Active mobility connects: Mobility Minister Peter Hanke awards model projects for cycling and walking Innovative projects for cycling and walking were the focus at the 17th Austrian Cycling Summit and 2nd Walking Summit in Eisenstadt
"Model projects for walking and cycling were brought to the forefront" was the theme at a festive award ceremony within the framework of the 17th Austrian Bicycle Summit and the 2nd Austrian Pedestrian Summit from 9th to 11th September 2026 in Eisenstadt. The award-winning cities, municipalities, organisations, and companies have launched innovative projects as climate-active mobility partners and promote more active and safe mobility through their measures.
Certificates were personally presented by Minister of Mobility Peter Hanke to 24 out of around 100 climate-active mobility partners, jointly with Vice-President Thomas Steiner (Austrian Association of Cities), Vice-President Erich Trummer (Austrian Association of Municipalities), and Deputy Managing Director Stefan Ebner (Transport and Traffic Division of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce).
"Good conditions for cycling and walking are essential for liveable cities and towns. The honoured partners show impressively how investments in active mobility contribute to strengthening multimodality, traffic safety, and quality of life," said Minister of Mobility Peter Hanke.
The awarded projects range from safe footpaths and new cycle links to the expansion of cycle networks and bridges, all the way to redesigned town centres. Companies and organisations also set accents: E-bikes and E-transport bikes, job-bike offers and initiatives for employee mobility facilitate climate-friendly mobility in everyday working life.
"The many successful model projects underline how positively walking and cycling are developing in Austria and how central active mobility is for the mobility transition in cities. Therefore, the Austrian Association of Cities is again supporting the pedestrian and cycling summit this year," emphasises Thomas Steiner, Mayor of Eisenstadt and Vice-President of the Austrian Association of Cities.
The Burgenland was honoured with the special prize "Pioneer in Pedestrian Traffic" for the Master Plan "Burgenland on Foot" and its implementation. With school streets, safe school environments, pedestrian traffic concepts, advisory services, and awareness campaigns, the region is setting important impulses. As a partner of the initiative Austria on Foot, the Burgenland contributes to more firmly anchoring walking in everyday life - for more quality of life, health, and safety.
Vice-President of the Municipal Association and Mayor of Neutal Erich Trummer affirms: "More and more municipalities want to improve the conditions for cycling and walking. Support from the federal government and the states is essential, especially when municipal finances are tight. Measures for active mobility are very cost-efficient, so every euro invested brings a multiple economic benefit."
Thinking cycling and walking together
The town of Judenburg was recognised for its implementations within the framework of the regional cycle network expansion programme (walkway and cycle path Burggasse) as well as for the implementation of measures from the local pedestrian traffic concept (crossing aids, residential streets and the pedestrian zone in the area of the Schulzentrum Lindfeld).
"Cycling is a great way to incorporate movement into everyday life. The cycling economy already secures 46,000 jobs in Austria," says Stefan Ebener, Deputy Managing Director of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce.
The aim for Austria is to increase the pedestrian traffic share to 20 percent and the cycling share to 14 percent, meaning that a third of the ways in Austria should be actively mobile. In Vienna, the modal split for walking is already at 30 percent, in Vorarlberg, 22 percent of journeys are made by bike. Further figures can be found in the newly published Active Mobility Report 2026.
The jointly organised 17th Austrian Bicycle Summit and the 2nd Austrian Pedestrian Summit took place from 9th to 11th September 2026 in Eisenstadt. The three-day expert conference gathered over 550 specialists from politics, administration, business, and science as well as international experts. The focus was on current developments, successful practical examples, and the question of how pedestrian and cycling traffic, together with public transport, can form a strong basis for sustainable, multimodal mobility.