Top 10 Bicycle-Friendly Design Elements in Copenhagen

Chapter 06: Macro design

Macro Design represents the city's showcase projects.

The crown jewels and missing links

that make it so easy to get around the city of Copenhagen by bicycle.

bicycle and pedestrian bridges

Copenhagen wouldn't be Copenahagen without a harbour, but the water environment

makes for a logistical challenge when trying to move people and goods

over this watery environment.

In 2006 a bridge was constructed to connect Vesterbro and the inner city

with Islands Quay and Islands brygge and the southern part of the city.

Now, based on the study that was launched in 2012,

70% of the people traversing this bridge do so to get to work.

So it makes them to commute faster and 9000 people have used the bridge as in 2012 number.

Luckily for Copenhagen the city didn't stop with this one pedestrian and bicycle bridge,

they have many plans for future developments as many as 9 other bridges

to contact the harbor sites.

How people most eagerly awaited infrastructural project to be

is the Superslangen or the bicycle snake. Which will link Vesterbro

with there already completed bicycle bridge that I was talking about earlier.

Now this project is very exciting because it is expected to double

the capacity of bicycles going along this road.

cycle superhighways

There are currently two bicycle superhighways in operation in Copenhagen

and the greater Copenhagen area.

The first is the Albertslund route (C99) which extents to the west of the city for 17 km.

And second is the Farum route (C95) which goes to the north of the city for 16 km.

Along the way there are bicycle footrests advertising the route

and showing the path and these all are painted in an iconic orange colour.

Along the road, which makes the road different from other cycle tracks in the city

is the fact that it is completely separated from the highway

even thought it is in such a close proximity to the motorway.

As of the 2012 Bicycle Counts, the City of Copenhagen is planning

28 bicycle superhighways with a total of 400 kilometres.

So when thinking about macro design

we have to think of the city as an entire integrated whole.

So it is not just about lying cycle track in one neighborhood

and forgetting it or leaving it to rot. It is about connecting the system.

So that the user can interact with the city scape and make their days easier

and their journeys more enjoyable.

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