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ReportCore resource
BATS Impact Report: Results and Lessons from Year-Round Active Mobility Pilots
Jacek Oskarbski, Konrad Biszko, Daniel Kaszubowski · 2026 · Baltic Sea Region
The BATS Impact Report (Deliverable D2.2), prepared by Gdańsk University of Technology, examines the observed outcomes, implementation experiences and operational lessons from Year-Round Active Mobility (YRAM) experiments in seven Baltic Sea Region pilot areas: Hamburg-Altona (Germany), Gdynia (Poland), Umeå (Sweden), Porvoo (Finland), Kalundborg (Denmark), Klaipėda (Lithuania) and Kiili/Harju County (Estonia). The report evaluates interventions across four thematic areas: infrastructure, traffic management, winter maintenance and citizen activation. Practical examples include physically protected cycling infrastructure and illuminated underpasses in Hamburg-Altona; weather-adaptive traffic signal control and school travel campaigns in Gdynia; citizen-based winter maintenance monitoring, projected markings and winter e-bike initiatives in Umeå; coordinated winter maintenance and user feedback systems in Porvoo; cycling route visibility improvements and commuter engagement in Kalundborg; projected guidance for shared bus-cycle environments in Klaipėda; and school-based winter cycling promotion and winter maintenance bottleneck mapping in Kiili and Harju County. For each pilot area, the report describes intervention objectives, monitoring methods, observed results, implementation barriers, enabling factors and recommendations for replication. The cross-city synthesis highlights the importance of reliable winter maintenance, route visibility, understandable information about travel conditions and citizen activation measures linked to practical support. A central finding is that year-round active mobility depends on the combined performance of infrastructure, maintenance, traffic management and user-oriented services. Communication campaigns alone cannot compensate for unusable or unsafe routes, while technical solutions require appropriate maintenance arrangements, institutional coordination and monitoring. Because the experiments differed substantially in scale, baseline conditions, monitoring methods and data availability, the report does not provide a statistically comparable ranking of intervention effectiveness. Instead, it offers operational evidence and transferable implementation lessons to help municipalities select, adapt and evaluate interventions suited to their local conditions.
- Maintenance & Operations
- Data & Monitoring
- Behaviour & Mobility Management
- Policy, Strategy & Governance
ReportCore resource
Year-Round Active Mobility: Insights into Mobility Management Approaches
Ida Lundström, Josefine Wigström, Naomi Zerai, Zein Anani, Camilla Sandberg, Dennis Martínez-Moro, Juliette Ténart · 2026 · Baltic Sea Region
Year-Round Active Mobility: Insights into Mobility Management Approaches is a collection of eight thematic insight sheets developed by Umeå Municipality and Bax Innovation within the BATS project. The publication explores practical approaches to making walking and cycling safer, more accessible and more attractive throughout the year, particularly during periods of snow, ice, darkness and challenging weather conditions. The insight sheets cover winter maintenance, citizen participation in monitoring maintenance quality, intelligent transport systems, projected traffic signage, perceived security in dark environments, campaigns in educational institutions and services supporting year-round cycling. Concrete examples from BATS partner cities include Winter Scouts and Winter Agents programmes in Umeå and Porvoo, where residents help monitor winter maintenance conditions; weather-adaptive traffic signal control in Gdynia; Gobo light projections in Umeå and Hamburg-Altona to improve visibility and guidance; and solar-powered lighting solutions for cycling routes in Kalundborg. Other examples include winter e-bike lending, winter tyre services, secure bicycle storage and school-based campaigns encouraging active mobility. Each thematic sheet combines an introduction to the approach with practical implementation examples, considerations and lessons learned. The sheets are designed to be used independently or together as planning and workshop materials. The publication serves as a practical reference and source of transferable ideas for municipalities, transport planners and mobility practitioners. It illustrates how different cities have tested solutions to seasonal mobility challenges, while recognising that the examples do not necessarily provide conclusive evidence of long-term effectiveness or represent entirely new innovations.
- Planning & Design
- Maintenance & Operations
- Data & Monitoring
- Behaviour & Mobility Management
- Communication & Engagement
- Health, Safety & Wellbeing
GuidelineCore resource
Fix the maintenance - Promoting the safety of year-round bicycle and pedestrian route usage in Finnish cities
Timo Perälä, Matti Hirvonen, Martti Tulenheimo, Pekka Tahkola · 2024 · Finland
A practical guide for Finnish municipalities on improving year-round maintenance of walking and cycling infrastructure. It highlights the safety, health and economic benefits of high-quality winter maintenance and provides recommendations for winter-resilient infrastructure design, maintenance prioritisation, service procurement, quality management and winter maintenance methods.
- Maintenance & Operations
- Health, Safety & Wellbeing
GuidelineCore resource
Snow Space Guide – guidelines for a better winter
Eeva Huuhtanen, Timo Perälä · 2024 · Finland
A comprehensive guide to handling snow and dimensioning snow storage space in the urban environment. It explains why year-round planning matters and how it supports municipalities' strategic goals, and walks through every stage of the built-environment process, from legislation and strategic planning to street-space supervision. Intended for commissioners, planners, builders and maintenance operators in both the public and private sectors.
