Eens in de twee jaar publiceert het urban design consultancybedrijf Copenhagenize Design Company een ranglijst van grote steden gerangschikt op basis van hun ‘bicycle friendliness’. Het is natuurlijk geen verassing dat Nederlandse steden hier hoog scoren, maar toch is het mooi om te zien dat Utrecht van alle steden ter wereld op een mooie derde plaats is geëindigd, na Kopenhagen en Amsterdam.
De motivering van de onderzoekers voor deze podiumplek:
“Utrecht remains in a steady third place in the 2015 Copenhagenize Index. Utrecht continues to be a world-leader among smaller cities. Like most Dutch cities, the status quo is firmly in place and while it is at an amazing level, the city seems content with that. Their development plan called “Utrecht Attractive and Accessible” is a step in the right direction for progress but it falls short of legendary and is content with being sensible.
Utrecht seems to understand how to mix necessity with headlines, something that Amsterdam is still figuring out. The world’s largest bike parking facility, with space for 12,500 bikes is under construction. Something we think is brilliant. When the city figures out how to get rid of the long stretches with brain-rattling cobblestones and to make a uniform infrastructure network that is more intuitive, Utrecht will certainly step out of Amsterdam’s shadow”.
Waar zouden ze die ‘brain-rattling cobblestones’ gevonden hebben?
Amsterdam is door Kopenhagen van de eerste plek verdreven, vooral omdat:
“The main fix is the actual desire for improvement. We’d like to see it. That would require politicians understanding better the importance of improving conditions for cyclists in the city and the economic value of doing so. The city should look carefully at the reasons that Copenhagen overtook them this year. Innovation and investment”.
Waarvan acte…
Hier is het volledige rapport te vinden.
tondejager
Life is simple. Eat. Sleep. Cycle. 