From Copenhagen, an easily achievable infrastructure, to Svendborg (Denmark Day 9)

I started the morning in Copenhagen, said goodbye to my trusty (and heavy) steed #89, and exited the Generator one last time. 

The last stairway out of the building captured the Danish approach to retrofitting their city. It had a simple ramp for strollers (or other wheeled things). 

Would this work for a wheelchair? No, not really. There's another main entrance/exit that was fully accessible. 

After a week in Copenhagen, I could envision easily incorporating its bicycle infrastructure into the vast majority of US cities and towns--from major metros like Los Angeles, California to suburban Sandy, Utah. Consider four types of inviting streets made comfortable and safe for people to bike: shared space, painted lanes, curb separated bike lanes, and buffered bikes lanes. 

When street space elements like trees (or giant cacti in a different climate) and parked cars make people driving cars travel at safe speeds in neighborhoods, the street space can be shared space with people biking or simply crossing the street wherever feels safest. This sort of traffic calming intervention could be adopted in a great many US neighborhoods so people can use the public space of streets more efficiently.

In denser areas, like this mixed-use mid-rise area, the sheer amount of activity slows car (and delivery truck) drivers to less-lethal speeds. This makes biking far more appealing as we're less likely to be seriously injured or killed while going about our day.

You've, no doubt, seen painted bike lanes somewhere in your town or others. They're fairly standard in the US. It's simply a a white line visually dividing the car traffic lane from the bike traffic lane. It clearly indicates that a space is not meant for cars. This can work in areas where car traffic is faster than shared space such that people biking need designated space, but still slow enough not to increase the cyclists risk too high. The trouble with paint is that it doesn't stop car traffic from speeding on the street or hinder parking or driving in the bike lane. (Have we not all encountered cop and delivery drivers parked in our lanes?) In the photo from Copenhagen, there's a pedestrian and cyclist crossing for a street with only painted bike lanes. The street still has a raised "island" for people to stop midway if needed. The island shortens the distance between safe spots for walkers--making it safer and less stressful for people slowed by kids, a stroller, or mobility challenge.

Curb separated bike lanes (also called bike or cycle tracks) change the grade (aka the height) of the bike lane such that it's a few inches higher than the motorized traffic lane. Then the sidewalk is curbed and another inch of so taller than the bike track. The total combined curb height is about the same as sidewalks in many US places.

The curbs do several things at once. They make it clear who goes where for traffic flow. They keep car drivers out of bike rider space. They keep bike riders out of walker space. The curbs are high enough to dissuade drivers from using the wrong lanes, but short enough that simple asphalt ramps (stretches of asphalt blobs really) are enough to provide access up and down the grades for bikers and pedestrians. Bikers go the same direction as car traffic on their side of the road. Both the bike and car lanes have multiple small gutters to handle storm water flows (rather than giant ones only at intersections).

Frankly, it's not a huge investment outlay. It doesn't require expanding right of way. It doesn't absolutely require changing traffic signal patterns. It's relatively low cost in construction materials and worker hours. A true network of bike tracks make biking and parking as easy or easier than driving and parking. It's easy from a design perspective and massively increases how many people can access businesses and other city destinations.

Then there's the most comfortable of bikeway infrastructure: buffered bike lanes (also called protected bike lanes or tracks). This form puts a physical barrier between car traffic and bike traffic. This makes the bike track safer by reducing the likelihood of getting hit by a car. They're necessary in high speed car traffic areas. 

In the photo below, you can see how a one-way cycle track changes into a two-way cycle track. Personally, I like one-way tracks because they also don't absolutely require changing traffic signal patterns and allow for higher numbers of people to move around by bike. It's also easy to stop and hop off at a bakery or whatever else one needs on the way home. Two-way tracks have their advantages in some instances. Two-way cycle tracks on one side of a road are okay along a railroad or very long park or other spot with little to no car crossings. They work very well through areas without car traffic, like a parkway or river route.

My favorite form of bike lane is a protected one. The number one reason is that the protection makes me feel safer from the human errors of car drivers. The buffers can be as simple as bollards (aka posts) or roadway dividers or big potted plants. My second reason for liking protected lanes is that the space between the car lane and the bike lane can be in used for transit stop waiting areas, shade tree planting, bike parking, and pedestrian islands to shorten crossings for walkers--all at once! They're magical and I love them.

Most of where I went in Copenhagen had the curb-separated bikeways. They worked very well. I'd definitely take them over painted lines any day. When we got to Svendborg, drivers treated the white paint like back in Los Angeles--a mere suggestion. Drivers definitely weren't a fan of shared road space either. They wanted to speed through town even though the roads were relatively narrow and quite a few people on the sidewalks. Svendborg is a small town with some people biking around to meet friends for a drink or go shopping. They're more bike devoted than me (or presses for time). I didn't feel comfortable sharing the road on a bike there, so I walked my bike for the most part. 

Next up: Bob's your uncle. Actually, no, he was dad and grandpa. Technically, he's my brother, too, but that's not his fave. No, really, it's a post about rural biking on an island.

Random pic of the day: If you make biking easy, you'll need a lot of bike parking.

Bonus random pic of the day: Cobble-with-pavement-tile paths make for fast rip-up-and-repair curb-separated sidewalks. These fellas were putting in new stone curbs and walkways.