Achievements of AutoMat 2024

In the twenty-first year of activity of the AutoMat association, a lot happened again. We organized the 14th edition of the May challenge To work by bike, walk, or trot, the World Cycle Ride, the 19th edition of the neighborhood festival Zažít město jinak and the film festival Městem, which this time focused mainly on the topic of urban communities. Our LAB carefully monitored and commented on transport plans, projects, and measures, and compiled analyses, methodologies, and research. And for the vast majority of the year, we were intensively dealing with Prague’s North-south highway and its planned reconstruction.

The highway does not belong to the city

In order to make sure that the planned revitalization of the highway in the territory of Prague 2 will take place with regard to people, sustainable transport, the environment, and the local economy, we have prepared a special website vyzva.auto-mat.cz. This represents measures that should not be missing in the affected area during the reconstruction, including visualizations and ambassadors who support our efforts for a better and more dignified city center. More than 5,000 people across the Czech Republic joined our online challenge The highway does not belong to the city. Our “paper” petition was then signed by more than 1,300 men and women from Prague. Some did so at a petition stand, which we broke several times during the spring and summer at various events in Prague and on the street, and others at one of our petition sites in friendly cafes. Some active individuals collected signatures on petition sheets themselves in their surroundings and carried or sent them to us at the AutoMat office. On Wednesday, September 11, we organized an event called 9 seconds for the people in I.P. Pavlova Square, a busy but very hostile place for people, with the participation of journalists and ambassadors, where three hundred passers-by joined our petition. At the beginning of October, we handed over all the petition sheets to the Prague City Council. We expect her official statement at the turn of the year, so far we have an answer from the deputy mayor that the project is headed in a similar direction. Thank you to everyone who joined our efforts for a better highway!

Neither the call nor the petition became a reality without our experts, friendly organizations and other collaborators, but also without our donors. You can support our long-term efforts for better cities at www.nakrmteautomat.cz. Thanks!

From the 9 seconds for the people happening

LAB

LAB

At the beginning of the year, we commented on the change in the spatial plan in Ruzyni and analyzed the accident statistics of cyclists for the year 2023. At the Cyclists to Themselves meeting in February, we presented our research and the new geodatabase. At the beginning of March, it was confirmed that the authorities complied with most of AutoMat’s comments regarding the Spatial Study of Nové Dvory in Prague 4. In April, we commented on the new Prague building regulations for their inadequacy in creating cycling facilities. Together with Arnika, we also drew attention to the fact that the Hlavní nádraží track could become an area whose development will be entirely in the hands of the Penta company. We also questioned Deputy Mayor Hlaváček about this and participated in enforcing the conditions for the next step. An independent working group should be established and an architectural competition should be announced with a definition of the needs and interests of individuals interested.

For the city district of Prague 2, we developed contra-flow cycling projects in the streets Španělská, Dykova, and Sázavská. This year, we also handed over a larger package of older proposals to the representatives of Prague 8, including the formal legalization of driving on sidewalks (B11 instead of B1), bicycle turn signals (for example, in Palmovka Street), and initiatives to improve pedestrian movement. Thanks to this, it is legal to ride on the sidewalks in Střelničná and K Pazderká. We also deal with illegal parking on the sidewalks and in the corridor of route A 26 on Elsnicová náměstí. We actively communicated with the municipality, the transport company, and the IPR regarding the paving in the reconstructed Vodičková Street. We also mentioned the planned changes in the Ladronka park. We also looked in detail at the data from Prague’s bicycle traffic counters and compared the development of the intensity of bicycle traffic between 2019 and 2023. A detailed analysis, including graphs, was published on the City by Bike website. In cooperation with the Prague Cyclists community, we have prepared a knowledge base for ourselves: a guide to documents for effectively improving the conditions for cycling on the part of the public.

We organized the World Bicycle Day Ride in Prague, which was attended by around 500 people. We prepared a unique research on the actual accident rate of cyclists Self-reported and official accident rate involving a bicycle, Methodology for researching the traffic behavior of cyclists, we analyzed accidents involving cyclists when overtaking two years after the introduction of the mandatory side distance. We organized two seminars. The first entitled Seminar: A sidewalk is not a parking lot or How to resist the introduction of ZPS on sidewalks and the second Cycling infrastructure: standards and data for professionals and the general public with the participation of domestic and foreign guests. We submitted a statement to the EIA investigation procedure for the Vltava Philharmonic project and requested an environmental impact assessment and suggested a rework. Based on the initiative of our and other associations, the City Hall the City of Prague decided that a full construction impact assessment (EIA) would be carried out. We organized two guided bike tours around Prague’s infrastructure. In October and November, the 5th year of Městem film show took place, this time with a theme of importance of urban communities. We are also involved in negotiations with Prague 10 regarding the dangerous intersection near Eden, where two people died in 2024 alone – a pedestrian and a cyclist.

