BATS Brings Year-Round Active Mobility to the Centre of the Baltic Active Mobility Conference 2026!

Jointly hosted by the Interreg Baltic Sea Region BATS and Sumps for BSR projects, the event brought together practitioners, policymakers, researchers and mobility experts from across the Baltic Sea Region to explore how cities and regions can make walking and cycling more attractive, resilient and accessible throughout the year.

The conference opened with a strong focus on the links between active mobility, European policy and the changing context for transport planning. Discussions explored the relevance of the TEN-T regulation for active mobility, the role of Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs), and how cities can develop governance approaches that help overcome the traditional silos between transport, planning and other policy areas.

A recurring message throughout the first day was that Europe already has many of the strategies and policies needed to support sustainable mobility. The challenge now is putting these plans into practice. Financial mechanisms and investment are needed to turn cycling strategies, SUMPs and other mobility plans into tangible changes on the ground.

BATS and the SUMPs for BSR projects used the afternoon sessions to share their experiences, findings and practical outputs. For BATS, this included the Year-round Active Mobility Diagnostics and Interventions Toolkit, YRAM Monitoring Guidance and Citizen Activation Guide. The conference also looked ahead to the changing European mobility landscape, including the growing importance of resilience and security alongside climate and sustainability objectives.

From inspiration to action

Day two put walking and cycling at the centre of the discussion. Jim Walker (Walk21 Foundation) opened the day with a keynote on good practices and practical actions that European municipalities can take to improve conditions for walking and cycling. A fireside chat with Dr Suzanne Elfferding from the City of Hamburg and Stella Aaltonen from the City of Turku then brought further perspectives from cities working to make active mobility a stronger part of everyday life.

The day continued with a Solution Showdown, giving participants a first look at practical tools and outputs developed by the two projects. BATS partners Konrad Biszko, Jaana Merisaar and Lukas Junhanns presented the value of the project’s solutions for supporting Year-round Active Mobility. Participants then had the opportunity to explore the tools themselves and discuss how they could be applied in different local contexts.

Parallel sessions provided an opportunity to go deeper into the experiences of project partners. Discussions covered how cities can plan for more resilient active mobility, how walking and cycling can be effectively monitored, and how citizens can be engaged and activated to support a shift towards more active travel.

The conference concluded with discussions on the future of active mobility cooperation and the legacy of both projects. With the work continuing through the Baltic Sea Region Urban Mobility Platform, the end of BATS and Sumps for BSR marks a transition rather than an end to collaboration.

Celebrating three years of collaboration

Following the Baltic Active Mobility Conference, BATS partners came together for the final project partner meeting. Looking back over three years of cooperation, partners reflected on the project’s development from its first in-person meeting in spring 2023 through partner meetings, webinars, thematic exchanges, local experiments and the development and transfer of practical solutions.

The project has also generated tangible impacts in partner municipalities. In Estonia, for example, the Union of Harju County Municipalities reflected on how work with Kiili helped transform the municipality from one of the country’s more car-oriented towns into a reference for cycling culture, with other municipalities now looking to replicate its approach. Experiences such as this demonstrate how local experimentation can generate lessons that extend beyond the individual project.

Partners also reflected on the unexpected connections and relationships that developed during the project, including the journey of Porvoo from an external contributor at the project kick-off to becoming a BATS project partner.

As the project moves towards its final months, partners are completing the remaining transfer activities and deliverables. These include policy recommendations, a final Implementation Package to make the BATS solutions easier to transfer and use, and seven local action plans providing public authorities with a roadmap for continuing their work on Year-round Active Mobility beyond the project.

After three years of collaboration, experimentation and knowledge exchange, BATS partners left Gdańsk with a shared sense that the project has helped start or accelerate a change in the way active mobility is planned in their municipalities.

The challenge of making walking and cycling attractive and feasible throughout the year remains, however BATS has contributed practical tools, knowledge and experiences that can help cities and regions continue this work – and keep Year-round Active Mobility moving forward.

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