Copenhagen

I have seen the future, and it’s in Copenhagen. I traveled there last week for the Velo City Conference, a meeting of bicycle advocates from around the world. It was outstanding. My favorite part? The 2-hour private tour of Copenhagen by bike. It was AWESOME!!!

In the United States, 1.4% of trips—to the store, to work, to the ball field, to school, etc.—are taken by bike. In Germany it’s 10%, in Holland it’s 25%, and in Copenhagen, it’s 37%. They want to get to 50%. In Copenhagen they have figured out that the bicycle is a simple solution to many complicated problems.

In Copenhagen even the car drivers love bicycles, because each bike is one less car on the road and less congestion. One bridge in Copenhagen has 35,000 cyclists crossing it every day! Pollution in the city is way down, and I did not see an obese Dane the entire time I was there. Not one. In America, 2/3 of our citizens are overweight or obese. We just passed the largest health care bill in history, and how many words did you hear about people taking personal responsibility for their health? I guarantee you that the entire amount of money Copenhagen has spent on bicycle infrastructure has been saved on health care costs 5 times over. What amazed me is that a lot of the infrastructure isn’t that expensive—just simple solutions to create a buffer between cars and bikes so people feel comfortable and safe riding their bikes, every day.

If you ever get the chance, go to Copenhagen. And see the future.

Comments

[terry.funke@gmail.com]

I enjoyed reading your post. I agree with you about taking responsibility with our health care and we americans are FAT!

I want to ride more than I do. I admit I do not ride to run errands, but I can. Just lazy sometimes.

Your words are encouraging to me. I want to change and this is a small activity I can do to make a difference.

Thank you.
Love to see Copenhagen someday :)

[Jesper Nielsen]

"...and I did not see an obese Dane the entire time I was there. Not one."

That was because I was out of town for a few days. :o)

Bike capital as Copenhagen is, bike lanes all over; we still need good bike parking facilities.

[Ron Graybill]

I married a Dane and have been visiting Copenhagen every year for 40 years. Forty years ago it was much more true that one rarely saw an obese Dane. But McDonalds and Burger King and KFC are there now, and, occasionally, one does see obese people. Still, it's just amazing to watch the streams of bikes passing the City Hall Plaza at the end of the day--people of all ages riding, riding, riding.

[Mo Hansen]

JB

Let's take all the great ideas from places like Copenhagen and other places around the globe and test them out by making Waterloo a municipal laboratory for biking and bike infrastructure!!

-Mo Hansen
City of Waterloo
Clerk/Treasurer

[gabe fife]

i was in copenhagen for a conference in october of 09. my wife and i did as the locals and rented bikes for all of our transportation purposes. from that i have thought how great it would be if cities in the usa had the same infrastructure..simply amazing! however, the problem comes from the "urban sprawling" from the 1950s where everything was spread out making it almost impossible to encourage people to cycle or walk anywhere without spending hours on end commuting...in the usa there would have to be MAJOR infrastructure changes that have developed over the past60 years or so..

[Carla Pielmeier]

I too have been too Copenhagen on several occasions and was amazed that so many people rode their bikes. I have to say, at one time I rode my bike more places (such as 12 miles to work) but it is just too dangerous now. On the same route, Automobile drivers do not provide enough room when they pass me, the birms of the road have become smaller and full of pot holes, the superstores have no access safely pass them, and I can not “ride” through the drive through at a bank or pharmacy. I must get off the bike, lock it and go inside. At least in central PA, it is so inconvenient to ride a bike vs. driving. There is a movement thought to try to connect some greenways. I moved so that I live only 1.2 miles from work now and it is still not convenient to ride my bike as it had been in the past.

[steve]

A young friend in Copenhagen moved to a new apartment last December and entirely moved herself to a location about 2km away by renting a cargo bike. She notes that no one thinks of a bike first as recreation - they are mostly for transport. She also says Danish women have the best legs on the planet.

John Pucher at Rutgers has written extensively written about why places like the Netherlands and Denmark became biking nations and what roadblocks they overcame. It turns out it was not an easy process - it took about three decades to get where they are now.

[Kåre Hvid Lind]

Cycling is very useful in an urban environment.

You can even get smart cargo-bikes to do grocery-shopping etc:

http://www.larryvsharry.com/english/index.html

[Slim Jim]

I totally agree with the 50% goal Copenhagen has!!! And now in WI there is another new bike trail along 26 going from Janesville up to (eventually) Beaver Dam, connecting to Glacial Drumlin which connects to other central trails. This has to do to the small group of riders in Fort Atkinson who do a fundraiser every year called Tour De Fort, all proceeds go to building and grooming bike focused transportation! It has been awesome and I ride the new trail every day 18 miles. Just goes to show the initiates start small and grow, right HERE in the state of Wisconsin.