6 ms·

Why can't all cities have bike bridges like Copenhagen's Cycle Snake? (2014)

71 points by Osiris30 8y ago

Animats 8y ago
Geography. They have a placid waterway in the middle of the city. It's only 220m long. It's not like there's a whole elevated bikeway system. It's like Tokyo's Haneda monorail, built out over a waterway because it was empty space.
- theoh 8y ago
  You're focusing too much on the particular spatial circumstances of this bridge (extended linear structure along a waterway). The article is clearly calling for appealing, well-designed, grade-separated cycling infrastructure, not a literally identical solution in every city.
  - Animats 8y ago
    But where to put it? Access ramps have to be shallow and thus take up considerable street space. Ramps are as long as those for an elevated road; they're just narrower. Long spirals and zig-zags are a pain; few people use those things unless there's no alternative, such as a freeway overcrossing. China has a 7km elevated bikeway.[1] But they already had an elevated busway on that route; the bikeway just hangs underneath. Los Angeles had a 9 mile elevated bicycle tollway in 1900, but it was unprofitable and was torn down. Market St. in SF has an "elevated bikeway" test, but they mean elevation to curb height, not a few meters up. [1] https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/07/china-has-just-built-the-world-s-longest-elevated-cycle-path/ https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/07/china-has-just-built-...
    - theoh 8y ago
      There are context-specific problems to be solved in every city, but the idea is that an innovative design process can help, or should at least be considered. It's not reasonable to expect an instant universal solution (that kind of universal modular solution, by the way, is what "infrastructure" often does end up looking like). This article is arguing for a cultural change; it's about fresh thinking and working with the particularity of local spatial conditions in a creative way. It takes a lot of determination. Here are some examples of comparable projects: In North America: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_D._Pfluger_Pedestrian_and_Bicycle_Bridge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_D._Pfluger_Pedestrian_an... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibbs_Street_Pedestrian_Bridge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibbs_Street_Pedestrian_Bridge https://www.oregonlive.com/expo/erry-2018/05/378c21c6dc8756/check_out_portlands_next_carfr.html https://www.oregonlive.com/expo/erry-2018/05/378c21c6dc8756/... https://www.ggnltd.com/lower-rainier-vista-and-pedestrian-land-bridge/ https://www.ggnltd.com/lower-rainier-vista-and-pedestrian-la... In Europe: https://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2017/04/11/the-dafne-schippers-bridge-is-open/ https://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2017/04/11/the-dafne-schi... . https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoge_Brug https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoge_Brug https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nescio_Bridge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nescio_Bridge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hovenring https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hovenring https://www.duic.nl/algemeen/officiele-naam-rabobrug-bekend-moreelsebrug/ https://www.duic.nl/algemeen/officiele-naam-rabobrug-bekend-... https://www.archdaily.com/295646/melkwegbrug-next-architects https://www.archdaily.com/295646/melkwegbrug-next-architects http://www.inzynierbudownictwa.pl/biznes,inwestycje,artykul,pierwsza_w_polsce_okragla_kladka_dla_pieszych_otwarta,6068 http://www.inzynierbudownictwa.pl/biznes,inwestycje,artykul,... https://www.fastcompany.com/3056028/from-the-dutch-a-pedestrian-underpass-youll-actually-want-to-walk-through https://www.fastcompany.com/3056028/from-the-dutch-a-pedestr...
slr555 8y ago
Commenting on cycling is always fraught but here are a couple of observations. The population of NYC is 10x that of the city of Copenhagen. The population density of Manhattan is approximately 6x that of Copenhagen (corrected from earlier mistake). Solutions that work in small European cities do not necessarily scale in a manner that would be useful in other international metropolitan cities. Cycling advocates often point to successes in Northern European cities that represent entire different transportation landscapes from other larger cities around the world.
- jacobolus 8y ago
  According to a quick web search, the population density of NYC is about 2.5x that of Copenhagen.
  - slr555 8y ago
    Apologies, Wikipedia list km2 first for one and mi2 for the other. I still land in the middle though with Manhattan being 6 and change more dense than Copenhagen. I apologize for my haste and error.
    - jacobolus 8y ago
