UK local authorities have until 16 January 2016 to become the first in the country to join a key EU cycling and walking scheme.
Councils can bid for 'exchange city' status within the EU-supported FLOW (Furthering Less Congestion by Creating Opportunities For More Walking and Cycling) project.
The scheme aims to put green modes on an equal footing with motorised transport as a way of overcoming urban congestion.
The EU states that this is its first project explicitly to link walking and cycling with targets for congestion reduction.
Among projected practical outcomes is the development of a 'user friendly' tool for quantifying the ability of walking and cycling measures to reduce congestion, which the participating cities will pilot.
The results it delivers will be used to develop implementation scenarios and action plans aimed at encouraging the cycling- or walking-based measures that have proved to be most effective.
Another will be the fostering of markets for new walking and cycling products and services designed to boost large-scale take-up.
Successful applicants will be the first UK project participants to join the existing partner cities of Budapest, Dublin, Gdynia, Lisbon, Munich, and Sofia.
Matchups between cities will be on the basis of levels of interest in integrating walking and cycling as 'equal modes' into their planning processes and multi-modal transport models.
The new partners will be expected to commission their own modelling exercises, collect data - with the emphasis on fresh sources, organise local stakeholder meetings and develop a deployment roadmap.
