On 19-20 November 2025, ECF staff joined partners in the CycleRight project for a field visit to South West Oltenia, Romania, to learn how local municipalities are adapting their urban landscapes to encourage more sustainable and active mobility.
The CycleRight project, co-funded by the European Union through Interreg Europe, aims to improve policy instruments targeting sustainable urban mobility by sharing good practices from the eight participating regions. The learnings will be fed into a Climate Resilient and Inclusive Planning Cycling Guide.
Visit to Craiova: Cycling infrastructure in the park
Craiova is the largest city in southwestern Romania, with a population of approximately 280,000 inhabitants.
The city experiences numerous transport-related challenges due to the high numbers of private passenger vehicles. The large number of cars on Craiova’s roads is a cause of road congestion, poor air quality and lack of urban space due to the prevalence of on-street car parking.
Craiova is addressing these challenges through a sustainable mobility plan which, at its heart, aims to make the metropolitan area one of the most attractive urban areas in Central and Eastern Europe for residents, investors and visitors. A major focus is to transform Craiova’s transport by offering more public transport and multimodal options, reduce private passenger vehicles and provide more walking and cycling options.
Though any visitor to Craiova would notice that cars take up a significant amount of road space, one does see that the city has invested heavily in modern public transportation. The city has modernised and renovated tram tracks, purchased new tram vehicles and several dozens of electric buses, making clean public transport not just an available option, but an attractive one as well.
Craiova has invested in cycling infrastructure over the years, though it is an area which requires more growth and investment (see photos). In the city centre there is an 8 km cycle path, consisting of segregated cycle tracks, on-street lanes and shared space with other modes, which aims to connect neighborhoods and major landmarks for locals and visitors. 
Segregated cycle tracks exist in Craiova, though they are generally very narrow and also compete with narrow pedestrian pavements.
While Craiova has little space for cycle infrastructure on its street layout, it does provide for more in its urban parks. CycleRight partners had the chance to visit Nicolae Romanescu Park, a large and beautiful urban park built in the romantic style on a mid-19th century estate and gardens. Cycle lanes are available in the park as well as a location for bicycle rental. The park is also host to an older concrete velodrome, though a newer and more modern one will be built on the site of the former Tineretului (Youth) Stadium.
The cycle lanes in Nicolae Romanescu park are a good example of climate resilient cycle infrastructure, as well as how pedestrians and cyclists can share space.
While the velodrome in Romanescu park is not suitable for track cycling, its large interior is open to anyone and is ideal for first-time cyclists and recreational riders.
Visit to Slatina municipality
Located on the river Olt, Slatina is a small municipality of approximately 77,000 inhabitants, home to one of the largest aluminum producing factories in Southeastern Europe. Though it is a smaller city, Slatina does have a Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) and has made efforts to integrate active travel infrastructure in the urban streetscape.
Like other cities in Europe, the COVID-19 pandemic created opportunities for the city to rapidly implement plans. In addition to more locals using bicycles and e-scooters, on-street car parking behaviour also changed. Whereas before many drivers parked illegally, during and after the pandemic, city authorites ramped up enforcement which led to more space and visibility for pedestrians and other road users.
CycleRight partners had to curtail their planned bike tour of Slatina due to inclement weather, but were able to ride a segment with the city’s shared bikes connecting a large recreational area to the centre.
Currently, Slatina has 14 km of cycle lanes, much of it separated from car traffic. The city also boasts a bike share system with five pick-up/drop-off points.
Slatina is currently planning to revise its original SUMP to further boost public transport, sustainable urban logistics and active travel opportunities. Though walking assumes 35% of Slatina’s modal split (in 2023 figures), cycling occupies just 0.9%, whereas car traffic takes up nearly 45%. The city aims to make slight but meaningful increases in walking and cycling by 2030, and by improving its public transport offering to decrease the share of car traffic.
The CycleRight project, co-funded by the European Union through Interreg Europe, aims to improve policy instruments targeting sustainable urban mobility by sharing good practices from the eight participating regions. The learnings will be fed into a Climate Resilient and Inclusive Planning Cycling Guide.
Visit to Craiova: Cycling infrastructure in the park
Craiova is the largest city in southwestern Romania, with a population of approximately 280,000 inhabitants.
The city experiences numerous transport-related challenges due to the high numbers of private passenger vehicles. The large number of cars on Craiova’s roads is a cause of road congestion, poor air quality and lack of urban space due to the prevalence of on-street car parking.
Craiova is addressing these challenges through a sustainable mobility plan which, at its heart, aims to make the metropolitan area one of the most attractive urban areas in Central and Eastern Europe for residents, investors and visitors. A major focus is to transform Craiova’s transport by offering more public transport and multimodal options, reduce private passenger vehicles and provide more walking and cycling options.
Though any visitor to Craiova would notice that cars take up a significant amount of road space, one does see that the city has invested heavily in modern public transportation. The city has modernised and renovated tram tracks, purchased new tram vehicles and several dozens of electric buses, making clean public transport not just an available option, but an attractive one as well.
Craiova has invested in cycling infrastructure over the years, though it is an area which requires more growth and investment (see photos). In the city centre there is an 8 km cycle path, consisting of segregated cycle tracks, on-street lanes and shared space with other modes, which aims to connect neighborhoods and major landmarks for locals and visitors.
Photo credits: ECF
Segregated cycle tracks exist in Craiova, though they are generally very narrow and also compete with narrow pedestrian pavements.
While Craiova has little space for cycle infrastructure on its street layout, it does provide for more in its urban parks. CycleRight partners had the chance to visit Nicolae Romanescu Park, a large and beautiful urban park built in the romantic style on a mid-19th century estate and gardens. Cycle lanes are available in the park as well as a location for bicycle rental. The park is also host to an older concrete velodrome, though a newer and more modern one will be built on the site of the former Tineretului (Youth) Stadium.
Photo credits: Stefan Bulatovic; ECF
The cycle lanes in Nicolae Romanescu park are a good example of climate resilient cycle infrastructure, as well as how pedestrians and cyclists can share space.
Photo credits: ECF
While the velodrome in Romanescu park is not suitable for track cycling, its large interior is open to anyone and is ideal for first-time cyclists and recreational riders.
Visit to Slatina municipality
Located on the river Olt, Slatina is a small municipality of approximately 77,000 inhabitants, home to one of the largest aluminum producing factories in Southeastern Europe. Though it is a smaller city, Slatina does have a Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) and has made efforts to integrate active travel infrastructure in the urban streetscape.
Like other cities in Europe, the COVID-19 pandemic created opportunities for the city to rapidly implement plans. In addition to more locals using bicycles and e-scooters, on-street car parking behaviour also changed. Whereas before many drivers parked illegally, during and after the pandemic, city authorites ramped up enforcement which led to more space and visibility for pedestrians and other road users.
Photo credits: Katrine Svensson
CycleRight partners had to curtail their planned bike tour of Slatina due to inclement weather, but were able to ride a segment with the city’s shared bikes connecting a large recreational area to the centre.
Currently, Slatina has 14 km of cycle lanes, much of it separated from car traffic. The city also boasts a bike share system with five pick-up/drop-off points.
Slatina is currently planning to revise its original SUMP to further boost public transport, sustainable urban logistics and active travel opportunities. Though walking assumes 35% of Slatina’s modal split (in 2023 figures), cycling occupies just 0.9%, whereas car traffic takes up nearly 45%. The city aims to make slight but meaningful increases in walking and cycling by 2030, and by improving its public transport offering to decrease the share of car traffic.
