Touring Amsterdam with London’s Walking and Cycling Commissioner
Our Dutch team members frequently enjoy the opportunity to lead study tours for a wide range of visitors from across the globe. Still, it is not every day that Dick van Veen and Lennart Nout have the privilege to deliver a personalized tour of Amsterdam’s bicycle network to Dr. Will Norman, London’s first Walking and Cycling Commissioner. He has been mandated to deliver on the Mayor’s pledge to make walking and cycling safer and easier in the English capital. Coordinated by the Dutch Cycling Embassy, Norman was enthusiastic to experience Dutch infrastructure firsthand and to explore what London could learn from the largest city in the Netherlands.
Photo credit Dutch Cycling Embassy
Throughout the tour, Lennart and Dick took time to explain the established best-practices, like when to create shared space, when to separate and how that all mixes with Amsterdam’s extensive tram network. Additionally, they explored some of the City’s more experimental successes, like the removal of the traffic lights at Alexanderplein.
Photo credit Dutch Cycling Embassy
Although improvements to London’s bicycle infrastructure will not happen overnight, Lennart and Dick hope that Dr. Will Norman’s tour of Amsterdam will provide both inspiration as well as a few practical tips that can be taken back to London.
Photo credit Dutch Cycling Embassy
One of the highlights of each international tour is the opportunities for cross-cultural knowledge sharing on mobility. Both Dick and Lennart were excited to learn more about new approaches being tested in London. It was a great privilege to learn more about upcoming plans and their vision for the future.
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