ThinkBike 2015 Workshop Taking Place in Miami

Dec. 16, 2014
The Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in cooperation with Miami-Dade County, Miami-Dade Metropolitan Planning Organization, Friends of the Underline, the Dutch Cycling Embassy, and The Parks Foundation of Miami-Dade will host a 4-day wo

The Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in cooperation with Miami-Dade County, Miami-Dade Metropolitan Planning Organization, Friends of the Underline, the Dutch Cycling Embassy, and The Parks Foundation of Miami-Dade will host a 4-day workshop, ThinkBike 2015, on Jan. 12-15.

The public is encouraged to engage and participate by attending the opening and closing sessions, the closing party on the plaza at HistoryMiami, and voicing their opinions on an online registration form for the chance to win a VanMoof bicycle designed for urban mobility and the commute.

The ThinkBike 2015 workshop will bring together Dutch bicycle transportation experts, Miami-Dade County transportation planners, public space planners, engineers and cyclists to plan and discuss how the region can become more bike-friendly. Government officials, Non-governmental organizations and other decision makers have been invited to learn more about Dutch cycling infrastructure and best policy practices. Together, these Dutch and American experts will design a blueprint for enhancing biking and walking options to improve sustainability, mobility and transportation in the Miami area.

Consul General Nathalie Olijslager, public officials from Miami-Dade County and the cities of Miami, Coral Gables and South Miami, and Dutch cycling expert Erik Tetteroo will open ThinkBike 2015. The opening session, which will be open to the public with limited seating, will take place on Jan. 12 from 9 a.m. to noon at HistoryMiami. It will include a virtual bike ride of the study area.

ThinkBike 2015 is a follow-up to the workshop held in Miami in 2011.  It will focus on network connectivity, infrastructure, design, and encouraging bike usage along The Underline, a collaborative project between Miami-Dade County and Friends of The Underline to turn the 10-mile stretch underneath the Metrorail from Dadeland South to Brickell Station into a walkable, bikeable linear park, and improve connectivity of The Underline to neighborhoods and destinations in Downtown.

Dutch and local experts will take a tour of the study area on Sunday prior to the workshop, using bikes provided by the recently implemented CitiBike sharing program in Downtown. Following the opening session, workshop participants will break into two teams to discuss challenges regarding network connections, infrastructure, share ways to encourage bike usage in the community and develop best practice recommendations for the area.  Members of the media are welcome to bike along with Think Bike participants as they tour.

On Thursday afternoon, the teams will present their recommendations during the closing session that will be open to the public on Jan. 15 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. The workshop will conclude with the presentation of a VanMoof bicycle to the winner of the LoveBike contest, which asks residents to tell what they love about biking in Miami and a party on the HistoryMiami Plaza from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.

The opening and closing sessions are open to the public.

“There are 1.1 bicycles per person in the Netherlands, resulting in less traffic, less pollution and a healthier population,” said Nathalie Olijslager. “The bicycle is the most popular form of transportation for the 16.8 million people who live in the Netherlands,” added the Consul General.

Through a multi-city initiative, Dutch experts and companies are increasing bicycle use in the U.S. and around the world. Chicago was the first U.S. city to host a bike workshop.