This is the beginning of a short photo series around Copenhagen (aka Hopenhagen) and some of their neat bike/ped/vehicle road design they employ . Since my infrastructure fetish was not satisfied in my summer visit to the Danish capital, I’ve returned via Google Streetview to take the screenshots I missed on the past visit.
As many know, Copenhagen’s got some great bike paths–and an enviable 37% of all trips to work on made by bicycle. Thanks to Google’s lovely high-resolution Streetview shots, we can explore some of their tricks to making streets work for all road users.
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The first myth to dispel is that there are bike paths EVERYWHERE in Copenhagen. But where there aren’t bike paths, there is attention paid to cyclists where it’s needed the most, the intersections.
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Here’s what happens when a typical Copenhagen bike path meets another important road with lots of turning. (The most distinguishing aspect of the Copenhagen design is the small vertical drop that separates bikes from cars, pedestrians from bikes. ) A “mixing zone”, where drivers and cyclists can take a moment to become better acquainted before beginning their respective journeys through the intersection.
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And from the other side. I’m no traffic engineer, but this design (one vehicle lane with parking, with occasional left turn lanes) probably allows for pretty easy car movement as well.
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That’s all for now. Check back again for Copenhagen infrastructure!
One comment
I moved here four years ago from Montreal and Calgary promotes their extensive bike paths.