Visionary Lucy Saunders visits Hase Bikes

London, Sydney, Waltrop: Englishwoman Lucy Saunders travels all over the world to share information on her Healthy Streets Approach for creating fair, sustainable, attractive urban spaces. In May, she came to Waltrop at the invitation of Hase Bikes and met leading politicians from our state.

“The mobility transition can be a very emotionally charged issue, and the discussions often turn aggressive. It's usually about pushing a specific mode of transport, such as electric cars or bicycles,” said Kirsten Hase, marketing director at Hase Bikes. “Lucy Saunders, on the other hand, focuses on people. We were impressed with this approach. Because although we produce bicycles, we would like to support the mobility transition from a holistic perspective. For us, it’s not about selling more bikes. It’s about making cities more people friendly. And that's what we want to do in Waltrop, because we live and work here.”

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Project for Waltrop: Vibrant city

Hase Bikes has been active in the area of transport policy for many years, organizing not only bicycle demonstrations, but also its own events promoting the mobility transition. “With the ‘Vibrant City’ Project and the events with Lucy Saunders, our commitment has reached a new level: We are taking the next logical step, from focusing on means of transport to urban planning. And we want to inspire and motivate people in Waltrop to actively participate in shaping our city,” said Kirsten Hase.

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Lucy Saunders, together with the mayor of Waltrop and city planners, visited problematic areas in Waltrop. Kirsten Hase: “Lucy then proposed concrete solutions for making these places safer and more attractive for local residents. To increase the likelihood that her ideas would be heard and ideally implemented, she presented them to leading politicians from the state.”

This took place the day after the city tour as part of a panel discussion. Bodo Klimpel (CDU), district administrator of Recklinghausen, and Marcel Mittelbach (SPD), mayor of the city of Waltrop, both took part.

About Lucy Saunders:

Lucy Saunders from Great Britain is active worldwide as a transport visionary. In addition, the health specialist works as an urban and traffic planner in London. Her well-established Healthy Streets Approach is being implemented by the Mayor of London. Lucy inspires and challenges audiences around the world to think differently about how roads could be used and how change can be brought about. For more information: www.healthystreets.com

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