Key Lessons on Winter Maintenance from the BATS City Exchange

City exchanges focused on winter active mobility maintenance are crucial for ensuring safe, accessible, and enjoyable year-round use of walking and cycling, particularly in areas with significant seasonal climate variation such as the Baltic Sea Region. Effective winter maintenance can minimise disruption, prevent accidents, and promote year-round use active transport modes, while exchanging perspectives, experiences, and ideas among cities in a region can allow authorities and maintenance departments to tailor approaches to winter maintenance to their specific local context and mitigate the challenges posed by harsh winter weather conditions.

BATS city partners recently came together to exchange experiences on winter maintenance. The summer months represent a crucial period for these important exchanges to take place, allowing cities to adequately plan and prepare for the coming winter season.

The session proved to be a hugely valuable interaction for our city partners, with several insightful discussion points up for debate.

Some of the most interesting topics included:

• The crisis of single accidents in winter mobility. 94% of winter cycling accidents are single accidents, incidents which are often overlooked in city planning but result in high financial costs for cities in terms of healthcare. Cities must improve the safety of cycling infrastructure, so it is usable year-round.

• The high costs associated with losing cyclists. When cyclists switch from cycling to driving, as commonly occurs during winter months, it costs cities between €300,000 and €400,000 per year. These costs are linked to health impacts, emissions, and infrastructure strain.
• Improved urban design can lead to cost savings. Poor design leaves no space for snow, requiring costly transport, as seen in cities including Tampere, Finland. This becomes increasingly prevalent for cities across the Baltic Sea Region due to the harsh winter conditions experienced there. Integrating winter street design and snow logistics early can reduce both costs and emissions, while early collaboration between planners and winter maintenance departments is critical in order to overcome this challenge.
• The importance of data-driven leadership and contracting models. Successful winter cycling infrastructure relies on data-based leadership and strategic contracting. Dedicated contracts, such as outsourcing winter maintenance for main cycling networks, can improve the focus and quality of necessary services, however early preparation (at least one year in advance), is crucial. These contracts must be large and long enough to encourage contractor investment and commitment, while internal stakeholders should be actively involved throughout the procurement process in order to align goals and manage expectations. In terms of data, enhanced planning and clearer contracts can be supported through detailed data collection before procurement. Examples discussed in this regard included mapping bus stops, underpasses, and overall infrastructure. The key to success is a mindset shift. While important, budget size is not as crucial as framing and prioritising winter resilience in urban design and services.
• Creating norms and ensuring quality communication and engagement can drive quality. The creation of strong norms and quality-based procurement can ensure high service standards, while public engagement can support a widespread culture shift. Oulu addresses this theme through annual campaigns featuring 100+ participants.

• A winter-specific SUMP can support actions. The formation of a dedicated winter sustainable urban mobility plan (SUMP) can support long-term winter maintenance strategies. Focused winter planning ensures continuity between seasons and the increased resilience of winter services.

This exchange provided a valuable opportunity for partners to come together and share knowledge, experiences, and approaches, allowing adequate time for actions to be taken ahead of the upcoming winter season.

We are extremely grateful to Timo Perälä for taking the time to share details of the approach taken to winter maintenance in Oulu, Finland, and providing an overview of the activities being carried out in the city. Ahead of the meeting, Timo also shared inspiring examples tailored specifically for the needs of the participants, contributing to a targeted and open session.

Thanks also must go to all BATS city partners for their contributions throughout the discussion. It will be exciting to see how the themes covered will be approached in the coming months!

Reflecting on the session, Phoebe Schütz, from lead partner Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg – Borough of Altona, commented:

“After our meeting with Timo and the winter personnel from our partner cities, there was a clear consensus that cooperation between the ‘silos’ — those fragmented departments within cities — must be a priority if we want to truly improve winter services.”

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