Intermunicipal Network and Exchange
On 25 June 2026, the first Mobility Workshop was held at Saarbrücken Castle as part of the Saarmila research project. The event focused on a key question: How can everyday cycling for local and intermunicipal travel be strengthened across the Regional Association of Saarbrücken? To address this topic, representatives from almost all municipalities within the Regional Association, the Managing Director of the AGFK Saarland (Working Group for Bicycle-Friendly Municipalities in Saarland), and representatives of the Regional Association’s Road Traffic Authority came together for a day of exchange and collaboration.
The workshop aimed to strengthen networks among municipal staff responsible for cycling and mobility planning while establishing new channels for intermunicipal cooperation. This newly created forum is intended to support the identification of shared challenges and enable municipalities to formulate common support needs to be addressed by the Regional Association. The event opened with an interactive introduction that not only allowed participants to get to know one another but also created a spatial connection between the participating municipalities.
The programme continued with two keynote presentations. The first, delivered by AGFK Saarland, highlighted the importance of intermunicipal cooperation and networking in advancing cycling policies. The second presentation, given by the Regional Association’s Road Traffic Authority, provided insights into the authority’s general approach to cycling-related measures and explained its statutory responsibility to ensure road safety. The presentation was complemented by practical examples from municipalities where the authority had successfully supported the implementation of cycling infrastructure and traffic management measures. Together, these contributions stimulated lively and constructive discussions among participants.
The final workshop session built on this momentum by inviting participants to develop a shared vision for the future of cycling within the Regional Association. Central questions included: What role should cycling as a sustainable mode of transport play in the region’s future mobility system? What common long-term vision should municipalities work towards, and what characteristics should define this future state? Through collaborative discussions, participants developed initial draft strategic objectives. These will be continuously refined throughout the duration of the Saarmila research project. Ultimately, this process may result in a broadly supported vision for sustainable mobility in the Regional Association—one that could also serve as inspiration for a future state-wide mobility vision for Saarland. With its transformative research approach, Saarmila seeks to initiate, support, and scale such collaborative planning processes.
Participant feedback clearly demonstrated a shared commitment across all municipalities to promoting everyday cycling and confirmed that sustainable mobility has become an established priority within local administrations. Future Mobility Workshops will provide additional opportunities to further explore everyday cycling as well as other key dimensions of sustainable mobility.
