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On 12-14 May, Warsaw’s Municipal Roads Authority (ZDM) hosted a Twinning Visit between Lyon and Warsaw, one of the five twinned pairs of cities in REALLOCATE. The aim of the Twinning Visits is for a Lead and Twin City to meet in person in a smaller group (ca. 15 people) including only the most relevant REALLOCATE partners (horizontal partners involved in the cities’ SSMLs and moderators), see the pilot sites in person, and discuss specific topics leading to knowledge exchange and more effective development of solutions in both cities.

The afternoon of Day 1 included an introductory session, which started with a welcome from ZDM’s colleagues and a speech by the Mayor’s Representative of the New Centre of Warsaw project, Michał Lejk. In this speech, he gave an overview of current priorities for the New Centre of Warsaw project as well as for the development of the city in general, emphasising that 'it's not about changing pavements from grey to white but about transforming the city from car-oriented to human-centred.'

Day 2 started off by meeting early in the morning to visit one of the sites of Warsaw's REALLOCATE school street pilot. Here, on Namysłowska Street, the participants could understand the context for the pilot project so much better by seeing the space in real life. Following this, the visit moved to Reja Street to see an example of a successfully implemented school street.

Later that day, Anne Vial from Cerema led an interactive workshop titled, 'Improving the living environment for residents and users towards more peaceful school surroundings', with presentations also from Aleksander Buczynski from the European Cyclists'​ Federation on circulation plans for different scales, and Alan Raposo from the International Federation of Pedestrians on designing for pedestrian-cyclist shared spaces. This session culminated in an interactive exercise, using the knowledge gained from the presentations, in which two groups were to analyse a problem and suggest solutions for the Namysłowska school pilot area.

The day concluded with a workshop led by Magdalena Kubecka and Marta Trakul-Masłowska from Fundacja Na Miejscu (On-site Foundation) titled 'Engagement and behaviour change of school children’s parents'. This workshop gave insights into car usage and its symbolic importance in Polish society, data on commuter habits and results of a survey on mobility attitudes among children and teenagers versus their parents. Warsaw and Lyon then each presented one success story and one failure story on the topic in order to inspire each other and co-create better strategies for engaging parents in school mobility initiatives.

As we were expressing the importance of failing and learning from mistakes, Kateřina Kührová shared a Czech proverb: 'I pád na hubu je pohyb kupředu' meaning, 'Even falling on your face is a movement forward.', which summarised the session perfectly.

The last day - Day 3 of the Twinning Visit - involved an extensive site visit in the city centre, starting with the parking lot of Zarząd Dróg Miejskich, where partners could see and learn about cars used for electronic control of the paid parking zone, as part of the Virtual WOF (Virtual Warsaw Functional Area) project, which was introduced 5 years ago.

The visit was followed by a tour of some of the (completed and in-progress) sites of the New Centre of Warsaw (Nowe Centrum Warszawy) mega-project run by Zarząd Dróg Miejskich, including the Parade Square, Jana Pawła II and Świętokrzyska Streets, and former parking lots between Świętokrzyska Street and Bracka Street. These areas are being transformed into pedestrianised public spaces, filled with greenery and recreational infrastructure. The most dramatic transformation can be seen at the ‘Five Corners Square’ - previously a highly uncomfortable crossing in the middle of three traffic-heavy streets and a bustling boulevard, which is now a pedestrian square covered in permeable surface and plenty of seating space.

The last part of the Visit was a feedback session in an informal atmosphere while having lunch in a restaurant located at the ‘Five Corners square’, visited just moments before. The representatives of Warsaw’s ZDM expressed their gratitude for the opportunity to host and exchange knowledge with Lyon:

The meeting in Warsaw clearly highlighted the value of international collaboration and knowledge exchange in shaping more pedestrian- and cyclist-friendly urban environments. Thanks to the combined expertise of our partners from Lyon, IFP, ECF, and CEREMA, we gained valuable insights and fresh inspiration for the ongoing pilot project. Field visits and joint workshops helped deepen our understanding of local challenges and strengthened our shared commitment to sustainable urban mobility. The exchange of best practices and innovative ideas during the meeting will serve as a solid foundation for further improvements, both within the pilot area and across our cities.

When asked about takeaways from the Twinning Visit with Warsaw, the representatives of the Métropole de Lyon answered:

It was very profitable for the Lyon Metropole Team. ZDM has a very coherent and efficient organisation: this comparison of organisations and governance can be inspiring for our reflections. Secondly, the 3-word methodology deployed for school approaches (data-based, participation and iterative) appears robust, leading to the letter of intent with each stakeholder. The discovery of the redevelopment work in the new city-centre demonstrates the town's impressive ambition to successfully transform its uses, with more vegetation, less traffic, more safety and comfort for vulnerable users. Finally, the co-creation workshop was a great opportunity to work with peers on a real project that addresses similar issues for cities.

The supporting partners - Cerema from Lyon and On-Site Foundation from Warsaw - contributed greatly to the exchange between the two cities. Anne Vial from Cerema summarised:

Warsaw is quickly and positively transforming its public spaces by eliminating cars and planting a lot, which is very positive. It benefits from the comfortable space available on the wide avenues of the 1960s.The work with the One Site foundation was a real positive point. This momentum needs to be maintained on a number of fronts:

• Making greater use of active design and tactical urban planning in projects,
• Integrating other themes into school street projects: resilience (particularly the fight against overheating), inclusion (gender in public space), sobriety in the resources used (local materials), etc.,
• Broadening the scope of projects where possible, and work across departments.

Overall, the Twinning Visit was considered a success. The partners highlighted the value that lies in twinning between two cities and in smaller meetings like this one, with a more focused agenda and approach. Colleagues from Warsaw and Lyon will meet each other again next year for the 2nd Twinning Visit, this time in Lyon.