Robert Goodwill, the Minister for Cycling, will travel to Copenhagen with British Cycling's policy advisor, Chris Boardman, next week to discuss what can be learnt from Danish cycling infrastructure.
Speaking at the Active City, Cycle City conference at Newcastle Town Hall in June, Boardman said:
"Everyone who makes the big decisions for us and our children should be obliged to visit places like Copenhagen to see the alternatives first hand – see it, feel it, experience it.
"To that end, I’d like to challenge Robert Goodwill, who has been a good friend to cycling since he became minister, to join me with his colleagues on a trip to Copenhagen to see what Britain’s towns and cities could be."
Goodwill will take a cycling tour of the Danish capital alongside Boardman, before discussing ways in which the Danish approach could be implemented in Britain.
Before the general election, the Conservative party said that it was looking to double the number of journeys made by bicycle by 2025 and also pledged to invest over £200 million to make cycling safer.
- Boardman: air pollution deaths should be treated as "full-blown crisis"
Boardman described the commitment, combined with Goodwill’s willingness to view and learn from cycling strategies elsewhere in the world, as ‘very encouraging’.
“Countries such as Denmark, the Netherlands and Germany have all put cycling at the heart of their transport policy, and are now reaping the rewards. Copenhagen is regarded as one of the most progressive cycling cities in the world, and it is only right that we should want to learn from the best.
“We can clearly see from examples such as Copenhagen that, given adequate investment, cycling can provide a solution to so many of the problems currently faced in Britain’s towns and cities.”
Boardman said that the trip would be a fantastic opportunity to see exactly what could be achieved on British roads.
Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.