      It’s true that Manhattan is considerably denser than Copenhagen. Manhattan probably needs more/different transportation infrastructure than Copenhagen does to cope effectively with the density: more public transit, less automobiles. The population density of Copenhagen is comparable to the density of Queens. There is also a significant cultural difference. In the US, the biggest bike commuters are high school and college students. In some countries, bicycles are used by a broad swath of the public.
- PunchTornado 8y ago
  I think even London has better cycling infrastructure than New York... Let's not say it can't be done.
- village-idiot 8y ago
PunchTornado 8y ago
Doing my driving lessons and my instructor is always ranting about cyclists. That they don't pay for all this infrastructure that is being built for them. Mate, roads and bridges are being built from tax money and everyone pays for it.
- 3pt14159 8y ago
  Also each bike on the road takes a car off the road. The other problem in Toronto is that motorists think that petrol taxes cover roads. They don't even cover a quarter of the cost. So they get all indignant about it.
- justinator 8y ago
  Indeed. In the US, infrastructure like roads is heavily subsidized. This is my go-to article to share: https://momentummag.com/free-rider-myth/ https://momentummag.com/free-rider-myth/ From TFA: What if I told you that by driving a car you become a freeloader, a drain on the economy? That people who bicycle instead are subsidizing a road system that they are largely not welcome on? In order to break even on the cost of roads and pay for every driver who uses them each year, we would need 54% of commuters using a bicycle as their sole means of transportation.
  - wool_gather 8y ago
    Nice article, thanks for sharing that! I also liked this tidbit from the linked paper (http://www.vtpi.org/whoserd.pdf http://www.vtpi.org/whoserd.pdf): > Critics sometimes argue that walking and cycling primarily provide recreational travel [...] “Why should I— either as a highway user-tax payer or a general taxpayer—have to pay for someone else’s hobby?” > Travel surveys indicate that about half of all [cycling/walking] is “recreational,” including travel for exercise, sport and cultural events, and socializing (Kuzmyak and Dill 2012; Litman 2012), but so is more than half of all motor vehicle travel (BTS 2002). [emphasis mine]
    - justinator 8y ago
      That's very interesting. I'm somewhat in the outdoor industry, so the whole, ride-to-destination element of outdoor hobbies is a curious thing, in as much as the hobbies themselves - say, hiking, backpacking, mountain biking, are in National Forest (or similar) which have Leave No Trace Principles. The companies in these industries really tout these eco/enviro-friendly activities as perhaps a alternative to four-wheel-drivin' or whatever. Preservation of these nature resources is another big topic these companies talk about. But if one was to just zooms out, a significant amount of time/money is spent just getting to the place the hobby is done in, and there's certainly a lot of environmentally detrimental overhead associated with driving for hours in a car. It always leaves me scratching my head, really. Although we've done a good job with saying that some areas are important and need to be protected, we're also happy enough to put in vast ribbons of concrete roadway to get to them. A bit of an aside, I apologize.
jtr1 8y ago
Lots of factors, but I suspect at root it's just a matter of political will. Does a high enough proportion of all cities want bike bridges and do they have a responsive and resourced enough government to build them? I live in Boston, where commuting by bike is unfortunately still very dangerous in a lot of the city. Bike advocates are a small but vocal minority and the city has sort of responded to them, but is not moving very quickly to build out our bike infrastructure. It would take a lot more to make this happen anywhere in the ~five year frame. There's a real chicken-and-egg problem, too. Safe, pleasant bike lanes would likely do a lot to boost bike ridership while at the same time, higher rates of bike ridership are needed to "justify" their construction.
tokai 8y ago
I personally avoid the bike bridge and take the long way around. It's a gimmicky solution. There are always pedestrians on the bridge, mainly due to bad integration in the preexisting infrastructure. Busy rush hour bike commuters and clueless tourist on a narrow, fenced off, bike lane is not a good combination. The article even hints at the real interesting story about bike infrastructure in copenhagen - the super bike lanes. But I guess that the bright red snake brings in more clicks.
- amelius 8y ago
  Yes, I was just wondering why it doesn't have a sidewalk.
- Someone1234 8y ago
  Even in the short video you can see someone walk across it pushing a stroller/buggy. While I was watching I was actually thinking that it needed a pedestrian sidewalk.
