Danish Ambassador Annan, Danish Consul General Galskjøt, Dutch Consul General van Bolhuis, Kadıköy Mayor Odabasi and IMM Secretary General Caglar was also present.
The Consulate General of Denmark in Istanbul, the Consulate General of the Netherlands in Istanbul, the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and the Municipality of Kadıköy signed the “Public Spaces and Low Carbon Mobility Centers for a Healthy City” project in order to make cycling a part of the lives of
‘Sustainable Development Goals Awareness Tour – We are Biking for the Environment, for the Climate, for the Future’ on July 3, within the scope of the project, in which special solutions are designed for Istanbul in order to create an environmentally friendly, sustainable urban mobility at roundtable meetings and ‘Think Bike Workshops’. Cycle tour was organized.
NEW SYNERGIES BETWEEN THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTORS
The cycling tour, which starts from Göztepe 60. Yıl Park and ends in Söğütlüçeşme İSPARK Open Parking Area, started with Danish Ambassador Danny Annan, Danish Consul General Anette Galskjøt, Netherlands Consul General Bart van Bolhuis, Kadıköy Mayor Şerdil Dara Odabaşı, IMM Secretary General Can Akın Çağlar. , İSPARK General Manager Murat Çakır and WRI Turkey Sustainable Cities Director Dr. Gunes Cansiz joined. Relevant NGOs and private sector representatives were also invited to the event.
Danish Consul General Galskjøt said, “For a better quality of urban life, it is of great importance to prefer low-carbon alternative transportation vehicles such as bicycles and to design compatible urban areas. Bicycle-friendly urban design can lead to a better and more sustainable life, improve social cohesion, create new synergies between the public and private sectors, and more importantly, increase the brand value of the city on a global scale. I firmly believe that a stronger cooperation between Denmark and Turkey on urban design can create greener and more livable cities for all of us.”
Dutch Consul General van Bolhuis said, “At the workshop within the scope of the project, we shared our knowledge and experience on how to improve public spaces and designs through the eyes of users, those who like walking, cycling and spending time in a creative, healthy and safe environment like you and me. Now we will explore the bike path between Bağdat Caddesi and Söğütlüçeşme. I hope to be able to take the next steps of this project, which will ultimately benefit everyone, together with other stakeholders, as can be seen when looking at Dutch cities. We can do it together,” he said.
IMM Secretary General Can Akın pointed out that in the last 2 years, IMM has made important strides to bring together the people of Istanbul with environmentally friendly and healthy transportation vehicles, and has developed projects for more effective use of bicycle and pedestrian transportation in urban transportation in order to reduce traffic density and create a low-carbon, environmentally friendly city. Çağlar said, “Within this framework, Bicycle Chief and Pedestrian Access Directorate were created within the Transportation Planning Directorate affiliated to the IMM Transportation Department, Istanbul Bicycle House was opened, İsbike Bicycle School was realized, workshops were organized with the participation of experts, the Smart Bicycle Application was updated and 98.86 km bike path was designed with the collective processes carried out with the district municipalities” he continued.
Kadıköy Mayor Odabaşı also noted: Kadıköy is the first place where even electric scooters operate in Turkey. The negative effects of fossil fuels on our health and urban life made it necessary to associate alternative transportation methods and public transportation. The address of many innovative applications, Kadıköy has a population structure that is sensitive to its public spaces and environment. We, the local governments, have to offer better walkability, cycling and alternative transportation methods to all Kadıköy residents by adopting the developing technology and contemporary planning approach. In order for the public to take ownership of such innovative projects, the planning and implementation processes must include all stakeholders and interests. With this sensitivity