The public expectations in and the pressure on politics and public administration to build attractive, sustainable mobility solutions are high. Improving bicycle infrastructure to promote sustainable mobility for all age groups has become a political and urban planning priority across small and large municipalities.

The development of new bicycle paths is often slow and the population is rarely involved in their design. Data used by planners and the public administration to draft new bicycle paths is sparse. Notably, there is barely any information on how safe cyclists feel on existing cycle paths.

Municipalities are increasingly recognizing the benefits of involving the public in the needs assessment and planning process in infrastructure projects. There is also increasing pressure on administrations to report on the progress of the expansion of bike paths to the public.

VelObserver is a digital platform that allows residents to register their personal experiences of a municipality’s cycling infrastructure and thus make the bike-friendliness of a municipality apparent. VelObserver functions as an interface between cyclists and the public administration. We offer cyclists a tool to articulate their subjective perception regarding the quality of cycle paths and cycle routes. At the same time, we provide public administrators and politicians with an instrument to co-design future-proof sustainable mobility with the population.

Team

• Lea Strohm
• Roger Fischer
• Yvonne Ehrensberger
• Thomas Hug
• Res Marti
• Felix Schindler
• Peter Gassner

Contact and website

• Email
• Website
• Twitter
• GitHub