  - mcv 8y ago
    Yeah, lack of a sidewalk is asking for trouble. A comparable bridge in Amsterdam, the Nescio Bridge[1] across a major canal does have a sidewalk. Only at some point the pedestrian and cycle paths split and pedestrians are supposed to take the stairs, but some people still walk on the bike path. I guess the lesson is that you really do need sidewalk everywhere. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nescio_Bridge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nescio_Bridge
    - Doxin 8y ago
      To be fair, I often see tourists in amsterdam managing to walk themselves onto highways, ignoring the various no entry signs. At some point you'll have to educate road users instead of trying to make the roads more fool-proof.
      - mcv 8y ago
        On highways?! I've never seen that in Amsterdam. Tourists straying onto bike paths are sadly way too common, though.
edejong 8y ago
Well, because Utrecht has something like that as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPFgFoxeLCY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPFgFoxeLCY
- reaperducer 8y ago
  And Chicago's is almost complete. It's more than three times as long as the one in Copenhagen, and completes a nearly 19-mile-long bicycle path along Lake Michigan. http://www.navypierflyover.com http://www.navypierflyover.com Construction pictures: https://www.chicagoarchitecture.org/2017/03/08/navy-pier-bypass-looks-ready-for-next-phase/ https://www.chicagoarchitecture.org/2017/03/08/navy-pier-byp...
MrTonyD 8y ago
Surprised that this article didn't mention that Copenhagen used to be a car-clogged city with lots of pollution. Over 30 years ago a decision was made to focus on bicycles as a way to improve quality of life. There was even a government organization dedicated to improving quality of life. So policy and government matter, and really do impact our lives. I read an entire book about this topic, but I've forgotten the name.
- bjourne 8y ago
  Do you have any reference for that? I've been to Copenhagen many times and it is hard to image that the city ever had congestion problems.
  - MrTonyD 8y ago
    I've read about it several times now - from several sources, so it seems to be common knowledge is some circles. There is a famous architect who was in charge of the "quality of life" government organization which was established in response, and he wrote a book which was translated into English. I've tried to remember his name - I know he had an entire Wiki page dedicated to him, but it's just been too many years.
- yread 8y ago
  Same for Amsterdam only when the oil crisis hit in the 70s did the city change (also thanks to "think of the children": they were killed by motorists and had nowhere to play)
mothsonasloth 8y ago
The short and simple answer is, Denmark is its own culture bubble and has a large amount of money in the treasury to throw at projects like this. Articles like this really make me wonder if the the Guardian is becoming out of touch with the general public. With writing like this that fails to comprehend that every city is unique and nuanced in its problems and how it solves them. I love Copenhagen and its culture, but its cycling concepts and other road rules wouldn't translate well in the UK. Is this just clickbait trash?
- YawningAngel 8y ago
  Can you explain why you think this is the case? I've lived in Copenhagen and London, and it isn't apparent to me why the ideas applied in Copenhagen wouldn't work here.
  - theoh 8y ago
    The people to talk to about this are architects and town planners. They tend to be acutely aware of cultural differences between different countries, to the point that it starts to be a problem (because cultural stereotyping comes into play). When I studied architecture in London, there was a lot of envy expressed toward continental urbanism (Copenhagen, but also Barcelona, Vienna, Zurich). In general, continental European cities are a bit more regimented in their design, compared to the traditionally liberal culture of the UK. Planning can be feel a bit more heavy-handed on the continent, and in the UK it tends to be more laissez-faire. There is long-standing suspicion of continental European norms in the UK, as I'm sure you are aware. This is part and parcel of Brexit. Somewhere extreme like Singapore manages to be extremely well organised and liveable at the price of being a bit paternalistic. I think that's the extreme "high organization" end of the spectrum, where the state can really make very large interventions.
BurningFrog 8y ago
Maybe the Scooter Revolution will result in new and better cycle/scooter infrastructure everywhere.
Theodores 8y ago
