Plans to introduce bicycle paths to some of the country’s largest cities and towns have been shelved due to the cost of setting them up, experts told Kathimerini yesterday.

Municipal officials from more than 80 towns have expressed an interest in setting up lanes for cyclists, while 40 districts have conducted studies on how it can be implemented.

Tight budgets, however, have resulted in plans being left on the table.

“Efforts have stopped even though at present all over Europe, the bicycle is considered the modern solution to traffic problems,” Thanos Vlastos, associate professor at the National Technical University of Athens, told Kathimerini.

According to surveys, cars travel at 8 kilometers per hour in heavy traffic conditions while cyclists can reach an average speed of 18 km/h.

Municipal sources also said that the number of events this year concerning European Mobility Week (which ends on Friday) have been cut in comparison to other years.