Mayor of the capital, Mr Ivan Vuković, deputy mayor, Ms Slađana Vujačić, and Ms Lazarela Kalezić, secretary of the Traffic Secretariat, presented today the campaign #JustRelax as part of the project ‘Podgorica on Two Wheels’, which is going to be a step forward in the affirmation of alternative ways of the city transport, as well as the safety of cyclists and the improvement of infrastructure.
During the presentation, Mr Vuković said that the city administration had defined the modernization of Podgorica in all areas at the very beginning of its functioning, in order to make it similar to modern European cities.
“One of the topics that we have analyzed very seriously and in detail in this context is the way the traffic has been organized in the capital. We have approached this issue extremely seriously, systematically and as a result we have promoted the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan,” the Mayor pointed out.
He added that the document especially focused on the cycling issue, i.e. it recognized a significant potential that the capital has for the development of this kind of transport.
“Podgorica is perfect for cycling, both due to the weather conditions and the flat terrain, and we can certainly use a bicycle as a basic means of transportation for nine months a year, not as the recreation and sport, but to replace a large number of cars on the streets with bicycles,” Mr Vuković said.
This is why, according to him, they created a new program ‘Podgorica on Two Wheels’ and realized two rounds of it thus enabling nearly 250 citizens to buy the bicycle under favorable conditions. The capital earmarked 20.000 euro for this project last year.
“This year we continued with that good practice and, recognizing the potential of electric scooters, decided to include them in the call as well. We were very pleasantly surprised by the fact that many residents expressed their interest in it, especially considering the coronavirus crisis. In the end, we had 600 applications, most of which were correct, and we decided that despite the financial challenges we face, we would approve them all,” concluded the Mayor.
Ms Vujačić, on the other hand, pointed out that a special manual was drafted within the project ‘Podgorica on Two Wheels’, aiming to raise awareness on the significance of safety of cyclists as equal participants in the traffic.
She also reminded of the bad habits of most cyclists – when they do not use protective equipment, do not drive at an adequate speed or do not respect other traffic participants, especially pedestrians and car drivers, emphasizing that the capital has launched a new campaign called ‘Just Relax’, that will remind both cyclists and all traffic participants of their previous bad habits and practices, as well as ways in which we can change this in a positive direction in order to increase the safety of cyclists and all traffic participants.
The Secretary of the Traffic Secretariat congratulated all those who got subsidies for being courage and opting for this way of transport thus contributing to the development of the sustainable modern mobility.
