The phenomenon of cycling representatives already exists in Stockholm in the form of a network that works to run cases for increased and safe cycling in Stockholm County.
The network has also, like Tomas, sometimes taken matters into its own hands and remedied areas they considered problematic for cyclists.
- It has been successful in Stockholm and the goal is to start it here too among committed individuals, says Tomas who has studied architecture and urban planning at LTU and says that he wants to apply what he has learned.
He believes that if there are cycling representatives in Umeå who can keep track of their own areas and report problems with the cycle paths, the network can jointly pursue the issues vis-à-vis the municipality.
"Umeå has lost the ball"
Umeå municipality has invested a lot in marketing itself as a cycling city and there are cycle paths that connect all districts.
- Umeå has a high level of ambition for cycling and sustainable transport, but does not really show it.
It's about it being a better cycling city, better from a gender equality perspective, safety perspective and children's perspective, Umeå has lost the ball a bit here, says Tomas Helleberg.
Municipality: "We are still in the cleaning phase"
Umeå municipality believes that in connection with the recent snowstorm, it has been necessary to prioritize walking and cycling routes.
- We have received extremely much snow in a short time and then we prioritized the roads for emergency vehicles over pedestrian and bicycle paths, even though the weather is nice now, we are still in the cleaning phase, says Lena Karlsson Engman (S), chairman of the technical committee.
She thinks that it is good when people use the fault reporting systems that exist in the municipality and that they have routines for paying attention to property owners who need to clean up bushes, for example.
- It is welcome that the public signals when something does not work, says Lena Karlsson Engman (S).