September 26, 2013

Mayor Emanuel Welcomes Ambassador Rudolf Bekink, Dutch Ambassador to the United States

Visit Highlights Second ThinkBike Workshop A Two-Day Exchange Between the City of Chicago and the Dutch Cycling Embassy

Mayor's Press Office    312.744.3334

Mayor Emanuel Welcomes Rudolf Bekink, Dutch Ambassador to the United States

Mayor Rahm Emanuel today welcomed to Chicago the Dutch Ambassador to the United States Rudolf Bekink. Mayor Emanuel and Ambassador Bekink had a fruitful conversation discussing best policies and practices in water management and bicycle infrastructure for Chicago and the Netherlands. 

“I welcome Ambassador Bekink to Chicago and am pleased to continue strengthening our longstanding friendship with the Netherlands,” said Mayor Rahm Emanuel. “We had a productive meeting centered on the importance of smart investments in water sustainability and transportation.”

During Ambassador Bekink’s visit to Chicago he will attend the ThinkBike Workshop, a two-day exchange between the City of Chicago and the Dutch Cycling Embassy to discuss best-practices and policies regarding the role of bicycling in Chicago. The two-day exchange will have two teams consisting of city officials, advocates, outside agencies and other stakeholders that will meet to discuss existing bicycling policies in Chicago and explore the viability and applicability of Dutch transportation concepts to improve two heavily bicycled corridors in Chicago - Milwaukee Avenue between Division Street and North Avenue, and Monroe Street between the Loop and the Lakefront Trail.   

This will be the second ThinkBike two-day exchange between Chicago and Dutch counterparts, in September of 2010 the City of Chicago partnered with the Chicago Consulate General of the Netherlands, the Royal Netherlands Embassy and Fietsberaad International to host the ThinkBike Workshops in an initial effort to develop ways Chicago and the Netherlands could continue to develop innovative transportation infrastructure for residents.

In July of this year, the City of Chicago and the Consulate General of Israel in the Midwest hosted the first Israel-Chicago Water Technology and Innovation Forum, which joined top engineers and leaders from water management in Illinois, the Midwest, and Israel to discuss and share best practices where they focused on water planning and conservation.

Water management and transportation investment have been central to Mayor Emanuel’s administration. Mayor Emanuel will continue to foster positive collaborative relationships with global partners as a tool to strengthen Chicago for the future.

 

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Photo Credit: Mayor Emanuel Welcomes Rudolf Bekink, Dutch Ambassador to the United States

 

Photo Credit: Brooke Collins // City of Chicago