the Government presented on Thursday a proposal with a total of 52 initiatives, which among other things, to create better mobility and increased road safety in the metropolitan area.

But the initiative, which has been dubbed ’the capital initiatives for the strengthening of the metropolitan area’, now receive hefty criticism from Cyklistforbundets director, Klaus Bondam.

the Chain jumps because the government has chosen not to include the copenhagen cyclists in the proposal.

– In the response making use of the solutions of the past to future challenges. It is naive, unsustainable and certainly not climate-friendly, that works out to more and more car use. It is not the way forward, says Cyklistforbundets director, however, welcomes the fact that the absence of cycles in the government’s proposal can now be put in an important debate on bikes in the capital.

Klaus Bondam, pointing at the three places where he believes that the government should have put into the initiative, which would contribute to increased road safety in Copenhagen.

– first you would have bet much more on the supercykelstisystemet, where you also looked at the new crossings, underkørsler, bridges and so on, so that you could ensure a far more efficient propulsion. The second thing is a significant expansion of cykelparkeringerne at the stations. The third thing is to look at the coastal railway and see whether there is sense in the transformation to the s-train, he says.

According to the Cyklistforbundets director, the government should change the gear, if there really should come a boost to plans to ensure increased traction in Copenhagen.

– the Question is whether one day is any political dare to make the radical changes required if we are to ensure a far more efficient mobility in the future.

Cyklistforbundets director Klaus Bondam calls the government’s new hovedstadsudspil ‘naive’. The initiative was presented on Thursday by transport, construction and housing minister Ole Birk Olesen (LA), minister of trade and chairman of the government’s hovedstadsudvalg Rasmus Jarlov (K), and the environment and food Jakob Ellemann-Jensen (V). Photo: Philip Davali

Take a look at the government’s move are the words ‘bike’ or ‘cyclist’ is not mentioned so much as a single time, and you should be completely up to the 52. and the last initiative on the list before you can read anything that remotely relates to cycling.

’the Government wants to attract major international sports events to Denmark and will continue to work for that Copenhagen will be the host of a åbningsetape of the Tour de France, writes the government.

But the ambition to get the Tour de France to Copenhagen will not Cyklistforbundets director to clap their hands.

– the Tour de france is an exciting sporting event, which hopefully can create so much popular support and good competition, but it has nothing to with storkøbenhavnernes hverdagstransport to do, he says.

the Absence of initiatives targeting cyclists is also a sense of wonder in Harry Lahrmann, associate professor at the Trafikforskningsgruppen, Aalborg University, author of a number of scientific articles on the cykeltrafik and a member of the Trængselskommissionen, in 2012-2013 worked with initiatives to reduce traffic congestion.

– You could well be asking for an implementation of the supercykelstiplan that already exists. It could have been a way you could have involved cyclists in a plan to encourage mobility in the metropolitan area, he says.

It has not been possible to get an interview with the Transport, construction and housing minister Ole Birk Olesen, who, however, gives the following reply in an email to Ekstra Bladet:

‘Metropolitan bike paths are largely municipal, and I believe, therefore, that cykelstiprojekter as a starting point should be anchored in the municipalities. The state of cycle paths, which are established in the metropolitan area, are primarily the so-called supercykelstier. Supercykelstiprojekterne are fine initiatives, which are beneficial for the capital’s cyclists – but they are not included at the present time as part of the government’s policy.’

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