[strangeseraph]

I have never been to Copenhagen! I have never been out of my own backyard though either (Ontario). Have people here been to Copenhagen? What did you notice about the bike culture there, the services available for bikes!

And what can we do to make our own cities more like it?

Lets Talk! ^_^

[The BikeForums Team]

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[wahoonc]

Lee,
Have you seen this pair of blogs? Copenhagen Cycle Chic (http://copenhagengirlsonbikes.blogspot.com/) and Copehagenize (http://www.copenhagenize.com/)

There is also the streaming webcam from Amsterdam (http://www.eyelogue.com/donniecam.html)...

Aaron:)

[travelmama]

I have been to CPH and loved it because it is very bike friendly. People are on bikes all over the place and no one seems to care what kind of bike the other has. They are strictly for transportation. I live in Los Angeles which is damn nearly car capital of the world and will never be anything close to CPH so I can't answer your last question.

[becnal]

Been there. Loved it. Bike Utopia.

[peterpotamus]

If you also like jazz then you'd love it in copenhagen.

[bragi]

I've actually never been to Copenhagen, but a guy from Copenhagen came to Seattle a couple of years ago and gave a talk about what they did, which I attended. Basically, their city government made a conscious, sincere effort to modify the infrastructure to encourage more public spaces and to get people out of their cars. They built a network of bike lanes that were slightly raised above the level of the roads, re-routed arterials (traffic calming), as well as a bunch of totally separate bike paths. It was totally a "build it and they will come" experience. People felt safer on their bikes, and it became more convenient to use them, so massive numbers of people started using them. $8.00/gal fuel prices provided an added incentive. In addition, Copenhagen is pretty flat. The speaker (I can't remember his name) emphasized that a lot of people in Copenhagen still owned cars; they just didn't use them in town, because it was cheaper, easier, and faster to use a bike. They decided to spend a ****load of money to get people out of their cars and went ahead and did it. Given the nature of our culture, I'm not sure we can replicate what they did. Well, actually I'm sure we can't. The City of Seattle is thrilled that almost 2% of the population commutes by bike now, and wants to increase it to 10%, and critics think that goal is too ambitious. The few new bike lanes that we got have been bitterly contested by local business and neighborhood groups. (Even a couple of my car-driving friends have become blatantly hostile to bikes, once they realized that improved bike infrastructure meant fewer lanes for them.) Meanwhile, something like 30% of people in Copenhagen commute by bike.

[wahoonc]

bragi,
You have it in a nutshell there...your 30% number is year round, in the warmer months that number can easily double!:eek: They also have an outstanding mass transit system. I read Copenhagenize (http://www.copenhagenize.com/) on a regular basis and am constantly amazed. We also have to remember the history behind the movement. After WW2 fuel was in pretty short supply in most of Europe, but not in the US. The Danes also made the political decision to support alternative transportation. It wasn't with out it's critics, even today. What I find interesting is all the complaints we here from businesses and people about the bike lanes were heard over there, but they have proven them wrong.

And yet another thing to keep in mind, the standard of living in Denmark is one of the highest in the world.

Aaron:)