Progress in the East
Can Central and Eastern European countries aspire to the material standard of living of the west, without recreating the toxic pollution, climate change emissions and terrible road casualties brought by our over-indulgence in private motoring?
The scale of the problems left by the previous regimes, particularly in terms of environmental pollution, should not overshadow the fact that much about their transport systems is to be admired.
Poland has some excellent cycle infrastructure, and our contacts with authorities are genuinely two-way - we can learn a lot from them. Our main involvement is with the Union of Silesian Municipalities and Regions, which is developing a dense network of greenways for local people and as a resource to attract tourism to the region.
The Environmental Partnership for Sustainable Development runs a number of excellent programmes in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, including sustainable transport and cycle route / greenway projects.
In the Czech Republic Sustrans works closely with the Centrum Dopravního Výzkumu (Transport Research Center), the national organisation responsible for technical research, which recommends standards for most types of transport. The CDV is managing a national programme to develop cycling policy and infrastructure, and publishes a high-quality technical guide, now in its second edition.
Across the former Warsaw pact countries, we have close contacts with numerous inspiring national local NGOs, some of which have been very influential in transport policy and practice.
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