During Summer Streets festival in New York, on August 18, VisitDenmark and the Danish Consulate General handed out breakfast and Shared the Bike Love all the way from Copenhagen with the bicycle riders of New York City.
Summer Street participants, who visited the Danish Summer Streets booth at The Uptown Rest Stop on Park Avenue and 53rd st., received a free breakfast pack with delicious healthy food, specially prepared by the Danish restaurant Aamanns/Copenhagen. Goodie bags with Danish bicycle products and information material were handed out as well, and different activities entertained the visitors.
The Consul General of Denmark in New York, Ambassador Jarl Frijs-Madsen, and the Danish street team met people at street level and shared thoughts about Danish bike love, healthy lifestyle and Copenhagen’s newly opened bicycle superhighway.
More than 2,000 people lined up for breakfast, goodie bags and photos with their bicycles.
Check out the fun, cute and quirky photos from the day on the Consulate's Facebookpage: http://www.facebook.com/consulatedenmarknewyork
Danish Cycling Culture and "Copenhagenization"Once a year in Copenhagen, the City treats its cyclists to free breakfast on the city’s busiest bike lanes. The City wants to encourage as many daily commuters as possible to bike to work or school. Sharing breakfast is one of many ways to show support for sustainable means of transportation.
The cycling culture in Denmark is a great example of a green and sustainable society, and Copenhagen alone has around 250 miles of cycle paths. But the main reason why bikes are so popular is simply because pedaling is the fastest and easiest way of commuting. This means that – rain or shine, in high heels or flats – more than 50 percent of all Copenhageners bike to work or school every day. In Denmark, that’s how they roll.
Danish Consul General in New York, Ambassador Jarl Frijs-Madsen met with Summer Streets participants
New York City has been very much inspired by the cycling culture of Copenhagen, and the Danish urban planner Jan Gehl has helped the City make the streets safer, easier and more enjoyable for pedestrians and cyclists. New York City has been “Copenhagenized”.
Carbon Neutral Capital in 2025For more than a century, there has been a big, soft spot in Danish hearts for the bicycle. For the Danes, life is simply better on two wheels. But bicycling is also a very important factor in reducing carbon emissions. Therefore bicycle culture is a vital part of Copenhagen’s ambition to become the first carbon neutral capital in the world by 2025. And the City is already closer to this goal as its carbon emission has been reduced by 21 percent from 2005 to 2011.
Summer StreetsSummer Streets is an annual celebration of New York City’s most valuable public space – the streets. The festival provides more car-free space for healthy recreation and encourages New Yorkers to use more sustainable forms of transportation. Summer Streets is organized by NYC Department of Transportation (DOT), in cooperation with other city agencies and non-profit organizations such as Transportation Alternatives.
The "Street Team" from VisitDenmark and the Consulate