Copenhagen Infrastructure Quest

On our walking tour with James from the Gehl firm he mentioned four ways to calm traffic and make streets safer for bikes. From what I remember he discussed the importance of getting rid of through traffic and narrowing roads. There are many one way streets for cars that allow for bikes and pedestrians in both directions. These one way streets reduce through traffic and slow cars by making them more aware of their surroundings. Cars have to be aware of the bikes in both directions. Narrowing roads also slows speeds. The narrower the road the more focussed the driver is especially if bikes are in the nearby vicinity.

Many intersections have banisters next to bicycle stop lights on the cycle track. Banisters are low cost accessories to bicycle infrastructure. James talked about the psychology of people on bikes and people in groups. When banisters are placed at the front of a bike lane at a stop light cyclists are more inclined to follow traffic rules and stop because they can rest their foot and remain upright on their bike. If the person at the front stops the people who follow are more likely to stop and obey the stop light as well. The banisters create and maintain a social norm.

Grade separation for cycle tracks has been debated among planners. In Copenhagen the sidewalk, bike lane, and street are at different elevations. This way pedestrians are protected from bikes and cyclists are protected from people. However, issues arise with pedestrians walking in the bike lane. It is interesting how speed bumps are cars traversing over sidewalks because the speed bump brings vehicles up two elevations. I also noticed that people are very orderly and follow the traffic rules. It takes time to get used to biking on one way streets inches away from someone sipping their coffee on one side and a car on the other side.