Failure of imagination. You may scoff but imagination has a huge part of it. If you commute by bike then it doesn't take that long before you wish there was some magic pathway that just carried you over those congested, road-blocked areas. In my dreams of such magic pathways I usually imagine something a little wider than this orange route with a more definite median and more substantial fences at the side to keep the wind at bay, plus a surface that reduces rolling resistance. The thing is that I keep these thoughts to myself as I struggle along making it alive over and around really oppressive multi-lane highways. I feel as if I am the lone crazy idiot on some of these commutes. And I am. 99% of my fellow road users are in cars, genuinely too scared to ride a bike - and I don't blame them. From that stuck-in-a-box, sitting-in-traffic viewpoint the dreams are different (more lanes, setting off earlier, less traffic) and there just isn't that imagination going on to have a super bike highway when getting on a bike is unimaginable.
- YawningAngel 8y ago
  You don't share space with road traffic in Copenhagen anyway, as the bike lanes are completely separate.
  - Theodores 8y ago
    The article asks why other cities can't have bike bridges. My point is that if people can't imagine getting out of their tin box and onto a bike then they are not going to imagine having amazing bike highways as per the article. In London a few years ago a footbridge across the Thames opened that had resonance problems that made it unsuitable for the task intended. The simple solution would have been to make it bicycles only and spend money on a new footbridge. Instead they spent a fortune upgrading a perfectly good bridge (for bikes) to make it a pedestrian bridge. The imagination was not there to just give it over to the cyclists and make it part of the cycle highway network that Ken Livingstone started (for Boris Johnston to take credit for). In Copenhagen they do have the critical mass of cyclists for imaginative cycle highways to happen, other cities where people are stuck in tin boxes lack that because people can't even imagine cycling.
nisse72 8y ago
Auckland has one too, over one of the country's busiest motorway junctions: https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/86702560/Aucklands-hot-pink-cycleway-the-Lightpath-picks-up-international-award https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/86702560/Aucklands-hot-pink... However we are also looking forward to a new cycleway alongside the harbour bridge (skypath) and eventually around the harbour (seapath), but these wheels are turning very slowly: http://www.skypath.org.nz/the-seapath/ http://www.skypath.org.nz/the-seapath/
legulere 8y ago
Because in most places the people planning new cycle ways drive cars and don’t cycle.
- beatgammit 8y ago
  I think it should be mandatory that everyone rides a bike for some amount of time before getting a driver's license, and everyone in city planning should be required to use various forms of transit throughout the year.
INTPenis 8y ago
The bicycle super highways connecting rural areas with Copenhagen are much more interesting because they aim to lower pollution of car commuters going into Copenhagen instead of those moving inside Copenhagen.
DenisM 8y ago
The space below the bridge will end up rather dark and ugly. Take a walk under a highway bridge to get a taste of it. If you think I exaggerate the effect due to larger size of the highway, take a walk under the monorail in Seattle. The monorail is roughly the size of the bike bridge and the space below is a place where no one wants to be. A splendid idea otherwise though, so long as both minimal and maximum speeds are enforced.
- bobthepanda 8y ago
  The monorail corridor is developed with plenty of shops and apartments. The main issue is that the road under it is so wide and unpleasant to cross, as well as slightly dangerous due to the fact that it divides a one-way road in half. But this isn't really that bad: https://www.google.com/maps/@47.614548,-122.3406401,3a,60y,134.28h,81.03t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sOWmiRJ6wPkK2MAwcEkTKyQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192 https://www.google.com/maps/@47.614548,-122.3406401,3a,60y,1... If Fifth were two-way I would have a lot less of an issue with the monorail, though it would be nice if they added a stop in the vicinity of Denny Way.
edaemon 8y ago
Portland, OR, opened the Tilikum Crossing in 2015: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilikum_Crossing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilikum_Crossing It's much bigger than this Cycle Snake but it carries pedestrians, personal vehicles like bikes, public transit, and emergency vehicles. The city is still adapting things to use it but it already carries 2000+ bikes per day, the new light rail line uses it, it completed the East-West streetcar loop, and various bus routes have moved or are being moved to it from the crowded regular bridges. I can't speak for everyone but I think it has really benefited the city.
NotANaN 8y ago
Why can't all cities have waterways clean enough for swimming like Copenhagen's Harbor Baths?

