"Children and cycling have more in common than one might initially think" says Mark Mauchline. Read on to discover what kids, bikes, and Vancouver have in common, in Mauchline's highlights on  Velo-city's last day in Canada. 

The Charter of Vancouver with signatories Manfred Neun, President ECF, and Tony Tang, Deputy Mayor, City of Vancouver. Photo © Veloworks Cycling Society.

Friday June 29, 2012

 The back-to-back morning plenary and keynote on Essential Elements: Increasing Cycling and Safety, and Empowering the Future: Children and Cycling had more in common than one might initially think.

 Copenhagen Traffic Department Director Niels Tørsløv, and La Prévention Routière Internationale President Joop Goos provided perspectives on safety from the Danish capital and around the world, while the ECF’s Kevin Mayne stressed the “safety in numbers” theory. Translation: more people cycling equals safer cycling. Mayne went on to emphasize the point that even though certain EU cities are regarded as the poster children of cycling infrastructure, the vast majority of them are sitting in the .5-5% mode share range.

 The second session was all about the children, with Vancouver Park Board Commissioner Constance Barnes introducing the speakers. ECF President Manfred Neun set the stage by raising the issue of children’s mobility to that of a right, as well as connecting children to that of an indicator species.

 Steen Møller, Mayor of Culture and Urban Development for Odense Denmark introduced the audience to the third largest city in Denmark. Facts like the number of bicycles outnumbering citizens, and the city replacing a highway with a bike/pedestrian corridor left many in the audience salivating.

 But, it was Dr. Paul Tranter, a Professor in Geography at the Australian Defence Force Academy who established the correlation between bicycle friendly environments and child friendly ones. To Tranter, it was child’s play – precisely the name of his presentation.

 His point was that the needs of children and cyclists are not mutually exclusive. In fact, they share many of the same elements, and when change is made to benefit one, both enjoy the positive results, and one of the biggest was providing safety. Tranter even took on the misconception that cars save time, and offered the notion that making places child friendly could solve all the world’s problems.

 It was the perfect lead-in to ECF Secretary General Bernhard Ensink’s presentation of the Charter of Vancouver. Tying into the United Nations 1990 Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Charter was designed to recognize children’s rights worldwide, the special ability of cycling to enshrine them, and a commitment from the signatories to call for the adoption of goals, policies, and practices toward cycling, as a means to further recognize and promote the rights of children. The Charter of Vancouver was signed by ECF President Manfred Neun, City of Vancouver Deputy Mayor Tony Tang, and a host of delegates.

 Gil Peñalosa handled the closing ceremonies. There were thank yous and good-byes from the conference organizers and partners, an inspiring video for the next Velo-city conference, and the official handover to the City of Vienna, host of Velo-city 2013.

 But fittingly, it was Peñalosa who provided the exclamation mark to four days of exciting, and inspiring discussion. Picking up where he left off at Tuesday’s opening, he kept people laughing while emphasizing a sense of urgency, to keep pushing for the “must have” needs for cycling growth. Winding down, Peñalosa referred to the recently signed Charter of Vancouver, and surmised:

 “If it’s not good enough for a child, it’s not good enough.”

 And with that, the curtain closed on Velo-city Global 2012, and delegate’s plans for Vienna began.

 Conference updates from the European Cyclists’ Federation can be found at: http://ecf.com/velo-city-global-2012-live/

About the Author

Vancouver resident Mark Mauchline has worked as a producer and director on critically acclaimed, award-winning television series, and documentary films since 2003 and has bicycled, hiked and paddled in thirty countries on five continents. He is the current Communications Manager for the Velo-city Global conference in Vancouver.