Choke

Ah. Spring flowers in Copenhagen.

Note the swath of deadness where the exhaust from cars waiting to turn left have left their mark. 60,000 cars a day on this boulevard carving it's asphalt trail through the heart of the city. No politican speaks of doing anything about it.

The Choreography of an Urban Intersection

We are in the midst of an interesting little project here at Copenhagenize Consulting. Something we've been planning for a while but only recently got started with. Like everywhere else, the ever-growing urban cycling boom is causing a backlash in Copenhagen. There's a lot of negative press about bicycle users and little happening to reverse that. When the police go out on their Viking raids for a week at a time, ticketing cyclists for trivialities, the press regurgitate all manner of hype about the 'lawlessness' that will surely cause imminent societal decay. Always forgetting to highlight the fact that The 99% ride by the book and have done for 125 years.

So. We thought we'd look at an intersection - an average one - to observe behaviour and chart patterns and numbers. The Choreography of an Urban Intersection.

We chose the intersection outside of our office window. Not only convenient, but also a unique intersection in that it is primarily a transport hub that connects a north-south road with the main east-west ring. On the four corners of the intersection there is only one shop. The other three corners are vacant. This is an intersection that people travel through. There's a supermarket 100 metres farther along, a hospital 50 metres away and the intersection is in one of the most densely-populated neighbourhoods in the country.

We filmed for 12 hours out of the window. From 07:00 to 19:00. In order to digest and observe we have enlisted the help of an anthropologists - Agnete Suhr. She is well into the material and busy marking desire lines, patterns and counting the traffic users.


Agnete's notebook. We're quite sure we'll understand what this all means when she is done.

Without revealing any hard facts or observations at this early stage, it is fitting that the very first traffic user to appear when I turned on the camera at 06:54 was a car roaring through a red light at easily 80 km/h. I believe Agnete is about 5 hours into the day at the moment and already the myths of lawless cyclists have been dispelled. It's really quite dull the way that Citizen Cyclists roll in all directions. It's a ballet more than urban jungle warfare.

There are 18.076 cars each day on the crosstown ring and 13.138 on the north-wouth road leading to and from the city centre. On the same routes there are around 8000 and 7700 bicycle uers respectively. So there is loads to observe.

There are two types of bicycle infrastructure that we're keen to chart. One is the classic cycle track that ends in the run up to the intersection, leaving bicycle users to mix with right-turning motor vehicles. The other one features a pulled-back stop line for cars (5 metres) and a stop line for bicycles up by the crosswalk. We've noticed that minor infractions like rolling through the crosswalk on the former type is more frequent than on the type with staggered stop lines. Simply because people feel safer getting ahead of the turning cars.

We'll be looking at cyclist-pedestrian conflicts as well, but there is really little to go after so far. Motorists, however, who buzz through yellow lights and worse, seem to be keen to win the statistic race.

All in all, it's fascinating so far.

Not surprisingly, we're inspired by William Whyte and his work. Not least this legendary film:

The Scooter - The Unsung Mobility Option

It's important to provide facilities for all forms of human-powered transport. In my neighourhood, many kids live close enough to walk to school, including my kids. They can and do ride bicycles there, too, on safe, separated cycle tracks, but scooters are a popular option as well.

My son Felix started riding his scooter around the 'hood recently. Disappearing off to football practice or to a friend's house. However, when he scooted to school he came home saying he needed a padlock to lock it. There were too many scooters inside the school so a parking rack was provided outside. I didn't really get what he meant until I saw the rack the other day.


A couple of rows of funky scooter racks have been placed in the schoolyard. You rest the neck of the scooter in the slot and a little bar is tilted down over it. You lock it with a simple padlock.

Brilliant and simple solution. There are six slots per rack and three racks in all. 18 parking spots.

Scooters are quite underrated as transport. They have an air of childishness about them. Playthings. But with so many kids kicking about the neighbourhood I've realised that they are a respectable form of transport in their own right. So certainly facilities must be made available for them.