“It was a demanding, but very successful and successful year in which we did a lot of work,” concludes Martin Šotola, director of AutoMat.

None of the performances and outcomes of our LAB would have become a reality without our experts, friendly organizations and other collaborators, but also without our donors. You can support our long-term efforts for better cities at www.nakrmteautomat.cz. Thanks!

Selection from activities of our LAB

Bike to Work

We started the year with the 6th annual January challenge (January 15-21, 2024), in which over 1,500 brave people from across the country signed up. As part of the weekly challenge – despite the not entirely favorable January weather – they registered more than 3,600 sustainable journeys in the Bike to Work system. We thus recorded almost 27,200 kilometers covered and a CO2 saving of more than 3.5 tonnes – compared to the same distance covered by car. 25,355 people from 55 cities and 1,794 organizations took part in the 14th year of our flagship, the May Challenge covering a total of 5.3 million kilometers (of which 4.5 million by bike and 1 million km on foot or trot). This saved 690 tons of CO2 (compared to the same number of kilometers traveled by car). And that’s great news because it’s the equivalent of what 690 trees can absorb in 100 years! As part of the May Challenge, 25 bike rides and bike rides, 18 bike breakfasts and bike snacks, 177 T-shirt events, and 40 closing parties with the announcement of award-winning teams and the presentation of prizes took place in participating cities across the country.

A full 79% of the participants had their employer pay the entry fee for the challenge, so it can be seen that companies and institutions really care about sustainable transport. The participant questionnaire, which was filled in by 5,200 people, also showed that 98% of people will continue with sustainable transport even after the challenge and that 33% of them help the bike for mental well-being. This year’s visuals, including the participant’s t-shirt, were designed by graphic designers Šárka Blažková and Petr Kněžek, who were inspired by traffic signs. The autumn September challenge took place this year for the eighth time as part of the European Mobility Week between September 16 and 29. 899 people took part in the challenge, who together covered a total of 71,672 km in 8,067 sustainable journeys and thus saved 9.24 tons of CO2.

The Bike to Work would not have become a reality without our experts, friendly organizations and other collaborators, but also without our donors. You can support our long-term efforts for better cities at www.nakrmteautomat.cz. Thanks!

Some of the reams of Květnové výzvy

Zažít město jinak

The neighborhood festivities, which we have been coordinating since 2006, took place this year for the nineteenth time. Their motto this year was the challenge Slow down! And as we found out during the preparations, it resonated very much with both the organizers and the participants. Yoga, folk crafts, tea ceremonies, meditation and self-development workshops, snail races and slow combat and slow motion crossing a busy street appeared in the programs in approximately 150 participating locations throughout the country. Celebrations which, despite the flood situation, were visited by a total of approx. 50,000 people and the total area occupied by the public space was 190,378 m2. Due to the floods, some localities had to postpone the dates of the festivities, while others canceled them completely. A number of volunteer organizers donated the proceeds from their festivities to help municipalities and regions affected by floods. Our joy was all the greater that, despite the originally dramatic views, streets, backyards, squares and parks came to life again in so many places. Many thanks to all the enthusiasts involved. Without their enthusiasm and hard work, the third Saturday in September, which is traditionally the main date of neighborhood fun within the framework of the European Mobility Week, would not be exceptional in our cities.

Otherwise, Zažít město jinak celebrations would not have become a reality without our experts, friendly organizations and other collaborators, but also without our donors. You can support our long-term efforts for better cities at www.nakrmteautomat.cz. Thanks!

As part of Zažít město jinak the entire republic came to life

Education – Generation U

This year, we decided to give the educational programs, which have been in the form of interactive walks since 2020, a new image. In a team across projects, we prepare graphic materials and suitable tools for younger elementary school students. In connection with this, a comprehensive program is being created, which will support not only us, but also pedagogues and lecturers of educational programs. And you will definitely find something there for inquisitive children themselves.

AutoMat’s educational programs would not become a reality without our experts, friendly organizations and other collaborators, but also without our donors. You can support our long-term efforts for better cities at www.nakrmteautomat.cz. Thanks!