71 points by Osiris30 8y ago

Geography. They have a placid waterway in the middle of the city. It's only 220m long. It's not like there's a whole elevated bikeway system. It's like Tokyo's Haneda monorail, built out over a waterway because it was empty space.

theoh 8y ago
You're focusing too much on the particular spatial circumstances of this bridge (extended linear structure along a waterway). The article is clearly calling for appealing, well-designed, grade-separated cycling infrastructure, not a literally identical solution in every city.
- Animats 8y ago
  But where to put it? Access ramps have to be shallow and thus take up considerable street space. Ramps are as long as those for an elevated road; they're just narrower. Long spirals and zig-zags are a pain; few people use those things unless there's no alternative, such as a freeway overcrossing. China has a 7km elevated bikeway.[1] But they already had an elevated busway on that route; the bikeway just hangs underneath. Los Angeles had a 9 mile elevated bicycle tollway in 1900, but it was unprofitable and was torn down. Market St. in SF has an "elevated bikeway" test, but they mean elevation to curb height, not a few meters up. [1] https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/07/china-has-just-built-the-world-s-longest-elevated-cycle-path/ https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/07/china-has-just-built-...
  - theoh 8y ago
    There are context-specific problems to be solved in every city, but the idea is that an innovative design process can help, or should at least be considered. It's not reasonable to expect an instant universal solution (that kind of universal modular solution, by the way, is what "infrastructure" often does end up looking like). This article is arguing for a cultural change; it's about fresh thinking and working with the particularity of local spatial conditions in a creative way. It takes a lot of determination. Here are some examples of comparable projects: In North America: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_D._Pfluger_Pedestrian_and_Bicycle_Bridge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_D._Pfluger_Pedestrian_an... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibbs_Street_Pedestrian_Bridge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibbs_Street_Pedestrian_Bridge https://www.oregonlive.com/expo/erry-2018/05/378c21c6dc8756/check_out_portlands_next_carfr.html https://www.oregonlive.com/expo/erry-2018/05/378c21c6dc8756/... https://www.ggnltd.com/lower-rainier-vista-and-pedestrian-land-bridge/ https://www.ggnltd.com/lower-rainier-vista-and-pedestrian-la... In Europe: https://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2017/04/11/the-dafne-schippers-bridge-is-open/ https://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2017/04/11/the-dafne-schi... . https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoge_Brug https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoge_Brug https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nescio_Bridge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nescio_Bridge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hovenring https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hovenring https://www.duic.nl/algemeen/officiele-naam-rabobrug-bekend-moreelsebrug/ https://www.duic.nl/algemeen/officiele-naam-rabobrug-bekend-... https://www.archdaily.com/295646/melkwegbrug-next-architects https://www.archdaily.com/295646/melkwegbrug-next-architects http://www.inzynierbudownictwa.pl/biznes,inwestycje,artykul,pierwsza_w_polsce_okragla_kladka_dla_pieszych_otwarta,6068 http://www.inzynierbudownictwa.pl/biznes,inwestycje,artykul,... https://www.fastcompany.com/3056028/from-the-dutch-a-pedestrian-underpass-youll-actually-want-to-walk-through https://www.fastcompany.com/3056028/from-the-dutch-a-pedestr...

