Promoting sustainable urban mobility in Lahti

CitiCAP project (Citizens’ cap-and-trade co-created) received funding from the EU UIA 2nd Call, Urban Mobility theme (2018-2020). The project concentrates on enabling and promoting sustainable urban mobility in Lahti. 

Among other measures, such as open mobility data platform and sustainable urban mobility plan (SUMP), the project developed a model for personal carbon trading on mobility and an application that enabled real-time tracking and visualization of one’s mobility carbon footprint. The carbon trading pilot  

Furthermore, a 2,5 kilometre long quality cycling route was planned and built within the project. Smart solutions, such as energy saving lighting, info screens and in the dark visible traffic signs were also implemented on the cycling lane to bring added value for the users.  

Lahti invites fellow cities to join in

One of the City of Lahti’s climate goals is to become carbon neutral by 2025, and Lahti is now encouraging other cities to join in efforts to combat the hard-to-tackle mobility emissions. 

The carbon trading model and application aroused huge interest in cities of different sizes both in Finland and abroad. The methodology and learnings of the development process has been shared with many other cities and research entities. Cities should get involved if they want to solve challenging traffic problems such as co2-emissions, air quality issues and congestion and of course in order to become one the pioneers on the field. 

“We developed the first version an instrument for the cities to engage their citizens to take action on climate change mitigation through their own everyday choices. Hopefully this will encourage other cities to pick up the idea and develop it further to meet the needs of their city”, says CitiCAP-project manager Anna Huttunen. 

A Smart Bicycle Highway improves cycling conditions

The CitiCAP project built a bicycle highway from the Lahti Travel Centre to Ajokatu. The bike lane is 2.5 kilometers long. The construction has been finalized by the end of the year 2020. 

The bicycle highway enables smooth and safe year-round cycling. The cycle path is clearly separated from other transport modes in order to create safe and comfortable cycling infrastructure that simultaneously improves walking conditions. When reaching Ajokatu, the cycle path connects with another new bike path from Renkomäki to Uudenmaankatu Street. 

Smart solutions for the bicycle highway

Various smart solutions have been tested on the bicycle lane to improve the cycling experience. The CitiCAP project hosted an innovation competition to find innovative solutions to be implemented on the bicycle highway. The competition received ten high-quality proposals from four countries: England, Japan, Estonia and Finland.  As a result smart, energy saving lightning, safe bicycle racks and info screens were implemented on the bicycle highway as well as traffic signs that are reflected on the road surface. 

The CitiCAP bicycle highway is part of the city’s cycling network plan 2030, which consists of about 60 kilometers of main cycling routes. The main cycling routes provide smooth and fast access from the residential area to the city center. 

Further information:
Anna Huttunen, project manager: anna.huttunen@lahti.fi

Partners: The city of Lahti, LUT University, Lahti University of Applied Sciences (LUAS), Lahti Region Development LADEC Ltd, Companies: Infotripla, Mattersoft, Moprim. Future Dialog, Good Sign