Raising standards: Latest EuroVelo Route Inspector training held in Brussels!

EuroVelo Route Inspectors’ Trainings

EuroVelo Route Inspectors’ Trainings have been held in various locations across Europe since 2015 to teach participants how to apply the European Certification Standard (ECS) methodology for monitoring the quality level of cycle routes, and how to use the ECS application for surveying. The training consists in a two-day course including a theoretical presentation of the ECS methodology’s principles, categories and criteria, a few group exercises and a practical exercise to experience using the ECS app in the field.

The ECS methodology was originally developed for assessing EuroVelo routes but can also be used to evaluate the quality of national, regional or local cycle routes.

The main goals of the ECS are to:

• Improve the quality of EuroVelo, the European cycle route network, and other routes by identifying critical deficiencies and motivating decision-makers to invest in solutions to the identified problems;

• Provide quality control to motivate different target groups with varying levels of experience to use the certified transnational routes. If a section of a EuroVelo route meets the ECS quality criteria, it can be awarded the certification label, which ensures its good level of quality to potential users. But the ECS methodology can also be used at earlier stages of a route’s development as it provides a framework indicating key actions to improve in order to meet the required quality criteria.

Following major updates both to the ECS application and methodology in 2020-2021, the ECS manuals and EuroVelo Route Inspectors’ Trainings have been revamped in 2021 and the 2022 training was the fourth one given using the renewed application.

The number of certified EuroVelo Route Inspectors has now risen to nearly 200 after this year's training! Here is a list of inspectors who agreed to be contacted for cycle route surveys.

An event held partly in the frame of the new EuroVelo 1 – Atlantic Coast Route Interreg project

The EuroVelo Route Inspectors’ Training 2022 was held partly in the frame of the new EuroVelo 1 – Atlantic Coast Route project, called AtlanticOnBike. This project, co-funded by the Interreg Atlantic Area Programme, is an extension of the 2017-2020 project and includes actions related to surveying, developing and promoting EuroVelo 1.

About a third of the participants in the route inspectors training are involved in this project and will use the newly gained knowledge to assess additional sections of the route and, if sufficient quality levels are met, to certify part of it (e.g. the French part known as La Vélodyssée in France).

When in Brussels, follow the new EuroVelo signs!

Following the recent launch of newly installed EuroVelo 5 – Via Romea signs inside Brussels, participants in the EuroVelo Route Inspectors’ Training had the pleasure to follow the new signs during the field exercise! Participants followed a 15-km route from Tervuren to the center of Brussels, visiting the Cinquantenaire Park and European institutions.

EuroVelo 5 – Via Romea (Francigena) connects Canterbury in the UK with Rome and Brindisi in Italy, mainly following ancient pilgrims’ routes towards the holy city. Along the way it also visits important places of the European Union, such as the European quarters of Brussels and Strasbourg. Currently EuroVelo 5 is 50% developed with large sections ready to cycle in Belgium, Germany, France (Alsace) and Switzerland. The whole Belgian section of the route is now signed.

Interested in participating in the next training? Join us in 2023!

EuroVelo Route Inspectors’ Trainings are held annually, generally in the spring, either in Brussels or in another easily accessible city. Do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected] if you wish to participate in next year’s training and to be kept informed on its date and location. Bespoke EuroVelo Route Inspectors’ Trainings can also be organised on demand, in the format best fitting your needs. ECF staff can even travel to give a training in another location. We advise groups of maximum 25 people per training. Please contact us for more information.