slr555 8y ago

Commenting on cycling is always fraught but here are a couple of observations. The population of NYC is 10x that of the city of Copenhagen. The population density of Manhattan is approximately 6x that of Copenhagen (corrected from earlier mistake). Solutions that work in small European cities do not necessarily scale in a manner that would be useful in other international metropolitan cities. Cycling advocates often point to successes in Northern European cities that represent entire different transportation landscapes from other larger cities around the world.

jacobolus 8y ago
According to a quick web search, the population density of NYC is about 2.5x that of Copenhagen.
- slr555 8y ago
  Apologies, Wikipedia list km2 first for one and mi2 for the other. I still land in the middle though with Manhattan being 6 and change more dense than Copenhagen. I apologize for my haste and error.
  - jacobolus 8y ago
    It’s true that Manhattan is considerably denser than Copenhagen. Manhattan probably needs more/different transportation infrastructure than Copenhagen does to cope effectively with the density: more public transit, less automobiles. The population density of Copenhagen is comparable to the density of Queens. There is also a significant cultural difference. In the US, the biggest bike commuters are high school and college students. In some countries, bicycles are used by a broad swath of the public.
PunchTornado 8y ago
I think even London has better cycling infrastructure than New York... Let's not say it can't be done.
village-idiot 8y ago

PunchTornado 8y ago

Doing my driving lessons and my instructor is always ranting about cyclists. That they don't pay for all this infrastructure that is being built for them. Mate, roads and bridges are being built from tax money and everyone pays for it.

3pt14159 8y ago
Also each bike on the road takes a car off the road. The other problem in Toronto is that motorists think that petrol taxes cover roads. They don't even cover a quarter of the cost. So they get all indignant about it.
justinator 8y ago
Indeed. In the US, infrastructure like roads is heavily subsidized. This is my go-to article to share: https://momentummag.com/free-rider-myth/ https://momentummag.com/free-rider-myth/ From TFA: What if I told you that by driving a car you become a freeloader, a drain on the economy? That people who bicycle instead are subsidizing a road system that they are largely not welcome on? In order to break even on the cost of roads and pay for every driver who uses them each year, we would need 54% of commuters using a bicycle as their sole means of transportation.
- wool_gather 8y ago
  Nice article, thanks for sharing that! I also liked this tidbit from the linked paper (http://www.vtpi.org/whoserd.pdf http://www.vtpi.org/whoserd.pdf): > Critics sometimes argue that walking and cycling primarily provide recreational travel [...] “Why should I— either as a highway user-tax payer or a general taxpayer—have to pay for someone else’s hobby?” > Travel surveys indicate that about half of all [cycling/walking] is “recreational,” including travel for exercise, sport and cultural events, and socializing (Kuzmyak and Dill 2012; Litman 2012), but so is more than half of all motor vehicle travel (BTS 2002). [emphasis mine]
  - justinator 8y ago
    That's very interesting. I'm somewhat in the outdoor industry, so the whole, ride-to-destination element of outdoor hobbies is a curious thing, in as much as the hobbies themselves - say, hiking, backpacking, mountain biking, are in National Forest (or similar) which have Leave No Trace Principles. The companies in these industries really tout these eco/enviro-friendly activities as perhaps a alternative to four-wheel-drivin' or whatever. Preservation of these nature resources is another big topic these companies talk about. But if one was to just zooms out, a significant amount of time/money is spent just getting to the place the hobby is done in, and there's certainly a lot of environmentally detrimental overhead associated with driving for hours in a car. It always leaves me scratching my head, really. Although we've done a good job with saying that some areas are important and need to be protected, we're also happy enough to put in vast ribbons of concrete roadway to get to them. A bit of an aside, I apologize.

