VeloHora 2011: Change your car for a bike

The VeloHora 2011 Festival will be held in Chisinau on Sunday as part of the European-wide Alternative Mobility Week, an awareness raising campaign aimed at promoting walking and cycling as a solution to improve the environment. “There are roughly 600,000 cars in Moldova and 80% of them are older than 10 years, which makes them increasingly polluting. People should realize that riding a bicycle is a better alternative to driving a car and that it is beneficial to both one's own health and the environment”, stated Ecology Minister Gheorghe Salaru at a news conference aimed at popularizing the event. Chisinau Mayor Dorin Chirtoaca said the such events should contribute to a shift in people's mentality. He also revealed that bicycle lanes would appear on some streets in Chisinau. “Gradually a number of streets will be adjusted to accommodate lanes for those who want to travel by bicycle. The City Hall will support any event of this kind”, promised the Mayor. He also promised to use a bicycle to get to work throughout next week, which is the Mobility Week. The festival VeloHora (a reference to the Latin word for bicycle, velocipede, and the popular round dance hora) will start on Sunday at 10:00 in Chisinau's central square with a show featuring popular singers. Competitors will also be registered for a 20km cycling race around the city that will start at 12:00. The racers will compete for a brand new bicycle. Amateurs will also be free to join the procession outside the competition. It is expected that a total of 4,000 people will participate. VeloHora is supported by the Moldovan Ecological Movement and the Cycling Federation.