As cycling and micro-mobility gain momentum in Chișinău, ensuring that streets are safe and inclusive for vulnerable road users has become an urgent priority. To address this challenge, the Automobile Club of Moldova (ACM) has officially launched “VeloSafe Chisinau: data-driven infrastructure for vulnerable users in Moldova” - the country’s first systematic, evidence-based assessment of urban cycling safety.
Supported by the FIA Safe and Sustainable Mobility Grants Programme, the initiative brings together international expertise and key municipal partners, including the General Department of Urban Mobility (DGMU) and the National Inspectorate for Public Safety (INSP), to transform how cycling infrastructure is planned and built in the Moldovan capital.
From July 2026, the project reached its first major milestone on the ground. Matteo Ferrari, expert from ACM project partner Lane Patrol (accredited supplier of the iRAP CycleRAP methodology), joined the ACM team and local authority partners for an intensive 2-day technical mission in Chișinău.
Equipped with georeferenced cameras and digital mapping tools, the joint team - representing ACM, INSP, and DGMU - embarked on a hands-on patrol ride along the city’s major mobility corridors. Together, they surveyed current road conditions, identifying physical hazards, missing signage, pavement defects, and conflict points between cyclists, pedestrians, and motorized traffic.
Over the 12-month lifecycle of the project, this methodology will be used to audit up to 80 kilometers of cycling network across the capital - existing routes and planned infrastructure - including high-priority developments along Albișoara and Gheorghe Asachi streets.
Beyond the street-level assessment, the delegation gathered for a strategic working meeting at the DGMU Traffic Monitoring Center. The session brought the project team together to discuss how field data collected through the Lane Patrol platform can be used to support the implementation and monitoring of the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) of Chișinău.
Matteo Ferrari of Lane Patrol said: “By utilizing the internationally recognized CycleRAP methodology, the team will translate raw field data into visual, easy-to-read risk maps and safety scores. These insights will enable municipal engineers and city planners to simulate infrastructure improvements, with the explicit target of reducing high- and extreme-risk road segments by at least 50%.”
This collaborative approach mirrors successful mobility projects carried out across Europe, such as those by another FIA Club - Slovenian Automobile Club (AMZS), reinforcing the role of mobility clubs as vital bridges between technical innovation and municipal policy.
ACM CEO Tatiana Mihailova said: “Moldova, cyclists and vulnerable road users remain disproportionately represented in crash statistics. By replacing reactive, crash-driven interventions with proactive, data-led safety planning, VeloSafe Chisinau aims to create protected, connected corridors that encourage more citizens to choose active, low-carbon transport”.
Alongside technical assessments, the project will host capacity-building workshops for municipal staff and conclude with a public roundtable to present policy recommendations and share lessons learned across the wider region.
This project is implemented with the financial support of the FIA and the FIA Foundation under the FIA Safe and Sustainable Mobility Grants Programme, with the support of the General Department of Urban Mobility (DGMU Chișinău) and the National Inspectorate for Public Safety (INSP).