jtr1 8y ago

Lots of factors, but I suspect at root it's just a matter of political will. Does a high enough proportion of all cities want bike bridges and do they have a responsive and resourced enough government to build them? I live in Boston, where commuting by bike is unfortunately still very dangerous in a lot of the city. Bike advocates are a small but vocal minority and the city has sort of responded to them, but is not moving very quickly to build out our bike infrastructure. It would take a lot more to make this happen anywhere in the ~five year frame. There's a real chicken-and-egg problem, too. Safe, pleasant bike lanes would likely do a lot to boost bike ridership while at the same time, higher rates of bike ridership are needed to "justify" their construction.

tokai 8y ago

I personally avoid the bike bridge and take the long way around. It's a gimmicky solution. There are always pedestrians on the bridge, mainly due to bad integration in the preexisting infrastructure. Busy rush hour bike commuters and clueless tourist on a narrow, fenced off, bike lane is not a good combination. The article even hints at the real interesting story about bike infrastructure in copenhagen - the super bike lanes. But I guess that the bright red snake brings in more clicks.

amelius 8y ago
Yes, I was just wondering why it doesn't have a sidewalk.
Someone1234 8y ago
Even in the short video you can see someone walk across it pushing a stroller/buggy. While I was watching I was actually thinking that it needed a pedestrian sidewalk.
- mcv 8y ago
  Yeah, lack of a sidewalk is asking for trouble. A comparable bridge in Amsterdam, the Nescio Bridge[1] across a major canal does have a sidewalk. Only at some point the pedestrian and cycle paths split and pedestrians are supposed to take the stairs, but some people still walk on the bike path. I guess the lesson is that you really do need sidewalk everywhere. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nescio_Bridge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nescio_Bridge
  - Doxin 8y ago
    To be fair, I often see tourists in amsterdam managing to walk themselves onto highways, ignoring the various no entry signs. At some point you'll have to educate road users instead of trying to make the roads more fool-proof.
    - mcv 8y ago
      On highways?! I've never seen that in Amsterdam. Tourists straying onto bike paths are sadly way too common, though.

edejong 8y ago

Well, because Utrecht has something like that as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPFgFoxeLCY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPFgFoxeLCY

reaperducer 8y ago
And Chicago's is almost complete. It's more than three times as long as the one in Copenhagen, and completes a nearly 19-mile-long bicycle path along Lake Michigan. http://www.navypierflyover.com http://www.navypierflyover.com Construction pictures: https://www.chicagoarchitecture.org/2017/03/08/navy-pier-bypass-looks-ready-for-next-phase/ https://www.chicagoarchitecture.org/2017/03/08/navy-pier-byp...

MrTonyD 8y ago

Surprised that this article didn't mention that Copenhagen used to be a car-clogged city with lots of pollution. Over 30 years ago a decision was made to focus on bicycles as a way to improve quality of life. There was even a government organization dedicated to improving quality of life. So policy and government matter, and really do impact our lives. I read an entire book about this topic, but I've forgotten the name.

bjourne 8y ago
Do you have any reference for that? I've been to Copenhagen many times and it is hard to image that the city ever had congestion problems.
- MrTonyD 8y ago
  I've read about it several times now - from several sources, so it seems to be common knowledge is some circles. There is a famous architect who was in charge of the "quality of life" government organization which was established in response, and he wrote a book which was translated into English. I've tried to remember his name - I know he had an entire Wiki page dedicated to him, but it's just been too many years.
yread 8y ago
Same for Amsterdam only when the oil crisis hit in the 70s did the city change (also thanks to "think of the children": they were killed by motorists and had nowhere to play)

mothsonasloth 8y ago

The short and simple answer is, Denmark is its own culture bubble and has a large amount of money in the treasury to throw at projects like this. Articles like this really make me wonder if the the Guardian is becoming out of touch with the general public. With writing like this that fails to comprehend that every city is unique and nuanced in its problems and how it solves them. I love Copenhagen and its culture, but its cycling concepts and other road rules wouldn't translate well in the UK. Is this just clickbait trash?

