Why go to Velo-city Global 2014 in Adelaide? Chat with a speaker

Timothy Papandreou, currently at the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, will be presenting at the Velo-city Global 2014 conference in Adelaide.

Why go to Velo-city Global 2014 in Adelaide? “I am really excited to see Adelaide and learn about what it is doing to create a more sustainable city and how bicycling plays into that strategy,” says Papandreou when asked what he is most excited about the Velo-city Global conference. Aside from spending some time biking and people-watching at the cafes in the warm Adelaidean sun, Papandreou is excited about the people the Velo-city conference brings together. “It is an honor to be invited to come and to be around so many talented people. Being able to be part of this great and exciting movement of active transportation”.

For Papandreou, a fundamental factor for getting more people cycling more often is to focus on the bicycle network. “I would make the bicycling network a top priority to make it as safe, connected, contiguous, convenient and as visible as possible. To me a connected network with no gaps is vital for people to see that it is possible to cycle”. The more visible the network is, and the more visible the people using it are, the more people will be inclined to get on their bikes. “When people see it as a safe and convenient option to get themselves to where they need to go, they will try it”, says Papandreou. Of course this doesn’t negate all the other factors that help get people cycling, but “everything else – education, marketing, etc. – works even better when the base network is there”.
A multi-modal traveler since he was young, Papandreou loves the freedom offered to him by combining transit with biking. It was in this way that he discovered the diversity and beauty of Melbourne as a teenager. “When I got in a car I was so frustrated because I couldn’t drive the same routes that I cycled and it would take too long!” Hence he has cycled in over 50 cities – which says something for how awesome cycling is!

Why fall in love with cycling (again and again)? “Cycling allows you to explore neighborhoods at a pace that allows you to see the details and the sites and aromas of the cafes, the fragrant blossoms of the trees and flowers, it just does something to you, there are no words for it, it is magical and transformative.”

So what are you waiting for? Register today for Velo-city Global 2014, and hear more from Timothy Papandreou and the other fantastic speakers in Adelaide. Bicycle SA is a sponsor of the Velo-city Conference. 

This article orginally appeared on www.ecf.com