of pedestrians and users of micro-mobility tools, with a particular focus on the safety of the most vulnerable people in the urban environment: the elderly, children, women, people with reduced mobility, pedestrians and cyclists.
The project aims to develop and implement urban solutions and amenities that will improve the safety of the most vulnerable and the accessibility of public spaces, thus creating a healthy, fair and pleasant living environment and improving the quality of social life.
Riga City Municipality with the support of international partners, will analyse the intensity of pedestrian and mobility tool use, the quality of the public realm, mobility infrastructure and modes in specific neighbourhoods in order to pinpoint the primary outdoor space improvements needed and the most appropriate landscaping elements. Following the data analysis, the necessary landscaping and planting will be introduced in these neighbourhoods. It is also planned to incorporate the resulting proposals for improvements to the public open space into the municipality's planning documents, as well as to organise public participation and communication activities.
The project will be implemented simultaneously in 16 countries - Latvia, Italy, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Greece, Israel, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania and the United Kingdom, 32 cities and organisations in total. The project will run for 3.5 years – from 1 January 2024 to 30 June 2027.
The total cost of the project “Promoting Safe, Fair and Enjoyable Mobility in the Urban Environment” (JUST STREETS) will be € 597,882.00, which will be fully funded by the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme. The project requires pre-financing of € 50,000.00 from the municipality.
The issue of co-financing approval will be referred to the Finance and Administration Issues Committee of Riga City Municipality and the final decision will be taken at the Riga City Municipality meeting.