• Bike-Friendly highways expected to save Copenhagen $60m in health care
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[quote] September 1, 2012 Every day, one-third of the people of Copenhagen ride their bikes to work or school. Collectively, they cycle more than 750,000 miles daily, enough to make it to the moon and back. And city officials want even more people to commute, and over longer distances. So a network of 26 new bike routes, dubbed "the cycling superhighway," is being built to link the surrounding suburbs to Copenhagen. Lars Gaardhoj, an official with the Copenhagen capital region, says the routes will be straight and direct. "It will be very fast for people who use their bike," he says. "This is new because traditionally cycle paths have been placed where there is space for them and the cars didn't run. So now the bike is going to challenge the car." The first highway, to the busy suburb of Albertslund some 10 miles outside the city, was completed in April. To test it, I got a rental bike and went out for a ride. No Place For Slowpokes One of the first things you learn about these bike lanes is that you have to move in fast. This is not leisurely biking — this is serious stuff in Copenhagen. It's a parallel world of transportation: You've got the cars on the roads and the people on their bikes. There are thousands and thousands of people on their bikes here in this city.[/quote] [img]http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2012/08/31/denmark_bicycle-295be1c865f5332d6dceb2a2c6c043dae3f52dfd-s4.jpg[/img] [I]Many Copenhagen residents already travel by bike, and now the city is building high-speed routes designed to encourage commuters even in the outlying suburbs.[/I] [url=http://www.npr.org/2012/09/01/160386904/in-bike-friendly-copenhagen-highways-for-cyclists?ps=view&ec=mostpopular]Read more @ NPR.org[/url]
Denmark, fuck yeah.
If only our road designers over here in the UK built cycle ways like this, rather than a painted stripe on the edge of an extremely busy A road :)
What ever happened to [I]boardwalks[/I]
[QUOTE=ThePunisher1;37510013]If only our road designers over here in the UK built cycle ways like this, rather than a painted stripe on the edge of an extremely busy A road :)[/QUOTE] I would be perfectly content with painted stripes if they were a bit more than a foot or two wide...
[QUOTE=PassTheBong;37510046]What ever happened to [I]boardwalks[/I][/QUOTE] steve buscemi happened
[QUOTE=fishyfish777;37510231]I would be perfectly content with painted stripes if they were a bit more than a foot or two wide...[/QUOTE] And if people didn't park on them.
I am 50% sure that i've seen that woman somewhere before.
We have them already and they are awesome. Sadly they only cover a extremely tiny portion of the city.
I wish I lived in Denmark.
They could build these in the US and virtually nobody would use them.
[QUOTE=RichyZ;37510164]the hell is a boardwalk [sp]i know what one is, but i say this out of the fact that the us has barely any :)[/sp][/QUOTE] It depends where in the us you live. I've seen a lot of boardwalks made just for bikes in the past.
Kind of wish we had these in the US where I live, we kind of do but they're so far between they're unused, and it's relatively annoying having a slow ass biker in front of you when you need to drive somewhere quickly, so why not give them their own thing where they're not annoying as fuck, and safer?
[QUOTE=PassTheBong;37510046]What ever happened to [I]boardwalks[/I][/QUOTE] We have one here in Santa Cruz! Its a shitty cheap amusement park!
Its cool and all, but pedaling from the suburbs to town, wouldn't that take a while?
Also, I hate riding these roads, everybody goes faster than me and my small bmx, and I have to pedal extra hard to keep up with their usual pace I was ninjad
[QUOTE=D3TBS;37510820]Its cool and all, but pedaling from the suburbs to town, wouldn't that take a while?[/QUOTE] Denmark is a pretty small country and the exercise makes it worth the extra time.
I think a lot more people would consider getting road bikes if these bike highways were implemented.
[QUOTE=D3TBS;37510820]Its cool and all, but pedaling from the suburbs to town, wouldn't that take a while?[/QUOTE] Not really, Copenhagen isn't small, but it's not that big either. If you keep a nice pace you could even get from Roskilde to Copenhagen in a reasonable amount of time, and that ~35km. I normally take my bike the ~7km to school, and that's really just 25 minutes. Plus, you get exercise.
