In 2022, the Dutch Cycling Embassy’s Margot Daris and experts Lennart Nout (Mobycon) and Roel Lenoir (3PM) travelled to Tirana, Albania for a ThinkBike Workshop.
Before the 1990s, in the communist era, the bicycle was the favored means of transport in Tirana due to a ban on car ownership. A recent increase in car usage has created a unique challenge to redevelop cycling as a viable alternative.
Taking a wholistic approach, the focus ranged from hardware, software to orgware. The experts presented each element separately. Subsequently, breakout groups were used to work through practical solutions for Tirana.
We had the opportunity to speak with Iden Petraj, Advisor to the Mayor and Bicycle Mayor of Tirana, to delve deeper into how the ThinkBike Workshop paved the way for the further development of Tirana as a cycling city.
This year, the Dutch Cycling Embassy celebrates its 12.5-year anniversary. To document and celebrate the global impact the DCE and our network has had over that period, we are highlighting multiple projects. This article is part of the series #DCELegacy.
Q+A with Iden Petraj|As the Bike Mayor of Tirana, you are a great ambassador for the development of cycling in the area. Has this long been a project of yours?
I’ve been the BYCS Bicycle Mayor for the last two years, but I have been promoting cycling for 10 years. I started as a volunteer, organizing local cycling activities and then got more involved in the municipality through my passion for bike mobility. My role allows me to advocate for people riding bikes, giving them a voice in Tirana.
What challenges have you faced when trying to implement cycling infrastructure in Tirana and how did the Thinkbike workshop fit into this?
Tirana is a metropolis, with 40% of the Albanian population here. We also have 22,000 new people moving in each year along with 1,000 new cars. We have had a cycling culture since around 1907. But after the communist era, an influx of cars caused heavy traffic in our streets. The narrow streets and pavements are a significant challenge for bike lanes. Another issue is that motorcycles often use the lanes to skip traffic and cars often park in them when they can, making it very difficult for cyclists.
The ThinkBike workshop helped us a lot. It educated us on community activities for example. We had already run activities, but the workshop encourages us to organize more. We now hold cycling events, also specifically with a focus on vulnerable groups, in our case women and children.
A big struggle for us is getting women to cycle. In a study we did last year we saw that women only represent 20% of the cycling community in Tirana. The main reasons that they didn’t cycle were that they were too afraid to use the bicycle lanes, that they didn’t know how to ride a bike, or they didn’t own one. We want to have more women cyclists on the streets of Tirana and when I see women, children and older people on these bike lanes, I know that they are safe and that we’ve done a good job.
A big part of the workshop in Tirana was software and orgware. What could you draw from the workshop about improving the attitude towards cycling in Tirana?
Since the workshop, we have implemented a platform for cyclists where they can share their ideas and suggestions. These are then presented to the municipality and different decision makers so that they can improve the cycling situation here. For example, three years ago we started a bicycle parking project throughout the city. The 200 parking locations were suggested by cyclists themselves. But, from my expertise I can see that often these are not safe, considering that they are too exposed. We are discussing another option for safer parking, especially for office buildings, which in Tirana often don’t have elevators. The latter problem is keeping people from riding to work because they don’t want to have to carry their bike up and down the stairs. This could be done in spots with good lighting or other security features.
The guidance of the experts was incredible. Margot, Lennart and Roel were very helpful. Their input was valuable for all the people from the municipality departments and local organizations that were there.
What helped us get to where we are now was a combination of community readiness, supportive governance and expert guidance. Since the workshop, it has been easier for us. The report that we got from the experts was very useful. It helped us improve our bike lanes and sparked new ideas for community activities.
Are there any other examples of Dutch practices and the workshop suggestions to suit the unique context of Tirana? I see that you have set up a cycling school. Can you tell us more about that?
We actually have two! The second one will open soon and is closer to the center. We now count 22,000 children educated and trained in our cycling academy. We want to bring cycling into the school curriculum and hold tests in the seventh grade for example (like what you see in Dutch schools). This academy was sparked by the ThinkBike workshop.|One of the objectives of the workshop was to make the streets safer for children. We have started, in cooperation with the municipality of Tirana and a local organization, to implement safe streets around the schools. The project is called “Streets for Kids”, and we already have 4 to 5 schools that are a part of the program. Our plan is to extend this to all elementary schools in Tirana. I am not trying to force the children to cycle, the project also makes the areas around schools generally safer and car-free.
We have better conditions than before, but I don’t see it as safe enough for all children to cycle yet. There are experienced children that can cycle to school, but it’s not for all of them. Step by step we will get there.
It must be nice after 10 years of working on bicycle infrastructure to be recognized by the Bloomberg Initiative for Cycling Infrastructure?
Of course! It’s one big step in the right direction. These are very transformative projects. For Tirana, this shows that the future is bright. Also, we are working towards the same objectives but to be recognized like this is nice.
This prize will allow us to build 10 new safe bicycle intersections that will connect the busiest bike lanes. Not only does this improve connectivity but also safety. The BICI project had 500 applications and we were among 10 cities to be chosen as winners.
How has the local community and municipality responded to the implementation of the bicycle lanes?
Surprisingly, the municipality is very supportive towards cycling and these goals. Not only do they put in extra infrastructure, but they also support our community meetings. Once a month, we hold a meeting with our community stakeholders, including people from different departments of the municipality. They are very open to the community’s input from everyday issues. The only hurdle we face is getting enough funding. If we had the budget to build lanes all over the city, then I’m sure we could do that!
At first, the citizens were not very welcoming to all this change, fighting and protesting the areas that cycling infrastructure had taken over. We conducted surveys though, after the implementation of bike lanes on our busiest streets. These showed an increase in revenue for the businesses on the street, with pedestrians and cyclists more engaged in the local community.
We have counters in a few locations and can see that the number of cyclists doubles year to year. The road should be welcoming to everyone, especially to pedestrians and cyclists. This is our focus for the moment. We are expanding the bicycle lanes and pavements for this reason.
On the 4th of May, Iden and her team are organizing the first conference in Tirana solely focused on cycling. They are also hosting a bicycle festival in Tirana around World Bicycle Day which attracts hundreds of cyclists from across the region.
|Do you want to learn more about Tirana’s experience, or are you interested in engaging with the Dutch Cycling Embassy for a ThinkBike Workshop in your city? Please contact us for more info!
