SnowHowYear-round active mobility – resources and network

Resources

48 resources

  • 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
  • ToolkitCore resource

    YRAM - Diagnostics and intervention toolkit

    Milos Mladenovic · 2024 · Baltic Sea Region

    This toolkit is a collaborative workspace for developing innovative solutions for Year-Round Active Mobility in darkness and all-weather conditions. It offers a systematic method for mobility planners and managers to go from a wish to improve active mobility to develop a systematic plan for implementation. The toolkit consists of 8 modules, each presented on a canvas that helps stakeholders explore challenges, structure ideas and co-create solutions together. There are three flexible ways to use the canvases tailored to different levels of time, ambition, team-size and data: 1) Solo sprint, 2) Starter workshop and 3) Deep dive. The canvases can viewed on Miro and used as digital PDFs or printed to paper (A1or A2 format suggested). You find detailed instructions on how to use the materials from the Toolkit pdf-file. This toolkit is part of Output 2.3 of the BATS project.

    • Behaviour & Mobility Management
    • Communication & Engagement
    • Policy, Strategy & Governance
  • ToolkitCore resource

    Winter Cities Toolkit

    8 80 Cities · 2021 · Canada, United States

    An online toolkit developed through the Wintermission programme, providing practical resources for creating inclusive, active and welcoming public spaces during winter. It includes community engagement methods, winter life surveys, action planning worksheets, snow management policy examples and winter city strategies, drawing on experiences from three US cities.

    • Planning & Design
    • Behaviour & Mobility Management
    • Communication & Engagement
    • Policy, Strategy & Governance
  • 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
  • ResearchMethod

    A Seasonal Study of the Spatial Quality of Cold Streets Based on Activity Portrait Indexes (APIs)

    Yang Ye, Yi Huang, Sitong Yang, Wenshu Lou, Tong Li, Xin Tang, Hangjian Yu · 2026 · China

    This study develops an Activity Portrait Index (API) framework to assess the seasonal quality of urban streets in Harbin, China, a city with extremely cold winters. Based on observations of 37 street segments, the method evaluates pedestrian activity levels, diversity of activities and the demographic diversity of street users across different seasons. The findings highlight how the qualities that support street activity change throughout the year: wind protection, thermal comfort and connections between indoor and outdoor spaces become particularly important in winter, while greenery, ventilation and opportunities for outdoor staying gain importance during warmer periods. The study provides an evidence-based approach for evaluating and designing streets that remain attractive, accessible and socially active throughout the year.

    • Planning & Design
    • Data & Monitoring
    • Health, Safety & Wellbeing
  • 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

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