Cycling concept of the district awarded by the state

In the "Cycle Route Concept for Everyday Cycling in the Waldeck-Frankenberg District" recently adopted by the Waldeck-Frankenberg District Council, more than 1,000 suggestions and comments from citizens were processed. "We would not have achieved such a large number under normal circumstances," said First District Councillor Karl-Friedrich Frese. "The pandemic demanded new approaches from us and, on balance, they were very successful with digital citizen participation."

Axel Wintermeyer, Head of the Hessian State Chancellery, and the Hessian Digital Minister Prof. Dr. Kristina Sinemus see it the same way, who awarded the "Digital Citizen Participation" project 3rd place in the "Smart Participation" category of the "Hessen smart gemacht - Miteinander lokal digital 2022" competition. The district can look forward to prize money of 2,000 euros.

During the concept development phase, the participation format relied on a continuously updated and transparent presentation of the state of affairs on the district's website. There were two moderated online forums as well as an interactive map, which enabled citizens to give hints and comments on cycling improvements directly on the map. This allowed more and also different stakeholders to be reached than usual. It also widened participation. Since the internet is always available, people with limited mobility or who face other barriers also had access to the information and could follow the process. The participation platform is technically easily transferable to other municipalities and also has a model character from this point of view. A total of 84 projects in four categories competed for the prizes - twelve were awarded.