Copenhagen Infrastructure
Heads up, this post might get a little technical. Copenhagen's infrastructure has so much to it. (probably more so than I will be able to explain). In this post, I hope to highlight the key pieces of infrastructure that I noticed throughout my time in Copenhagen.
I had initially thought that (because of how many bikes there are) there would be few cars on the road and many bikes on the street. Yet, I was surprised to find that is not the case. The amount of cyclists on the road is equal to (if not a little more than) cars. Copenhagen's City Center is set up so cars have to pass through it in many instances. Therefore, there are some roads that are 4 or 5-lane (as wide as some of the roads in Eugene, such a Franklin Blvd, for those who are familiar with that area).
However, as I have mentioned in previous posts, one thing that makes Copenhagen stand out so much is its bike lanes (or cycle tracts). They are on almost every road. Even though they parallel the car asphalt, they are an inch or two elevated from the main road and 6.5-10 feet wide. These two key pieces make them feel much safer than a regular bike lane (painted lane). They also have these tiny asphalt ramps that help bikes get back onto the cycle tract from the main road. This is an example of where a tiny detail has a huge impact.
- Shared space (small road)
- Cars drive slower due to traffic calming*
- Painted lane
- Riding with traffic, with just a white line protecting you from cars
- Cycle track
- As mentioned above, every major road has these
- Vertical and horizontal buffer
- Some sort of buffer between car travel lane and bike (eg. parked cars, plants)
I think I saw all of these during my week and a half of being there, but since we were on the bike so much I wasn't able to get that many photos of each and every type. In the future, I will try to make a greater effort to photograph these different types of lanes.
 |
| Shared Space |
 |
| Painted Lane |
 |
| Cycle Tract |
On the other hand, Bridges are pretty common in Copenhagen. Similar to Portland, is a large body of water (Københavns Havn) separating two sides of town, so there are a series of bridges that take people from one side to the other. One thing I was pleasantly surprised to see was that there are at least 3 or 4 bridges that are exclusively for bikes/peds (in Portland there is only one). All of which are heavily used btw! For example, Cykelslangen, which I briefly mentioned in my previous post, eliminated the need for people to take their bikes up a flight of stairs as part of their commute.
 |
| Biking across the Cykelsangen |
Traffic Calming*
One of the most interesting I took away from our visit to Ghel was how much they value psychological/sociological views in making traffic planning work. Traffic calming is a great example is with traffic calming.
For example, in my hometown of Portland the Bearau of Transportation has made it a priority over the last few years to lower the speed limits on roads in Portland. However, the roads themselves still 'look' like they are designed for higher speeds. NE Columbia Blvd, for example, has looked the same for many years. The speed limit was originally 45 or 50 and then was knocked down to 40, and today it's 35. However, the road still looks just as it did when the speed limit was 50, so people speed down it. Long story short, lowering the speed limit alone doesn't actually limit what speed drivers will actually drive, therefore infrastructure changes are necessary.
In order to slow down car traffic, planners, architects, engineers etc, have narrowed turn lanes or decreased turning radius. Changing the parking setup (from parallel to slanted) decreases the space on a road. Making turns narrower will require people to slow down more.
Another thing that can be used to slow down traffic (at least for bikes) is cobblestone. In an old city like Copenhagen, there is a lot of cobblestone. Due to its bumpy nature, it causes traffic to move slower! (One thing I found really interesting was the use of smooth cobblestone in certain areas in order to enhance the movement of bike traffic.
 |
| Smooth cobblestone (between the lines) vs bumpy cobblestone (outside) |
Another aspect of traffic calming is raised/continuous crosswalks at intersections. From my experience with LiveMove, I can say that some of these can be seen in the US, however, it is much more common over here. For those who don't know, raised sidewalks are crosswalks that continue over grade crossings for certain (lesser-used) roads. This is just another example to cause cars to slow down (because in a sense, the crosswalk acts as a speed bump).
Finally, I won't go into this topic in-depth, intersections can play a big role in traffic calming as well. (Turning radius and narrowed lanes, as mentioned above, also might fit into this category). One thing related to bikes that I wanted to mention is the resting bar at intersections. While I think I briefly mentioned this feature in my previous blog posts, I also wanted to mention the psychology behind it. They are not just there no reason. The thinking is that it allows those who are at the 'front of the line' for the green light to patiently. wait... and since the leader of the line is patiently waiting, everyone behind them will also wait patiently. In contrast, if there wasn't one of these resting bars, the first person in line would start to feel impatient and feel the urge to run the red light, and thus cause everyone else to run the red light (which, obviously could be dangerous). So the resting bar not only provides comfort but also provides safety!
Bike parking
 |
| With bikes parking next to the side of the building, does this pose an accessibility issue for those in a mobility device? |
One thing I found surprising:
Shared bike/turn lanes on major roads
 |
| A shared bike/turn lane near Copenhagen Central Station |
This is a really nice summary and great delineation of things you've been experiencing!
ReplyDelete