Warning! This post is positively evangelical about cycling…
I bike everywhere. I take the Sterna chicks cycling everywhere and it has got to the point I almost don’t know how to get around the city without my bike. This is not unusual in Copenhagen. Cycling culture is one of the things I love most about living here. The wider benefits of being in a biking city are far-reaching and far too many mention here (but check out Copenhagenize for an inspiring run-down).
I have always cycled everywhere, and in fact have never owned my own car, though I can drive and even enjoy it – albeit on congestion free roads such as you might find in the North of Scotland. However, the vulnerability of cyclists in the UK has come to disturb me ever more. Especially since the very tragic death of Dr. Kat Giles, a polar scientist I had met a couple of times, under the wheels of an HGV in London on a route she had cycled for ten years or so back in 2013.
I am so accustomed to the safety of cycling in Copenhagen that I think I would find it hard to go back to cycling in the UK or anywhere else without good bike infrastructure (including separated bike lanes). I would certainly not let my 4 year old bike to the nursery as I do at present (and for which a poor child was threatened with having their bike confiscated recently in the UK, but I digress). Even my mother (hi Mum!) has been witnessed riding a bike in Copenhagen. I have video evidence.
Be that as it may, such are the benefits of biking that I feel the UK and in particular the mega-city that is London should really be doing A LOT more to facilitate normal people cycling everyday . So I was rather disappointed, but entirely unsurprised to see this pop up on twitter:
https://twitter.com/Hackneycyclist/status/592387246063538176
Now, on my regular commuting route, the University of Copenhagen is building a brand new and very large building spanning both sides of a large dual carriageway that is one of the main routes into Copenhagen. Bear in mind that around 40% of commuters travel by bike in this city and this is a major route, so clearly the bike path cannot just be closed. Here are a few photos I took yesterday on the spur of the moment (with my fairphone in case you’re interested in cool ethical consumer electronics) showing what the builders have done:
The pavement and separated bike lane have been taken over by the construction, shielded by the link fence on the right; the near side lane on the road is now a shared bike/pedestrian route and the whole thing is smoothly transitioned in and out with the assistance of some blue paint and traffic bollards on the road and of course temporary tarmac ramps to help cyclists get over the kerb at both ends of the building works. The same is true on the other side, so the road has temporarily narrowed to a normal road before widening again to a dual carriageway.
You see, it really isn’t hard to do major building works and keep the bike traffic flowing.
The thing is, this isn’t a unique situation, even small building works where the bike lane and/or pavement is likely to be blocked is treated like this in Copenhagen. It’s about treating all people on the move with respect and it’s something a lot of cities, and countries could learn from when thinking about road safety, sustainable transport and above all quality of life for everyone.
This is what #spaceforcycling really looks like.
Sterna Paradisaea 