{"id":13410,"date":"2023-03-31T11:00:32","date_gmt":"2023-03-31T09:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pat-apat.org\/recordando-a-ole-thorson\/"},"modified":"2023-10-16T11:07:59","modified_gmt":"2023-10-16T09:07:59","slug":"ole-thorson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pat-apat.org\/en\/ole-thorson\/","title":{"rendered":"REMEMBERING OLE THORSON"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ole Thorson was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, and has been an unusual Civil Engineer closely linked to safe mobility who has built many roads, both literally and figuratively. It is impossible to summarize a professional life as fruitful as his, because Ole has left a great legacy. Upon arriving in Catalonia in the seventies, he founded Intra, the first mobility consultancy that put pedestrian rights, public transport and road safety at the center, from which thousands of streets and highways have been designed, numerous mobility studies in hundreds of town councils, road safety audits and many other projects.<\/p>\n

Ole has been a visionary, with an enviable lucidity to convey his idea of mobility, always putting people at the center. And his ideas made their way through activism in numerous NGOs such as the P(A)T Traffic Accident Prevention association, of which he was president, or Catalu\u00f1a Camina, of which he was founder (among many others such as the PTP \u2013Association Promotion for Public Transport -, also founder, or the International Pedestrian Federation, of which he was president…).<\/p>\n

These days we have received many expressions of affection and comments and many remember that already in the 80s or 90s Ole put on the table topics such as why pedestrians had to go down a step when crossing a street or wait at a traffic light and cars were not the ones. that had to adapt to the pedestrian. Or the idea that you don’t have the right to overtake. Or that motorcycles had to get off the sidewalks to make room for pedestrians. Ideas, some that are being applied and others that are beginning to catch on, but that at the time seemed radical. Ole has always been ahead of his time.<\/p>\n

He would suddenly take out a piece of paper and a pen and design a graph to explain one of his theories, always in a didactic way, like the good teacher that he was. In fact, he was a reference for many students in many disciplines and universities, such as the UPC, Masters of Mobility, Urban Planning and Sustainability.<\/p>\n

We want to remember the great work that Ole has done over the last five decades. Among many other awards and recognitions, we highlight the Road Safety award awarded by the Servei Catal\u00e0 de Tr\u00e0nsit for a lifetime dedicated to activism in favor of safe mobility from entities such as the International Federation of Pedestrians or the Association for the Prevention of Traffic Accidents – P(A)T and its role as an international reference in issues of road safety and safe and sustainable mobility, which he received on November 11, 2016, as president of P(A)T.<\/p>\n

On October 8, 2019, within the framework of the Barcelona Urban Guard Day, Ole Thorson was awarded the Medal of Honor for Merit of the Barcelona Urban Guard in its silver category for 50 years of experience promoting mobility policies and road safety in the Catalan capital.<\/p>\n

In 2021 he received the Medal of Professional Merit from the Colegio de Caminos.<\/p>\n

Last year, on April 28, at the Catalan Mobility Day 2022, organized by the Association of Municipalities for Mobility and Urban Transport (AMTU) and the Reus City Council, it was awarded the MobiliCat 2022 award in recognition of its trajectory and social commitment in mobility issues.<\/p>\n

Without a doubt a very fruitful life, which makes Ole Thorson one of the great transformers of mobility.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The members of P(A)T feel a little orphaned, because Ole has been a great pillar and has guided us throughout all these years with patience, perseverance and intelligence.
\nWe are going to greatly miss our talks, always interesting, about mobility, about projects, but also about life, about the values that should govern society, about philosophy or about the family. Because Ole was a great professional, but above all he was a great person, close, who deeply respected human beings.<\/p>\n

We have learned a lot from Ole, about mobility, about Road Safety. Without a doubt he has left an indelible mark. But above all I think we have learned what a full life is. Because Ole has lived fully, with enthusiasm for his work, with passion for life and with love for his family.<\/p>\n

He has been, is and will be a very beloved person and we will always remember his smile and our work will have the imprint of the legacy that he leaves us.<\/p>\n

Pilar Cabrera, P(A)T delegate in Terres de l\u2019Ebre wrote this poem for Ole.<\/p>\n

