Copenhagen’s newest bike lane totally rules

[n2doc]

By Madeleine Thomas

In Copenhagen, where bicycles outnumber people and nearly 40 percent of residents cycle to work, bike-friendly infrastructure is key.

But, even though more than 200 miles of bike lanes wind throughout Copenhagen, congestion is a common issue. The city is home to the world’s busiest bike lane, on which up to 40,000 cyclists travel daily.


The Cykelslangen (soo-cool-klag-en), or Cycle Snake, the city’s newest elevated skyway designed exclusively for cyclists, should help keep bike traffic moving smoothly, Wired reports:

“Underneath, there’s a harbor front, so there are slow moving-pedestrians,” says Mikael Colville-Anderson, CEO of Copanhagenize, a Danish design company. “It wasn’t a smooth commute for the cyclists. The people on bikes want to get home and the pedestrians want to saunter.” Pedestrian-cyclist conflict was never an issue, but cyclists couldn’t pedal at a constant speed, and they had to deal with stairways. The new roadway, which runs one story above the ground, lets them move without interruption. At just over 13 feet wide, there’s plenty of room to pass even a double-wide cargo bike.

At roughly 700 feet long, it will only take most cyclists less than a minute to traverse the Cykelslangen, but props to Copenhagen for building another bike path that’s practical and beautiful to boot.

http://grist.org/list/copenhagens-newest-bike-lane-totally-rules/

[Liberal_in_LA]

1. k&r

[hunter]

2. Bicycling would be so much nicer if I didn't have to worry about automobiles.

That bikeway is beautiful.

[AtomicKitten]

3. Smart urban planning. Love it.

knr

[KG]

4. we could live like this in the US, if so many didn't believe a military presence spanning the globe

was a necessary function

[CK_John]

5. Looks like it could handle my adult trike too.

[JDPriestly]

6. That's what bike lanes should look like. But we don't have enough bikeriders to

warrant the expense -- yet. Maybe the next generation will ride bikes more.

[loudsue]

8. No. They all got mowed down by cars. That's why we don't have more bikeriders.

Now, if we had bike lanes, we probably wouldn't be #1 in the world in obesity, too!

[BobbyBoring]

21. A sad fact but true

I know 4 people that have been killed on bikes the last being hit by a bus. I will only ride on trails with no cars.

[JDPriestly]

31. We have them in my area of Los Angeles, but we still don't have bike riders.

Bikes are useless for mothers and fathers of toddlers who need to take them shopping and to day care and to the doctors. Bikes are useless for most elderly people. With the exception for recreational use, they are also useless for people in professions like lawyers who have to be in court early in the morning with ties, suit jackets, etc. In Los Angeles, I did not want my children riding bikes -- too dangerous for many reasons including the hills and the heat in the summer.

But bike lanes that are separate from cars, really separate like the one in the picture would work.

The bike lanes we have are not really safe. They make it hard for the drivers of cars to make turns. Drivers are confused by them. Bikes themselves are yet another distraction for car drivers.

[lunatica]

11. the idea that only the need for something

creates it's solution could be used to never build cars because who needed them? But the fact is that building cars actually changed our entire country, starting with a basic infrastructure and continuing on to the every basic things that depend on transportation. Suburbs are a concept that came into the American way of thinking and building because of the invention of cars. the dots to connect have grown exponentially into a myriad of different directions and inventions in little over 100 years.

I think the implementation of elevated lanes for bicycles would make many more people prefer to bike to work or anyplace else. At 66 years old I have to drive to my job 13 miles away, but I have to take the freeway. Even if I could take a bicycle the 6 miles to the closest BART station to get to work by rail I think there are times I would do it. Certainly people who are younger and more fit that I am would do it.

[Gormy Cuss]

16. The literature shows that making bike-friendly roads and paths increases ridership.

Here's one link
http://cleantechnica.com/2014/06/09/us-bike-ridership-surges-protected-bike-lanes-study/


I have friends and acquaintances (yes, some your age) who commute to BART by bike or otherwise split the commute between biking and driving.
Six miles on a bike is a pleasant ride if there are bike lanes and the grade changes aren't severe.

[Fawke Em]

14. Work and climate restrict that, too.

Most women can't bike to work in this country because they wouldn't look very professional when they got to work (wet, stringy hair, no place to shower/clean up).

If I tried to bike anywhere between May and October, I'd stink to high heaven and look like hell when I got there.

Does anyone know if, in places like Copenhagen, most work places have a place to clean up once you get to work?