Another place you see a respectable fleet of scooters is at the larger Danish hospitals. And here, as well, parking spaces are provided. The sign at Hvidøvre Hospital, above, reads, "Scooter parking". You'll see hospital staff, from cleaners to surgeons, rolling along the long halls on their A2B journeys. There are the simple versions like the ones in the photos (I love the little kickstands on both of them) but there are also larger ones for carrying gear, blood samples, medicine, you name it.

Google vs The Facebook Bike in Dublin

Googleised Facebook bike in Dublin - courtesy of billyvandenende on Instagram

The Social Media Wars are now using bicycles as a battlefield. Bear Bicycles is a small company in Dublin selling Dutch bikes to the Irish market. My friend Philip sent me the above photo of one of their bicycles.

He explains: "For a cycling campaign, we have created a 'Facebook' bike - together with local cycling advocacy groups. The goal: to get people out of their cars and on their bikes, by showing how cycling is a social thing and how it positively impacts people's lives."


You can see the Facebook bike on Bear Bicycles... uh... Facebook page, as above.

Dublin is home to both Google's and Facebook's European headquarters. Battlefield Internet, if you will.

Yesterday, one of Philip's colleagues inadvertently parked the Facebook bike near a metro station close to the Google office.
When he got back, the Facebook bike had been Googlised. The metaphor of the footprint escapes no one.

Sure, sure. All in good fun. But hmm. Doesn't Google encourage it's employees not to be evil? Wouldn't you think that they would enjoy some healthy competition and encouraging social cycling?

Or perhaps Facebooks IPO has them riding scared?

We may never know the truth.

Cats and Mice

The police in Copenhagen are going after those rogues of the urban landscape - the bicycle users - this week. It's generally slim pickings for them. The 99% usually cycle without committing any major terrorist actions - and have done for 125 years. The police are arch-conservative and continue to insist that societal decay is imminent. In the course of an average week with these bike raids - cykelrazzia in Danish - they'll ticket about 700-1200 people. Out of a few hundred thousand daily bicycle users. Brilliant use of resources.

The man in the photo, above, is Mogens Knudsen, Superintendent in Copenhagen Police Traffic Unit. It's his personal crusade to clamp down on cyclists and all talk of traffic calming, lower speed limits and other modern urban devices is swept aside by Mogens. If there is one law enforcement officer in Copenhagen who is desperately holding back the hands on the clock of progress, you're looking at him. As my colleague Lars Barfred put it, "For Knudsen, 30 km/h zones are like legalising heroin."

I debated with Knudsen a couple of years ago at the National Cycle Conference, which you can read about in this article. Little has changed.

If you're wondering what the photo is up top, it's a fine example of a bit of cyclist activism. The police were hiding around a corner, stopping cyclists who rolled casually around the corner despite the red light. There was a long period where nothing happened. Then they looked around the corner and found this sign hanging next to the cycle track.

It says, "Watch out cyclists. Police Checkpoint. No right turn..."

Bicycle users warning each other. To his credit, Knudsen took it casually. "It's fair enough. We're hiding around the corner and they are helping each other. It's large-heartedness." Yes it is.

What it also is, is a good sign. It's a sign that the bicycle users in Copenhagen are thinking differently. They are reacting to the rising car-centricism, not only from the police. Activism is a rare thing in Copenhagen, but it remains a necessity and I welcome every bit of it. Citizens reacting to 75 years of failed traffic engineering that continues to place the car on a pedestal. Even in Copenhagen.

We've been doing a bit of activism as well. Running a twitter account and Facebook group where bicycle users can warn each other. It's good fun.

If you cycle on the sidewalk around a corner, instead of turning right on red on the cycle track, you can save 300 kroner on the fine. That's about $60. The same applied if you cycle down a one-way street. Save money on the sidewalk. :-)

And if you're a student you can get a 50% discount on any fine you get.

:-)

Here's our article about the last police raid on cyclists and how the City of Copenhagen has been handed a map over locations where infrastructure and desire lines for cyclists can be improved. No News is Big News.

Getting Carried Away

Been busy lately. Running behind with articles but doing lots of great projects with Copenhagenize Consulting. I figured I'd post some of the photos I've taken recently. Citizen Cyclists carrying stuff around is the theme.