It looks like they're building entirely seperate roads for cyclists to use, with barriers between them and cars. I'm fine with this. [editline]2nd September 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=GoDong-DK;37511393]Not really, Copenhagen isn't small, but it's not that big either. If you keep a nice pace you could even get from Roskilde to Copenhagen in a reasonable amount of time, and that ~35km. I normally take my bike the ~7km to school, and that's really just 25 minutes. Plus, you get exercise.[/QUOTE] It's a bit different here. Suburbs are quite a ways out, 7-10 miles instead of kms, and cycling that will take forever...and if you're out where I am, where it's 45 minutes [i]by car[/i] cycling just isn't an option. but for those who live where it is an option this is great.
The UK really needs to up it's game when it comes to supporting cyclists. I've cycled in various countries around Europe and I've never felt as unsafe as I do on my home roads. It's not only the cycling facilities (in terms of cycle paths and adequate road safety), I think a big part of the problem is the general awareness and public outlook towards cycling. A couple of years ago I was cycling in the French Alps, and as cars were passing me they kept honking their horns at me. I started getting really pissed off, I wasn't sue why i was getting so much aggro. Then after about 15 minutes of this I realised they were just letting me know they were there and were about to overtake. Their whole attitude to cyclists is fucking great, they don't mind slowing down to wait behind you, whereas in the UK people will tailgate you and rev their engines until you pull over to let them past. I really hope we start to get our shit together in the UK, I'm hoping our Olympic success on the bikes will kick start some new changes.
Copenhagen is my Shangri-la. Their architectural projects are mindblowingly cool!
[QUOTE=TestECull;37511401]It looks like they're building entirely seperate roads for cyclists to use, with barriers between them and cars. I'm fine with this. [editline]2nd September 2012[/editline] It's a bit different here. Suburbs are quite a ways out, 7-10 miles instead of kms, and cycling that will take forever...and if you're out where I am, where it's 45 minutes [i]by car[/i] cycling just isn't an option. but for those who live where it is an option this is great.[/QUOTE] Well, I'm talking about Denmark. I'm aware of that it isn't really an option for many US citizens, but even in the big cities, there aren't, to my understanding, much in the way of bicycling. I could go from one part of Denmark to the other end without ever leaving a bicycle path - and there's normally some 1.5-2 meters of spacing for bicycles on either side of the road. [editline]2nd September 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=Big Dumb American;37511492]Copenhagen is my Shangri-la. Their architectural projects are mindblowingly cool![/QUOTE] Actually I find the nice part of Copenhagen really being the old parts, they're much nicer. And what projects are you actually talking about?
I just had to: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVLYoHZiZuY[/media]
[QUOTE=Carne;37511893]I just had to: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVLYoHZiZuY[/media][/QUOTE] Oh hey I made the picture in the beginning. [editline]2nd September 2012[/editline] Might have something to do with me making that video too.
I am really used that every single village or town has bike roads since well, Holland has these everywhere :v: Expected the same when i went to England, damn that was just scary
[QUOTE=Scotchair;37511419]The UK really needs to up it's game when it comes to supporting cyclists. I've cycled in various countries around Europe and I've never felt as unsafe as I do on my home roads. It's not only the cycling facilities (in terms of cycle paths and adequate road safety), I think a big part of the problem is the general awareness and public outlook towards cycling. A couple of years ago I was cycling in the French Alps, and as cars were passing me they kept honking their horns at me. I started getting really pissed off, I wasn't sue why i was getting so much aggro. Then after about 15 minutes of this I realised they were just letting me know they were there and were about to overtake. Their whole attitude to cyclists is fucking great, they don't mind slowing down to wait behind you, whereas in the UK people will tailgate you and rev their engines until you pull over to let them past. I really hope we start to get our shit together in the UK, I'm hoping our Olympic success on the bikes will kick start some new changes.[/QUOTE] the uk's cyclist facilities are poor, but around where i live the cyclists are also batshit insane. they cycle in the middle of the road, turn without looking or signalling, run red lights etc. they're especially terrible in london
They're trying half heartily to introduce biking as a whole in the North of England (quite a few primary schools here get road / safety training if the child owns a bike) however apart from the occasional "opening" of "new" (worn down / dead / abandoned trails that have been tarmacked slightly) cycle paths, there's absolutely no infrastructure. Pity as well as cycling can be quite fun and speedy travel.
[QUOTE=D3TBS;37510820]Its cool and all, but pedaling from the suburbs to town, wouldn't that take a while?[/QUOTE] Denmark is flat. Like, REALLY flat. Although I live in the weird region of it, quite hilly.
I feel it'd be quite popular in Austin. There's so many bicyclists on the road, especially the ones who ride their bikes leisurely in the right lane with a "America for Peace" sign on the back of it.
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