Bicycle Innovation Lab: Lucas Harms
“The bustle on the streets affects how people behave.”
The Bicycle Innovation Lab asks for ideas to improve the social safety of cyclists. A jury consisting of five professionals evaluates the entries. Lucas Harms, the Managing Director of the Dutch Cycling Embassy, is one of these jury members. What does he think of this year’s theme of ‘social safety’, and what elements does he find important when assessing the ideas? In this article, we briefly introduce Lucas.
What is your affinity with the bicycle?
“I am the director of the Dutch Cycling Embassy. The Dutch Cycling Embassy is an international billboard for the Netherlands as a cyclists’ country. We want to share our expertise, knowledge, and products in the field of cycling with the rest of the world. I am convinced that cycling is not only a transportation tool in itself, but first and foremost a transformational power that can help cities to become more sustainable, safer, more social, wealthier, healthier, and happier places to live.”
What is your experience with social safety while cycling?
“I recently had a conversation with someone who reminded me of cycling in my childhood. I had to cycle a long way to school and after visiting friends, I had to cycle home unattended. Sometimes I felt afraid, especially in the dark. I always cycled as fast as possible to get home. As an adult, it doesn’t bother me that much anymore, but unfortunately, many people still feel unsafe while cycling.
Due to the busy cycle paths, especially in the big cities, socially unsafe situations sometimes derive. People sometimes become (verbally) aggressive more quickly due to the crowds. I noticed that these situations occur more often in Amsterdam than in other cities I often visit. We naturally have limited space in Amsterdam, which makes this issue hard to tackle. It is a great challenge for the Bicycle Innovation Lab to do something with this.”
What will you look for when evaluating the submissions?
“The idea has to be original and innovative – I want to see something that doesn’t really exist yet. And what I also think is very important is that it can be performed. The idea must also make a positive impact on social safety on the bicycle paths in Amsterdam.”
