Popup to Permanent German Infrastructure

DCE hosts series of webinars to help German cities develop attractive and safe cycling networks.

Dutch experts did shine a light on all kinds of issues around the theme: “Learning from the Netherlands: moving from Pop-up to Permanent Cycling Infrastructure”. With help of Allgemeiner Deutcher Fahrrad-Club (ADFC), we reached over 400 attendees during the various digital sessions.

Background

Thanks to the German Federal Climate Plan, German municipalities and regions will have millions of euros at their disposal for improving cycling infrastructure in the years ahead. The financial resources of the Bundesregierung and the practical experience of the Dutch can significantly accelerate the so-called ‘Verkehrswende’ in Germany – if the momentum is used and investments are made wisely.

Seminar series

The first four webinars which were scheduled on Thursdays in the summer months of July and August, all had a specific focus and theme. In every edition, the theme was first introduced by director of the Dutch Cycling Embassy, Lucas Harms, and a presentation was given by at least two experts from Dutch organisations to inform attendees and share knowledge about the theme. Dagmar Köhler from the Deutsches Institut für Urbanistik, moderated the sessions and effectively translated Dutch experiences to the German context.

• The first session on July 23^rd focused on “Planning safe and attractive cycling networks”, with contributions from Bernhard Ensink (Mobycon) and Ruben Loendersloot (Loendersloot Group). Here you can view the recording of the session. 
• The second session on July 30^th was about “Dutch Principles for Urban Planning and Urban Mobility Strategies”. Jorn Wemmenhove (Humankind) and Manuela Studer and Richard ter Avest (Goudappel) presented their experiences with urban planning, taking into account different forms of mobility. Burkhard Stork (ADFC) and Michael Glotz-Richter (City of Bremen) responded to the recommendations given in the various presentations. Here you can view the recording of the session.
• The third session on August 6^th focused on “Design of Protected Bike Lanes and Cycling Friendly Intersections”, with contributions from Stefan Bendiks (Artgineering) and Jens Blume (APPM). Here you can view the recording of the session.
• The fourth session on August 13^th was about “Local Governance and guidelines for Mobility Management”, with presentations from Saskia Ellenbeck (ADFC), Syb Tjepkema (Municipality of Zwolle), Paul Hoffschult (3pm) and Ineke Spapé (Fachhochschule Breda). Here you can view the recording of the session.

A final over-arching session was scheduled on September 24^th (here you can view the recording of the session), in which various topics from the summer series were highlighted, and the most frequently asked questions were discussed in detail. Most attention was given to the design of safe intersections and attractive bicycle network, with additional presentations by Paul Schepers (SWOV) and Manuel Klomp (ICAF). In two rounds of subsequent panel discussions with Dutch and German experts from previous sessions, a lot of questions from the participants have been answered. Finally, Pex Langenberg (Dutch Embassy in Berlin) underlined the importance of knowledge transfer and collaboration between the Netherlands and Germany.