Shoes and a suitcase.

Suitcase and a group of friends on a stag night by bicycle. Two cargo bikes filled with beer.

New frame heading home.

Kids' bicycles in transit. That's me and Lulu-Sophia on the right, taking her new (used) bike home.

Transporting a guitar by trailier in Copenhagen and a trailer by trailer in Strasbourg.

The City of Zagreb has a respectable fleet of cargo bikes for cleaning the streets. As well as for bakery deliveries.

Cool wooden crate in Copenhagen. Cool Danish Ambassador to Croatia, and his wife, on a Christiania Bike in Zagreb.

Muffins on the move.

Car Industry Strikes Back - Ford

Nothing like a good Car Industry Strikes Back article to kickstart your day. Our reader, Krzysztof in Gdansk, Poland, spotted this advert for Ford Poland in the Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper. You're going to love this desperate attempt by Ford to sell some vans.

The main text at the top left reads, "Ford Transit - a machine for saving money"

Then, below, Ford tries to alter reality by writing; "Delivery bicycles do not exist. You don't need to switch to riding a bike to save money."

Yes. They just wrote that. Delivery Bicycles Don't Exist. In all seriousness. And then they paid to have it published in a newspaper. If Poland has an advertising standards commission, someone should let them about this advert. Lying, as far as I'm aware, isn't allowed in advertising.

The text continues with optimistic texts about how you can "Save on buying", "save on petrol", "save on service", etc. "The usual blah blah blah you'd expect from a commercial", as Krzysztof put it in his email to us.

He continues, "Now I know commercials go a far way to bend facts and I know delivery bikes are not popular in Poland (in fact I've seen just 1 or 2 in
Gdańsk so far) but come on... I felt like someone was lying while looking me straight in the eyes. This ad is something I just couldn't pass by."

When you live in Copenhagen, with 40,000 cargo bikes and you are involved with the Cyclelogistics project to promote cargo bike use in European cities, this advert is so stupid it's amusing. As ever with this Car Industry Strikes Back series, we can see that they're worried. That they see the bicycle as serious competition. And well they should. It's last century versus this century and we're winning it.


Cargo bike delivery in Paris.


Vintage Russian cargo bike delivering flowers.


Left to right: Supermarket delivery bike in Montreal.
Citizen Cyclist in Copenhagen carrying stuff.
Royal Danish post.
Rio de Janeiro and Rio, again. Two of 11,000 cargo bike deliveries in that city.



Left to right: Copenhagener moving stuff to a flea market.
The Fruit Bike, Copenhagen.
Ice Cream Bikes at Copenhagen Zoo.
The Coffee Bike by Espressomanden, Copenhagen.
Cargo bike in Amsterdam.

Left to right: Newspaper bike, Copenhagen.
Cargo in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Crêpes bike, Copenhagen.
Sushi bike, Copenhagen.
Bike repair bike, Copenhagen.

And so on, and so on.

The Cargo Bike Culture photo set kind of thumbs its nose in the general direction of Ford.

Catch The Cyclist With Your Eyes

This is a recycled campaign that returns regularly but we approve of it simply because it places the responsibility on the motorists. No ignoring the bull in society's china shop here.

"Catch the cyclist with your eyes - not your door" is what it says.

These car doors are on posts in various locations. This one was captured by Sandra from the brilliant Classic Copenhagen blog.

Sure, people get doored anywhere there are cars and that includes Copenhagen. I know a few people who have experienced it by I personally have been lucky to never have been even close to it in 17 years in Copenhagen. Motorists know to watch for cyclists, to expect them. I know that in the few times I've been in a car with my kids (my kids spend about five hours in a car each year), you always find yourself saying "watch for bikes" when they're getting out. It's a mantra that every kid hears. When getting out of cars, crossing the street, at bus stops, you name it.

Ironically, this campaign is from Byens Trafikråd - The City's Traffic Council - and it one of the very, very few campaigns from their hand that is actually rational and doesn't point fingers at cyclists.

Now You See It, Now You Don't

When I first saw this campaign from Italian carmaker FIAT I was convinced that we had a contender for our Car Industry Strikes Back series. Then I realised it was a campaign for drinking and driving.