- Planning & Design
- Maintenance & Operations
- Policy, Strategy & Governance
ResearchReportCore resource
Sustainable Promotion of Cycling in Winter through Optimised Winter Road Maintenance (WinRad)
Christian Holldorb, Jan Riel, Tim Wiesler, Thorsten Cypra, Niklas März · 2024 · Germany
A comprehensive German research report examining how optimised winter maintenance can support year-round cycling. Based on field studies in Karlsruhe, Cologne and Munich, cyclist surveys, de-icing material experiments and cost-benefit assessments, it provides evidence-based recommendations for winter maintenance operations, cycling infrastructure design and service prioritisation. Short version to be dowloaded: https://fops.de/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/BASt-FK-04-2024-WinRad.pdf
- Planning & Design
- Maintenance & Operations
- Data & Monitoring
- Policy, Strategy & Governance
ReportStrategyMethodCore resource
Winter maintenance strategy and implementation study and tracking, Minneapolis
City of Minneapolis, Department of Public Works · 2024 · United States
The City of Minneapolis' 2024 Winter Walking and Biking Study evaluates winter maintenance policies, operational responsibilities, costs and opportunities to improve pedestrian accessibility and year-round cycling through 2030. It presents eight recommended actions for winter walking and five for winter cycling, including four sidewalk assistance pilots supported by a $595,000 budget allocation. The proposals address snow clearance, support for older residents and people with limited mobility, targeted maintenance services, improved cycling route maintenance and public information on snow-clearing operations. A particularly valuable feature is the city's publicly accessible Transportation Action Plan progress tracking system, which connects strategic objectives to individual actions, implementation schedules, status updates and documented milestones. This allows residents, practitioners and decision-makers to follow how winter mobility policies are translated into operational improvements. The online monitoring system documents continued implementation beyond the original study. For winter 2025–2026, Minneapolis funded four sidewalk snow and ice removal pilots, building on the previous season's experiments. Participation in the neighborhood snow patrol pilot increased from four neighborhoods in 2024–2025 to eight in 2025–2026. Other publicly reported measures include revised sidewalk enforcement fees, improved complaint-handling procedures and ongoing accessibility improvements. Link: https://go.minneapolismn.gov/final-plan/walking/strategy-4 Together, the study and its public implementation tracking offer a practical example of evidence-informed winter mobility governance, combining costed interventions, pilot programmes, measurable milestones and transparent reporting. The tracking system documents implementation progress, although it does not by itself establish the effects of these measures on walking and cycling activity or safety.
- Planning & Design
- Maintenance & Operations
- Policy, Strategy & Governance
GuidelineCore resource
Handbook for Sweep-Salting of Cycleways
Anna Niska, Göran Blomqvist, Tomas Stomberg · 2023 · Sweden
A practical handbook for implementing sweep-salting on cycleways, covering route planning, equipment, salt application, operational procedures and performance monitoring. It combines research findings with practical experience and provides checklists, templates and training materials for winter maintenance professionals.
- Maintenance & Operations
- Data & Monitoring
ResearchCase studyCore resource
Best Practices for Cycle Path Winter Maintenance Processes
Kaisa Karhula · 2014 · Finland, Sweden, Denmark
A comparative study of European best practices in winter maintenance of cycling infrastructure, focusing on maintenance processes, service standards, operational methods and organisational arrangements. The report highlights how systematic planning, route prioritisation and clearly defined maintenance requirements can support reliable year-round cycling.
- Planning & Design
- Maintenance & Operations
- Policy, Strategy & Governance
Research
Aging in experimental places: A case study on seasonal street transformations with older adults in Verdun, Montréal
Aryana Soliz, Meredith Alousi-Jones, Ahmed El-Geneidy · 2026 · Canada
This research article examines how seasonal pedestrianization and car-free street initiatives affect older adults, focusing on Wellington Street in the Verdun neighbourhood of Montréal, Canada. Using in-depth interviews with older adults and an analysis of urban policies, the study explores the opportunities and challenges associated with transforming streets into pedestrian-oriented public spaces. Particular attention is given to accessibility, social inclusion, seasonal conditions and the ability of older residents to age in place. The findings highlight tensions between the objectives of sustainable urban mobility and the diverse needs of an aging population. Although Montréal's policies promote pedestrianization, universal accessibility and age-friendly environments, the study identifies gaps in the geographical and seasonal coverage of interventions and in the monitoring of their outcomes. Older adults' experiences are shaped by accessibility challenges, seasonal constraints, opportunities for social interaction and their involvement in local decision-making. The study also examines the implications of proposals to transform Wellington Street from a seasonal pedestrian zone into a permanently car-free street. The research demonstrates the importance of incorporating older adults' perspectives into street design, pedestrianization policies and evaluation processes. It provides insights for cities seeking to develop inclusive, accessible and attractive pedestrian environments throughout the year.
- Planning & Design
- Maintenance & Operations
- Policy, Strategy & Governance
- Health, Safety & Wellbeing
ResearchStrategy
Assessment of Seoul's Snow Removal Operations and Improvement Strategies
Oh Han Jin, Park Daegeun, Lee Keesei, Ma Gyeonghoon · 2026 · South Korea
This policy research report evaluates Seoul's winter maintenance operations using weather and operational evidence, including data from the 2020/21 to 2024/25 winter seasons. It identifies increasing road icing risks, fragmented responsibilities between municipal agencies, inconsistent maintenance standards and shortcomings in the prioritisation of vulnerable locations. The study proposes risk-based maintenance planning, improved coordination between districts, GIS-supported resource allocation, more consistent deicing practices and greater use of weather and road surface data in operational decision-making. Although its scope extends beyond active mobility, the findings are particularly relevant to improving the reliability, safety and governance of winter maintenance for pedestrian areas and urban transport networks.
- Maintenance & Operations
- Data & Monitoring
- Policy, Strategy & Governance

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