Mobycon Celebrates 10 Years in Canada  

A New Beginning – Dutch-Inspired Mobility Solutions for Canada

Working to deliver the right level of innovation to our clients with an international team can be both challenging and incredibly rewarding. Each community brings its own set of challenges, opportunities, and an appetite to test and try new things with our support. I started working with Mobycon’s Dutch team back in 2011 and became Director in 2015. After all these years, there has never been a dull moment.

I first met our Founder and CEO, Johan Diepens (in person), when he came to Ottawa in 2013 to deliver a two-day masterclass on cycling. He had many questions about Canada, not just about cycling but also about transit and snow removal. There were the typical Dutch questions like “How can we have a real meeting without coffee?” But he would also ask things like, “Where are all the children? Why are they not playing outside? Why aren’t they playing in front of the houses or on the street?” Where were the children, indeed!?

There were many layers to my response. As a society, we are still trying to determine the ideal environments for raising the next generation. I remember the sense of calm I felt when I visited the Netherlands with my then-young daughters. I could see why Dutch kids were the happiest in the world.  We had a lot of work to do. As Johan reminded us, “Everyone has the right to come home each evening, regardless of the mode they choose.” Applying Dutch Sustainable Safety principles on this side of the ocean could create Mobility Happiness and freedom of mobility choice, rather than expecting cars to solve all our mobility needs.

Mobycon Canada Opens Its Doors

Ten years ago, in May 2015, Mobycon officially opened its doors in Canada, a bold step for a small Dutch consultancy with a big heart and an even bigger mission: to help reduce car dependence by leveraging over 40 years of Dutch knowledge. If cities wanted to become more multimodal, why not learn from the places in the world that have achieved this? When it comes to world-class cycling, the Netherlands is the place to go. But cycling is one gateway to the integrated multimodal system that continues to inspire.

This year, I am also aware of the bigger context and the unique relationship between our two countries. The events marking the 80th Anniversary of the Liberation of the Netherlands and the multigenerational delegation of Canadians that traveled to the Netherlands earlier this month were very moving. Here at home, there were events not only in Ottawa but in many cities across Canada as well.

Working Across Time Zones

From day one, our founder and CEO, Johan Diepens, was quite clear. He didn’t want to buy a Canadian consultancy to begin working in North America. He wanted to build one. From the ground up. One that blended Dutch roots with the local Canadian context. One that could also connect with the US.  We aimed to provide clients with objective guidance grounded in Dutch sustainable safety principles. We knew it was essential not to copy the Dutch but rather to learn from their integrated approach and use it to inspire local innovation. We would accomplish this through a unique blend of consulting and capacity-building services.

In true Dutch fashion, we would “think along together” to solve the street design, policy, and planning challenges our clients brought us. Powered by caffeine, piles of stroopwafels, numerous video calls (remember Skype?), and more than a few laughs,  we learned to pass work across time zones and customize Dutch ideas for our clients. Our Dutch team members were invaluable, with special thanks to Angela van der Kloof, Dick van Veen, and Lennart Nout. They often pitched in at odd hours.

I feel immense gratitude and appreciation for the clients and partners who have put their trust in us. In the early days, we used A4 paper instead of US Letter, and our English was choppy since our spell check defaults always flipped to Dutch. We led capacity-building sessions on Dutch Junction Intersection Design before Nick Falbo coined the phrase “Protected Intersection.” We supported the design of the first protected intersection in Davis, CA; Ottawa’s first complete street; a downtown cycle grid for Calgary; innovative policy, design, and traffic signals in Canmore, AB; and a Multimodal Level of Service Guidance for Ontario. Some of our early Canadian clients included the City of Ottawa, the City of Calgary, the City of Winnipeg, the Town of Canmore, the City of Victoria, the City of Kingston, the City of Vaughan, the City of Gatineau, and the City of Waterloo, to name a few.

A Mission-Driven Team

Our mission-driven consultancy has attracted many incredible individuals to join our team. One person who deserves special mention is Mary Elbech. Now living and working in Denmark, she was invaluable in supporting much of the early work in the US. I would also like to thank, in no particular order, the team of mighty Mobyconners that followed: Justin Goulding, Quentin Dumont-Freixo, Hans Moor, Wayne Gong, Melissa Bruntlett, Eric Post, Emily Thomason, and Okka Maw.

After ten years, I am still inspired by the mighty team in Canada and the US, who come to work every day to support projects that align with our values. We work across borders and time zones, and project work can be both challenging and rewarding because “we care.” This brilliant team includes Narayan Donalson, Matt Pinder, Arianne Robillard, Suzanne Woo, Kornel Mucsi, Bryan Kelly, and Ellen Amundsen. Our incredible American colleagues include Nick Falbo, Jamie Arnau, Anna Luten, and Zach Vanderkooy. 

As we look to the future, I see how consulting, coaching, and capacity building are a powerful menu of services. I am very excited about the new Mobycon Academy service offering that will be unveiled later this summer.  From guidelines to masterclasses, coaching sessions, podcasts, and study tours – we have you covered!

Happy 10th Birthday Mobycon! Together, we are shaping the future of integrated mobility.