The text, in Portugese, reads. "Now you see it. Now you don't".

Simple and effective marketing.

Here's the film version of it. And more info about the campaign is available here, in Portugese.

Thanks to Eduardo for the link.

Extreme Sport in L.A.! Not.

Los Angeles, California.

Addendum: Check this ride out from South Bend: http://www.wsbt.com/news/sbt-procession-aims-to-show-how-bikes-cars-can-coexist-20120427,0,2181987.story

If you look closely at the above Citizen Cyclist in Los Angeles it is clear that this person is participating in an athletic event which is an extreme test of her physical and mental limits and it carries with it the potential for death, serious injury and property loss.

I mean, it's bloody obvious, isn't?

Turns out that Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition is hosting a little bike ride today. Which is cosy. And nice. Here's the route:

• Pomona 2ns St
• Left on White
• Left on 1st
• Right on E st
• Take a Break ( perhaps 7-11) COFFEE BREAK! COOL!
• Right on Bonita
• Right on Yale
• Take a Break (Rhino Records) RECORD SHOP STOP! COOL!
• Left on 1st
• Right on College
• Right on San Jose
• Left on San Antonio
• Right on San Bernardino
• Left on Gibbs
• Left on McKinley
• Right on Palamares
• Right on 1st
• Left on Main

Here's a pdf of the route, too.

The ride should be less then 10 miles and we will go at a moderate pace. Please bring lights just in case it gets dark before we get back.  We are meeting at 6pm and riding out at 6:20 and should be about an hour ride or less.

16 km. Group ride. For fun. Stopping at a 7-11 for a Slurpee. Stopping at a record shop. Groovy.

So here's the waiver form you have to sign to take part in this little Citizen Cyclist bike-o-rama:

"I acknowledge that this athletic event is an extreme test of a person's physical and mental limits and carries with it the potential for death, serious injury and property loss. 

The risks include, but are not limited to, those caused by terrain, facilities, temperature, weather, condition of athletes, equipment, vehicular traffic, actions of other people including, but not limited to, participants, volunteers, spectators, coaches, event officials, and event monitors, and/or producers of the event, and lack of hydration. These risks are not only inherent to athletics, but are also present for volunteers. I hereby assume all of the risks of participating &/or volunteering in this event. I realize that liability may arise from negligence or carelessness on the part of the persons or entities being released, from dangerous or defective equipment or property owned, maintained or controlled by them or because of their possible liability without fault. I certify that I am physically fit, have sufficiently trained for participation in the event and have not been advised otherwise by a qualified medical person."

Readers may recall our Go Green, Go Dutch, Go Die! article from awhile back, about a similar event in Chicago.

What a ridiculous message to be sending to people who wish to participate in a cosy bike ride. This is a massive marketing/advocacy FAIL.

Spare me all the comments about "That's just the way our legal system is the US"... Because you know what? If advocacy groups are serious about reestablishing the bicycle on our urban landscapes, they will engage an attorney to reword documents like these.

Look at how many people get off the hook in the US legal system for crimes. So there are loopholes the size of North Dakota. It must be possible to rewrite these documents in a realistic language that presents an all important positive image of urban cycling, separating it from sport/recreation and that still covers all the liability issues that need to be addressed in the American system.

It can't be hard. But why isn't it being done?

And why don't motorists have to sign such waivers when they purchase a car? Or pedestrians when they purchase shoes?

It boggles the mind.

Cool Bike to Work Film from Hungary

The Hungarians do it again. New advert for Bike to Workk campaign. As we've said before, the Hungarians are world champions in promoting cycling positively - check out this previous article about it.

The message on this new one is, quite simply:

"You can cure your lack of exercise. Bike to Work!"

Cool style. Go, Hungary!

Thanks to Aron at Hungarian Cycle Chic for the link.

Launching Copenhagens Bicycle Superhighways

Last week, on April 14, 2012, the first stretch of Copenhagen's new and long-awaited Bicycle Superhighway network opened and Copenhagenize was there for the bike ride.

