Copenhageners take great pride in using bicycles to travel. A third or more of its residents use two wheels as transportation to work, school and other destinations.
This high cycling mode share is due to a series of systematic, practical improvements. One such improvement is the establishment of cycle tracks – unidirectional lanes separated from cars and pedestrians by simple curbs – as part of this network of cycle lanes.
The 1970’s
City residents had long enjoyed cycling, but with the rise of automobiles during the 1950s cycling was left in its wake. Luckily in the 1970s the global oil crisis and an emerging environmental movement helped rejuvenate cycling with cycle tracks emerging as its centerpiece for city development.
An essential element of this vision was a network of protected bike lanes – unidirectional lanes separated from roads and pavements by high kerbs that enable cyclists to ride at equal speed with cars without merging, making cycling more accessible to men, women, and children alike.
Along with upgrading existing bike lanes, the city also began testing and introducing various improvements, including a “Green Wave” system designed to enable cyclists to cross intersections without delay; now being used at 117 intersections across the city.
Other innovations included rethinking train design to make it easier for people to transport their bikes onboard trains. Copenhagen piloted its first bridge for pedestrians and cyclists only, which proved cost effective, leading to the construction of 17 more over 14 years – providing shortcuts over water bodies or busy streets. Furthermore, Copenhageners became accustomed to taking their bicycles aboard trains thanks to a pilot bike-friendly train car; today it has become common practice.
The 1980’s
Copenhagen saw a surge in cycling during the 1970s and 80s due to various factors; air pollution and traffic deaths had reached intolerable levels; Denmark depended on oil for 92% of its energy; environmental awareness also began to make an impressionful statement that made people take to two wheels as symbols of freedom from car-dominated societies.
At the core of every cycle city lies its network of protected bike lanes, in which cyclists are separated from vehicles and pavement by physical barriers such as bike lanes. To be effective and safe for riders of all kinds – children, women and older cyclists alike – these lanes must include low speed limits and red traffic signals that show priority to cyclists over cars.
Copenhagen has long been considered an innovative cycling city, thanks to several innovations that helped it lead the pack in this regard. On Norrebrogade – its busiest bicycle street – traffic lights are timed so that cyclists pass through an uninterrupted string of green lights during rush hour, an event known as The Green Wave. Since its implementation other streets have replicated it and now Copenhagen plans on building over 100 miles of cycle lanes within 10 years based on this success.
Additionally, innovations include bicycle service stations where cyclists can access repair services or purchase spare tires. Furthermore, the city began building “super” bridges designed exclusively to serve cyclists as shortcuts over water and busy streets – one such bridge opened its doors in 2008 and quickly became one of the city’s most beloved cycling routes.
The 1990’s
Copenhagen has maintained a cycling modal share of approximately 35% since 2000 and hopes to reach 50% by 2025. To do this, they’ve made cycling more attractive and accessible through various initiatives.
They widened cycle tracks to three lanes so friends could speak freely while riding together and made streets wider to accommodate people riding with children faster. In addition, they added bike parking spaces for 5,000 additional bikes while clearing away 8,000 abandoned ones from public bike stands to free up space at public bike stands and ensure quieter streets while pushing to reduce speed limits in areas where cyclists were most often injured by motorists.
In 2004, Copenhagen started testing out The Green Wave: a coordinated series of traffic lights on Norrebrogade that allows cyclists traveling at 20 km/h to ride through intersections without stopping, while cars and buses must wait their turn. They also piloted overtaking lanes at four intersections which reduced car congestion, increased cyclist speeds, trip times, while not increasing conflict or accidents.
Additionally, they’ve worked hard to promote the Green Wave through education and campaigns, while improving maintenance of bike paths since quality of track surface can have an effect on cyclist safety and comfort.
Read also: How Much Can Cycling Increase Your Height?
The 2000’s
Copenhagen continued to develop its cycling infrastructure throughout the 2000s, particularly its cycle tracks. Furthermore, Copenhagen prioritized making roads safer for cyclists using them with its Cycle Track Priority Plan 2006-2016 that prioritized safety issues. In 2013, Safe Cycling City launched to encourage better behavior from cyclists on cycle tracks, and make intersections safer for them. As one example, it introduced a system known as the ‘Green Wave’ where traffic lights would coordinate to give cyclists a brief ‘pre-green’ light before cars had their turn at entering and turning right through an intersection. This allowed cyclists to start moving forward sooner while also making them more visible to car drivers.
Additional initiatives designed to increase cycling comfort and convenience included footrests at intersections, tilted public trash cans and bike service stations offering tire repairs or spare part sales. Copenhagen was also working hard to make taking bicycles on trains easier – in 2014 Norreport train station in Denmark underwent renovation to add 2,400 outdoor bicycle parking spots on top of its already 20,000 indoor spaces, plus Flex Zones on new trains that allowed up to 60 bicycles per train, tripling capacity.
