“Support for cycling mobility is key for us.” We have awarded Pardubice the title Cycling City 2025

On the second Thursday of January, we visited Pardubice to present the title Cycling City 2025 within the “Bike to Work, Walk or Run” challenge to representatives of the East Bohemian city. And we saw with our own eyes that the city fully deserves it. In just a few hours spent here on a freezing day, we witnessed a surprisingly large number of bicycles in the streets, ridden by people of all ages. The city is also actively working to ensure there are even more of them.

At the start of our visit at the city hall, deputy mayor Jan Hrabal tells us that Pardubice definitely does not intend to rest on its laurels. “On January 28, the city council will approve launching a tender for the construction of a cycle path along the northeastern bypass. It will be about 4,100 metres long, and I think it is a significant project. It will directly connect the Dubina and Polabiny areas, where, for example, the university is located. For many commuters, it could be an attractive alternative,” he explains.

He adds that for the southeastern bypass, where a contractor selection process is already underway, the cycle path will be built directly together with the road. A short time earlier, we also walked across a new footbridge at the train station, which makes it easier for locals to move between the city centre and the Dukla housing estate.

Cycling to work at the office

On our way to the city hall, we were also pleasantly surprised by the number of bike racks in the streets—something we are definitely not used to from Prague. Tomáš Cabrnoch plays the role of workplace coordinator for the “Bike to Work” challenge at the city office, and deputy mayor Jiřina Klčová, responsible for the environment, adds that they are working together to encourage employees to take part and, if possible, continue cycling beyond the challenge itself.

“People here already cycle quite a lot on their own, but by forming teams and logging trips into the system, we motivated over a hundred city hall employees. Across Pardubice, of course, the number is much higher,” she explains.

A shelter in front of the station building

Even though the flat city of Pardubice was already considered a cycling stronghold in the last century, the city is still working to improve conditions for cycling transport.

“Three years ago, we launched an ambitious project with the simple name ‘Concept of Parking and Traffic Management’. Its main guarantor is Jakub Kutílek, who has redesigned almost the entire city of Pardubice using road markings and non-construction measures. We are also introducing contraflow cycling streets in suitable locations,” says the deputy mayor.

According to him, public reactions are very mixed, ranging from great enthusiasm to strong dissatisfaction. “We even held personal meetings with some residents, we did a huge amount of work, and Kuba deserves a big thank you,” he continues.

Jakub, in fact, was our guide through the city streets as a representative of the association “Město na kole” (City by Bike), which organizes the May Challenge in Pardubice. On the way from the train station, he showed us a 30 km/h zone on Nerudova Street with several contraflow cycling streets, as well as a non-structural traffic island at the pedestrian crossing on Palackého Avenue.

Calming traffic for safety

“I wouldn’t be afraid to say that compared to other cities, we are introducing contraflow cycling streets in calm streets and 30 km/h zones quite systematically. I think that’s something we can be proud of,” he says.

According to Hrabal, the introduction of the “30 zones” was also not without complaints, but after just a few weeks in place, the public started to describe them as a good idea. “People are glad they no longer have to worry about letting their children cross the street to the playground.”

Jiřina Klčová adds that any process of change is always accompanied by the same “teething problems.” “First it’s legislation and officials, then the public, who have to come to terms with the change, and after some time they admit that it’s actually better this way. But the first step is always the city’s willingness to improve something, which I believe is a constant here,” she explains with a smile.

They are introducing contraflow cycling streets here on a large scale

Just like in other Czech cities, the number of cars in Pardubice is continuously growing. In 2025, more than 200,000 vehicles were registered there. One of the measures the city has adopted to address congestion is the expansion of paid parking zones into residential areas.“People, of course, don’t like it, and I meet with them to discuss one-way streets, passing bays, bike lanes, and so on,” Hrabal continues. But Jiřina Klčová would like to go even further and bring so-called “summer streets” to Pardubice.

“We saw it this May in Copenhagen, where a street is completely closed to cars and opened up to people. Children can play there, people have picnics, and it’s great,” she explains. We are of course happy about her idea and already look forward to Pardubice joining the list of cities with more locations for the “Open Streets” festival.

Building community actively

The deputy mayor also has experience with returning public space to people through the “Table to Measure” event. “I was the political initiator, but in reality it was our officials from the city hall who did the physical work. In 2025, the third edition took place, and for the first time a road was closed as part of the event. It turned out that people in Pardubice can easily handle half a day without it. So we’ll see how far we can take it,” she says.

Jakub Kutílek adds that the association “Město na kole” (City by Bike) has applied to rent a municipal non-residential space, where it plans to reopen its community-run bike workshop and further strengthen the local cycling community. And the community is expected to continue participating in public space events as well.

Jiřina Klčová, in return, offers help with organizing the “Bike to Work, Walk or Run” May Challenge.

Separated infrastructure is used even in freezing weather

Before the end of our meeting, the deputy mayor asks what Pardubice must do to win the Cycling Rank and suggests including bike racks in the evaluation. Jiřina Klčová adds that the city will definitely continue its efforts to get people out of cars.

“A city can’t just expand, and it’s about public health—we all need to move. If we cycle, the environment improves for everyone,” she says.

Even now, a high percentage of residents cycle around Pardubice. Still, the city continues to invest in supporting cycling mobility, the deputy mayor assures us. He also adds that the local transport company is working on launching a bike-sharing system that will be integrated with public transport season tickets.

Cycling is in our blood

After the visit to the city hall, we move on to the Regional Authority, which has been participating in the May Challenge in large numbers for a long time. There we are welcomed by Dušan Salfický, First Deputy Governor of the Pardubice Region and city councilor of Pardubice, and Roman Línek, regional councilor responsible for regional development, European funds, and culture.

Both regularly take part in the May Challenge and are very pleased with the Cycling City 2025 award.

“Pardubice has long been inspired by the Netherlands, a country dedicated to cycling, for more than 30 years. Cycling is in our blood here,” says Línek. He is also glad that cycling infrastructure is expanding both in the city and in the wider metropolitan area. Salfický confirms that he also observes the growth of cycling tourism.

We also stopped by the Regional Authority

Inside the office building, there are covered bicycle cages in the courtyard available for employees, as well as showers. “A bike is quite an expensive thing today, and having the option to park it safely is essential if you want to use it regularly,” says Salfický.

Línek adds that if we want to guide children towards sustainable transport—and thereby ensure a better future for all of us—we need to know they will be safe in traffic.

Many employees commute to the regional authority from surrounding towns and villages, and a large number of them do so by train, continuing from the station to work by bike. Even in January, the well-filled bike storage facilities are proof of that.

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