It was back in 2009 that we first wrote about the plans for these bicycle superhighways. The boys at Trunk films made this cool film that includes the Superhigways project. The project has taken time to develop but now the routes are getting ready for use. In addition, when we first wrote about it, there were plans for 13 routes. That has now been increased to 26. 300 km of dedicated superhighway routes when the project is complete.

The 17.5 km Albertslund Route is the first one to launch. The route runs through a number of municipalities, including Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Albertslund and Rødovre.

They are being called Bicycle Superhighways, but it's worth noting that the routes follow existing, separated bicycle infrastructure. There will be some improvements on certain sections and various facilities will be added.

It has proved to be a logistical challenge getting so many municipalities to work together. Copenhagen is comprised of 550,000 people but the greater metro area is comprised of many different municipalities. Planning routes through them has taken longer than expected, but now the project is finally underway. I shudder at the thought of how many meetings were required and how many litres of crappy, municipal coffee were consumed. But I respect that sacrifice for the cause.


Me and the kids headed out to Albertslund on the local train, using the large bicycle compartments on board. A lot of other people had the same idea.It was a bit crowded, but we all helped make the bicycles fit.

Everyone gathered at the meeting point next to Albertslund Station and after the usual speeches by the usual type of politicians everyone started rolling towards Copenhagen.

This area of Greater Copenhagen is a product of the late 60s and early 70s. Back then planning for bicycles was integrated into the design of the areas. As a result, cycle tracks avoid main streets and there are many overpasses over the cycle infrastructure for cars, allowing safe routes to everywhere in the area.

The superhighways follow these existing routes.

Like this route through a housing development. Lovely, wide streets for bicycles.

Pumps have been placed at intervals along the route, although there are also bike shops in the neighbourhoods along the way.

We stopped at Damhus Lake for the official opening. The entire route was marked with an orange stripe along the side of the cycle tracks and the last bit was painted in front of a media scrum.

Cycle track (at left) and tunnel under a motorway (at right).

There are some interesting projects related to the new routes being planned. Sensors under the cycle tracks that can register if there is a group of cyclists riding together. If so, the lights at the intersections will turn green in order to let them continue freely towards the city.

Railings and footrests - first implemented in Copenhagen - are in place at intersections (at left). The Bicycle Office's cargo bikes were in action carrying juice and oranges for the participants (centre), but many people had their own refreshments - like the all-important beer (at right).

Signage has been updated to reflect the new routes. The Albertslund route is called C99. The C stands for the Danish name for the superhighways - Cykelsuperstier.

It all looks lovely and rosy but there have been challenges. The Danish Road Directorate, like many planners/engineers around the world, were tough to dance with in the preparations. It was a nightmare to get them to grant permission to add the new signage markings to the road signs (above left). The idea of painting an orange strip along the entire route was also a bone of contention. They refused to budge and, as a result, the orange stripe is painted with regular water-based paint that will be gone in a few weeks. (top right)

So much for the Road Directorate assisting in new projects with an open-minded, progressive attitude. They are stuck in their antiquated mindset and stand in the way of innovation and progress. Traffic is merely a rubik's cube that has to be solved and not much more.

If we are to further expand our bicycle culture and infrastructure we need visionaries on board, not pencil pushers.


The bike ride ended at Copenhagen's City Hall, in the gardens. The traditional City Hall Crepes (Rådhuspandekager) were served. Although when we arrived at the head of the pelaton, there were a large group of cyclists already there. A group that had sped off ahead instead of riding with the rest of us. They were all over 55 - and resembed typical members of the Danish Cyclists Federation - and they had consumed most of the crepes 45 minutes before everyone else arrived.

Which was rather regrettable for those of us with children - we'd been hyping up the crepes with chocolate and cream the whole way into town.

My Lulu got chilly after about 15 km so we just wrapped her up in a blanket on the bike. She soon forgot all about the chill when we got to City Hall and enjoyed playing around in a velomobile.

All in all it was a cosy event to celebrate the first bicycle superhighway. The Bicycle Office and Cykelsupersti Secretariat did a great job organising it.

Here's looking forward the next 25 routes!

More information in English on the Cykelsupersti website.