Copenhagen has been identified as one of 13 European cities that will help inspire one another to become more bicycle-friendly.
The ‘Handshake’ program is part of EU’s Horizon 2020-program and will see Copenhagen act as a mentor city for Manchester, Riga and Helsinki.
“Handshake gives us a very exciting opportunity to learn from the best. We want to turn Manchester into a city in which the most obvious and attractive mode of transport is to walk or cycle,” said Chris Boardman, the former Olympic time trial champ and commissioner for cycling in Manchester.
“The co-operation allows us to get a far better understanding of what Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Munich have done so well.”
Manchester has plans to invest 12.5 billion kroner over the next decade to improve its bicycle infrastructure.
READ MORE: More investment needed in Copenhagen cycling infrastructure, review suggests
Learning from Amsterdam
As mentor cities, Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Munich will help Bordeaux, Bruges, Cadiz, Krakow, Helsinki, Manchester, Rome, Riga, Turin and Dublin.
Meanwhile, the Danish capital hopes to learn from the likes of Amsterdam regarding the handling of abandoned bicycles and from Munich in terms of behaviour in traffic.
The 13 cities met up for the first time in Copenhagen last week to see what the Danish capital has done to make cycling more attractive for its citizens.
The EU-financed program will span the next 3.5 years and include workshops, study trips and co-operate with the University of Amsterdam to systematise and qualify experiences from the participating cities.