[Hell Hath No Fury]

17. Even here in hilly SF --

biking has become huge. We have created a huge network of bikes lanes that go into all areas of the City and can lead you right into downtown. We also have a bike share program where you can pick up a bike at one location ad drop if off at another. The more we have created the space for bikes the more the population has responded.

[BobbyBoring]

22. That's what happens in progressive areas.

Progress! I don't know why so many idiots I'm Americas hate that.
How are those bikes to ride? They don't look like hill climbers to me.

[TlalocW]

7. That's cool, and I fully support it...

And I'm sure Copenhagenites are very good bike drivers, but I look at that and see myself on it for several minutes of sheer terror before I do something wrong and am knocked over the guardrail into the canal.

TlalocW

[JackRiddler]

28. Nah.

Almost the only thing that knocks bikers over guardrails is automobiles.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

9. Now all they need is one that has a slight downhill slope going the other way.

[mnhtnbb]

10. We were in Copenhagen in June. It was amazing to see so few cars on the street

and the numbers of bikes. Great bike lanes. And as a pedestrian, you really have to watch
out for the bikes.

Most amazing bike line up I saw was near a metro station. Here's all the bikes locked up.
Bike to metro...public transit to work.

[B Calm]

12. Do they ride them in winter too?

[mnhtnbb]

13. I would imagine so.

One of my sons was in Copenhagen in December a couple of years ago and I was surprised
to learn how temperate the weather was at the time. Possibly being right on the water
keeps it warmer than it would be inland.

http://www.worldweatheronline.com/Copenhagen-weather-averages/Hovedstaden/DK.aspx


(the range of highs in December from -2 to 5 degrees Celsius converts to 28.5 to 40 degrees F)

[tkmorris]

15. Yes they do

[BrotherIvan]

23. Yes, I was there in December and they were everywhere

But watch out! They will mow you over.

[misterhighwasted]

18. Dallas, of course, would make this a Toll Lane. I say "whatever it takes"

Absolutely brilliant design.

[KansDem]

19. Wouldn't orange cones blend in with that color of bikeway?

I mean, if you're the governor and want political favors from the mayor who refuses and you decide to block bike traffic with orange cones in retaliation, the cones will blend in with the color of the bikeway and no one would see them.



Then there would be no huge bike jam to get riders angry with the mayor.

Det er tid for noen trafikkproblemer i København!
jeg forstår!

[malaise]

20. Danish citizens not only have rights

Their government's policies are people centred.

[BrotherIvan]

24. They pay for them in high taxes

My Danish partner always says Americans hate paying taxes because they "don't feel they get anything for them." And while all Danes grumble about their taxes they get: excellent education through university; excellent health care which includes dental; excellent, clean public transport; and a highly literate, generally safe society. Americans feel like their taxes go into a black hole, never to be seen again. And since most of them are sucked up by the Pentagon, that's mostly right.

Their biggest problem is they are going from a very homogenized ethnicity and having severe racial tensions from immigration. There is quite a lot of animosity toward immigrants who are supported by social programs and who do not assimilate. It is a huge point of contention. But for the most part, they're very well off.

[malaise]

29. My oldest sibling has lived there

for almost 50 years. Yep they have high taxes but they see the benefits. When I visit they are amazed at how security conscious I am - they don't close windows or doors unless it's cold. I do love Denmark but you're right about some issues with those who don't assimilate.

[BrotherIvan]

30. I would move there

Except my California blood might not make it through the winters and the language is difficult at best. The only word I can correctly pronounce is rhinoceros. Don't think that would get me too far. But it's a beautiful place to visit!

[moondust]

25. Copenhagen rules.

A cyclist myself, one of the things I'll never forget from the first time I was there, in 1975, was all the grandmas on bikes!

[Archae]

26. We could use bike lanes like this.

Here in Sheboygan we have dedicated bike lanes on most of the main streets.

BUT...

Just yesterday I stopped at a red light, following traffic, and a kid on a little (BMX?) bicycle nearly hit me, going the wrong way in the wrong direction.
Went right through the red light, nearly getting hit, and nearly hitting me while I was stopped.

Was past me in seconds, so I had no chance to even give him the finger.

[JDPriestly]

32. In Los Angeles, bike riders run stop signs and lights all the time.

It's terrible. And they do it in dangerous places too.

[JackRiddler]

27. But - but - slow drivers are the most dangerous people in the world!

You will take my accelerator when you pry it from my cold, dead foot.