Has fet tants camins<\/p>\n

Que la remor d\u2019aigua dol\u00e7a,<\/p>\n

Vigilant de temps passats<\/p>\n

I d\u2019infinites arrels,<\/p>\n

Ens deixar\u00e0, les petjades<\/p>\n

Marcades al nostre cor<\/p>\n

Que la terra et sigui lleu Ole.<\/p>\n

GRACIES<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cPara m\u00ed ha sido un activista incansable de la paz, con una proyecci\u00f3n no solo nacional, sino internacional. Y digo activista de la paz por que su gran obsesi\u00f3n era pacificar el tr\u00e1fico, apostando por una movilidad m\u00e1s humana. Activista de la paz porque todas sus ideas iban encaminadas a que no nos matemos unos a otros en nuestras calles y carreteras. Y activista de la paz porque ten\u00eda una gran capacidad mediadora que manifestaba a trav\u00e9s de su sonrisa\u201d.<\/strong><\/div>\n
– Yolanda Domenech, directora de P(A)T<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cGracias Ole Thorson. Ha sido un privilegio permanecer 25 a\u00f1os al lado de alguien tan especial. \u00a0Ole ha sido nuestro \u00eddolo y seguir\u00e1 siendo nuestro gu\u00eda.
\nNo s\u00e9 si conseguiremos que sea reconocida su gran labor en beneficio de la paz y la convivencia en este mundo de ciegos guiados por la avaricia y temerarios por querer ser los primeros en llegar. \u00a0Pero ah\u00ed queda su gran obra orient\u00e1ndonos con infinidad de ideas y caminos abiertos para hacernos m\u00e1s f\u00e1cil el objetivo CERO en el cual muchos creemos<\/strong>\u201d.<\/strong><\/div>\n
– Vicente S\u00e1nchez, presidente de P(A)T<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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“Ole ha sido una persona importante en \u00a0P(A)T, no s\u00f3lo por sus ideas transformadoras de la movilidad y su defensa de la seguridad vial poniendo en el centro a las personas, si no por su forma tranquila, implacable y educada de defender sus ideas. Estoy convencida que Ole ha ayudado a salvar vidas en el tr\u00e1fico y a mejorar la seguridad vial. A nivel personal, ha sido un amigo generoso y enriquecedor y lo echaremos mucho a faltar.”<\/strong><\/div>\n
– Eugenia Domenech, presidenta honor\u00edfica de P(A)T<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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“Impactado por la irreparable p\u00e9rdida del maestro que trajo la cultura de la movilidad y de la seguridad vial a nuestro pa\u00eds.
\n\u00c9l fue quien nos ense\u00f1\u00f3 a colocar a las v\u00edctimas en el centro de la pol\u00edtica de seguridad vial.
\n\u00c9l fue quien nos ense\u00f1\u00f3 a ver que otra ciudad era posible.
\n\u00c9l fue quien nos cautiv\u00f3 con su inmensa pedagog\u00eda y su imagen de viejo profesor.
\nTodos te queremos y te a\u00f1oraremos\u2026.
\nUn cari\u00f1oso recuerdo para el insustituible Ole Thorson\u2026”<\/strong><\/div>\n
– Pere Navarro, director General de Tr\u00e1fico<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cEl Sr. Thorson siempre ha sido una persona de referencia en la FEVR, una persona por encima de todo de un enorme valor humano y moral, a qui\u00e9n dirigimos toda la estima de nuestra entidad. Tambi\u00e9n merece nuestro reconocimiento por todo lo que ha hecho por la causa com\u00fan durante tantos a\u00f1os, en el nombre de mejorar la seguridad en las carreteras y defendiendo los derechos de las v\u00edctimas de siniestros de tr\u00e1fico.
\nOle nos ha dejado con una memoria indeleble y un gran legado, que respetamos profundamente y estamos comprometidos en preservar y diseminar<\/strong>\u201d.<\/strong><\/div>\n
– Filippo Randi, presidente de FEVR<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cLo conoc\u00eda personalmente y tengo muchos recuerdos de \u00e9l. En Barcelona, durante las Asambleas Generales de la FEVR (1998, 2008, 2018), la conmemoraci\u00f3n del D\u00eda Mundial en Memoria de las v\u00edctimas de tr\u00e1fico en 2018, un gran momento en Barcelona o la \u00faltima vez que nos reunimos el 12 de julio de 2019 para la conferencia del Gobierno de Catalunya.
\nTodos hemos perdido a un querido amigo y un apasionado defensor.
\nGracias por todo, Ole!<\/strong>\u201d.<\/strong><\/div>\n
– Jeannot Mersch, presidencia de la FEVR 2010-2021<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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“Qu\u00e9 tristeza saber que Ole ha fallecido! Mis recuerdos de nuestro trabajo de defensa y colaboraci\u00f3n con las v\u00edctimas de tr\u00e1fico en Barcelona siempre incluir\u00e1n al impresionante y encantador hombre Ole Thorson.”<\/strong><\/div>\n
– Brigitte Chaudhry, presidencia de la FEVR 2004-2010<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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“Hizo tanto para los peatones, no solo en Barcelona y Catalu\u00f1a – y a nivel espa\u00f1ol y europeo – sino tambi\u00e9n a nivel mundial.
\nVolvi\u00f3 a poner a los peatones en el centro de muchos foros, de nuevo desde niveles muy locales hasta escenarios de todo el mundo. En importantes reuniones internacionales, como el Foro Internacional del Transporte, se puso en pie entre los ministros y los funcionarios de transporte pregunt\u00e1ndoles si no se hab\u00edan olvidado de considerar a los peatones en sus planes y al caminar como un medio de transporte leg\u00edtimo.”<\/strong><\/div>\n
– Mario Alves, Secretariado General IFP<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cEstoy seguro de que el trabajo de Ole tuvo un gran impacto gracias a su car\u00e1cter amistoso y cooperativo. Esto lo convirti\u00f3 en una figura p\u00fablica en Barcelona, en Espa\u00f1a y en todo el mundo\u201d.<\/span><\/div>\n
– Christian Thomas, IFP<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ole Thorson was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, and has been an unusual Civil Engineer closely linked to safe mobility who has built many roads, both literally and figuratively. It is impossible to summarize a professional life as fruitful as his, because Ole has left a great legacy. Upon arriving in Catalonia in the seventies, he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":13405,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62],"tags":[453],"class_list":["post-13410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pat-reports","tag-ole-thorson-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pat-apat.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13410","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pat-apat.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pat-apat.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pat-apat.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pat-apat.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13410"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.pat-apat.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13410\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13413,"href":"https:\/\/www.pat-apat.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13410\/revisions\/13413"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pat-apat.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pat-apat.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pat-apat.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pat-apat.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}