The city of Debrecen was awarded the title of Cycling Friendly Municipality in 2010, 2016 and 2019 and became an Advanced Cycling Friendly Municipality in 2021. Its achievements in this field in 2022 have now earned it the title of Cycling Friendly Municipality once again.
From 2019, the Hungarian Transport Research and Logistics Institute (CTI), a non-profit organisation, is responsible for the entire application process on behalf of the Ministry of Transport. The award was presented to Debrecen by Péter Ágh, Minister of State for the Social Coordination of Public Investments, and received by Diána Széles, Deputy Mayor of Debrecen, at the headquarters of the CTI in Budapest on 24th of March 2023.
Diána Széles said that the city’s health plan, which was drawn up in 2002 and has been updated several times since then. She stated that people would like to cycle to stay healthy and fit and that this requires an appropriate and safe infrastructure. Thus, health promotion and the prevention of cardiovascular diseases have always played a significant role in the development of Debrecen’s cycle path network in recent decades. The construction of cycle paths, and thus the creation of opportunities for cycling in and around the city, and the continuous improvement of the conditions for this easy leisure sport, has led to a measurable increase in the demand for physical activity among the citizens of Debrecen.
“In addition to infrastructure, the development of cycling culture in Debrecen is also a priority in the field of awareness-raising and education in cycling, with the aim of creating cycling training courses for children in the playgrounds being built in the city as part of the Green City Program”, she continued.
EDC Debrecen Urban and Economic Development Center was also awarded the title of Cycling Friendly Workplace at the Budapest event, the fourth time it has received the award since 2019.
