EuroVelo Route Inspectors Training in 2021

EuroVelo Route Inspectors training in Budapest - with Maketusz and the EcoVeloTour project

Experts from Hungary, Slovakia and Serbia gathered in the Hungarian capital in early September for the first European Certification Standard (ECS) training in more than two years – explaining all about the updated ECS methodology and revamped ECS application.

The two-days EuroVelo Route Inspectors training was organised together with the Hungarian Cycling Tourism Association Maketusz, a member of the Hungarian National EuroVelo Coordination Center consortium, and partly in the frame of the EcoVeloTour project. This Interreg Danube Transnational project facilitates the development of sustainable tourism in the Danube region along EuroVelo routes via enhanced, conscious and ecologically sound framework of tourism destination management, also extending cycling tourism in neighbouring regions beyond the EuroVelo route.

In ECS trainings, the first day’s sessions focus on the theory of the European Certification Standard, covering the infrastructure, which includes signing and public transport connections, the services along the route and the promotion, both online and offline. The morning of the second day is generally dedicated to the field trip, a practical training while cycling on a local route, for the group to get acquainted with the ECS application. In Hungary, the group went off to Göd, a little town to the north of Budapest, and cycled back to the city on EuroVelo 6 – Atlantic-Black Sea.

After a local lunch, the participants headed back to their chairs for the traditional individual test on the ECS theory, to ensure their understanding of the methodology. The day ended on some more presentations on the process and communication of the route assessment and, given that the route quality meets the required criteria, the certification. Following their successful completion of the training, the participants received a Certificate for EuroVelo Route Inspectors, allowing them to use the ECS application to survey cycle routes, and prepare a route assessment according to the ECS methodology.

Online ECS training – with the SABRINA project

On 15-16 September, the ECF EuroVelo Team conducted another training on the ECS, this time online, without a field trip. This two-days theoretical training was taking place in the frame of the SABRINA project – Safer Bicycle Routes in Danube Area. This Interreg Danube Transnational Project focuses on road infrastructure safety for cyclists as one of the most vulnerable road users. It tackles cycling infrastructure safety issues on existing, planned, and missing cycling corridors crossing nine countries in the Danube region.

Experts from the SABRINA project were especially interested in learning the detailed logic of the ECS methodology in order to compare it to the road safety methodology they have been using for assessing cycle routes: the International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP). iRAP allows to evaluate roads for all types of road users, but it is focusing on road safety and does not take into account all aspects of cycle route quality.

Given that this training did not include a practical part, some additional theoretical elements were provided to the participants, including an in-depth presentation on survey data analysis and action planning, with an example from the survey of EuroVelo 6 – Atlantic-Black Sea in 2018 in the frame of the TransDanube.Pearls project.

The EuroVelo Route Inspectors training 2021 will take place in Brussels on 27-28 October!

If you (or someone from your organisation) are interested in learning more about the European Certification Standard and becoming EuroVelo Route Inspectors, you are invited to join us in Brussels in late October for a regular EuroVelo Route Inspectors training course. The course is tailored to survey EuroVelo routes but can also be used for assessing any national/regional cycle routes.

EuroVelo Route Inspectors trainings have been taking place since 2016 in various European locations. The EuroVelo Route Inspectors Training 2021 is open to all but especially to National EuroVelo Coordination Centres and Coordinators (NECC/Cs), and to external parties having an interest in the topic. If that is your case, however, it is best to contact your relevant NECC/C before registering.

Below are some practical details about the training. More information is available on the trainings’ page.

Price

The price of the training course is €350, although NECC/Cs can benefit of a reduced fee of 100€ per participant. Other costs such as accommodation and bike rental are optional and at the participants’ own expenses (bearing in mind that a bicycle is required for the second day’s data collection).

For participants who cannot bring their own bike for the practical part of the training, the ECF will arrange a bike rental option for 30€ per participant.

The participation fee includes a light lunch for two days, coffee and drinks. Transport arrangements are the responsibility of the participant.

Please note that all prices exclude VAT.

Location of the training

The exact venue is to be confirmed, but the address will probably be the following one:

Mundo Madou, Avenue des Arts 7-8, 1210 Bruxelles

Registration

Registration for the training is now open. Please register here. The ECF EuroVelo Team will contact you shortly with payment information.

Deadline for registrations: 20 October 2021

Contact: Florence Grégoire, [email protected]