YawningAngel 8y ago
Can you explain why you think this is the case? I've lived in Copenhagen and London, and it isn't apparent to me why the ideas applied in Copenhagen wouldn't work here.
- theoh 8y ago
  The people to talk to about this are architects and town planners. They tend to be acutely aware of cultural differences between different countries, to the point that it starts to be a problem (because cultural stereotyping comes into play). When I studied architecture in London, there was a lot of envy expressed toward continental urbanism (Copenhagen, but also Barcelona, Vienna, Zurich). In general, continental European cities are a bit more regimented in their design, compared to the traditionally liberal culture of the UK. Planning can be feel a bit more heavy-handed on the continent, and in the UK it tends to be more laissez-faire. There is long-standing suspicion of continental European norms in the UK, as I'm sure you are aware. This is part and parcel of Brexit. Somewhere extreme like Singapore manages to be extremely well organised and liveable at the price of being a bit paternalistic. I think that's the extreme "high organization" end of the spectrum, where the state can really make very large interventions.

BurningFrog 8y ago

Maybe the Scooter Revolution will result in new and better cycle/scooter infrastructure everywhere.

Theodores 8y ago

Failure of imagination. You may scoff but imagination has a huge part of it. If you commute by bike then it doesn't take that long before you wish there was some magic pathway that just carried you over those congested, road-blocked areas. In my dreams of such magic pathways I usually imagine something a little wider than this orange route with a more definite median and more substantial fences at the side to keep the wind at bay, plus a surface that reduces rolling resistance. The thing is that I keep these thoughts to myself as I struggle along making it alive over and around really oppressive multi-lane highways. I feel as if I am the lone crazy idiot on some of these commutes. And I am. 99% of my fellow road users are in cars, genuinely too scared to ride a bike - and I don't blame them. From that stuck-in-a-box, sitting-in-traffic viewpoint the dreams are different (more lanes, setting off earlier, less traffic) and there just isn't that imagination going on to have a super bike highway when getting on a bike is unimaginable.

YawningAngel 8y ago
You don't share space with road traffic in Copenhagen anyway, as the bike lanes are completely separate.
- Theodores 8y ago
  The article asks why other cities can't have bike bridges. My point is that if people can't imagine getting out of their tin box and onto a bike then they are not going to imagine having amazing bike highways as per the article. In London a few years ago a footbridge across the Thames opened that had resonance problems that made it unsuitable for the task intended. The simple solution would have been to make it bicycles only and spend money on a new footbridge. Instead they spent a fortune upgrading a perfectly good bridge (for bikes) to make it a pedestrian bridge. The imagination was not there to just give it over to the cyclists and make it part of the cycle highway network that Ken Livingstone started (for Boris Johnston to take credit for). In Copenhagen they do have the critical mass of cyclists for imaginative cycle highways to happen, other cities where people are stuck in tin boxes lack that because people can't even imagine cycling.

nisse72 8y ago

Auckland has one too, over one of the country's busiest motorway junctions: https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/86702560/Aucklands-hot-pink-cycleway-the-Lightpath-picks-up-international-award https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/86702560/Aucklands-hot-pink... However we are also looking forward to a new cycleway alongside the harbour bridge (skypath) and eventually around the harbour (seapath), but these wheels are turning very slowly: http://www.skypath.org.nz/the-seapath/ http://www.skypath.org.nz/the-seapath/

legulere 8y ago

Because in most places the people planning new cycle ways drive cars and don’t cycle.

beatgammit 8y ago
I think it should be mandatory that everyone rides a bike for some amount of time before getting a driver's license, and everyone in city planning should be required to use various forms of transit throughout the year.

INTPenis 8y ago

The bicycle super highways connecting rural areas with Copenhagen are much more interesting because they aim to lower pollution of car commuters going into Copenhagen instead of those moving inside Copenhagen.

DenisM 8y ago

The space below the bridge will end up rather dark and ugly. Take a walk under a highway bridge to get a taste of it. If you think I exaggerate the effect due to larger size of the highway, take a walk under the monorail in Seattle. The monorail is roughly the size of the bike bridge and the space below is a place where no one wants to be. A splendid idea otherwise though, so long as both minimal and maximum speeds are enforced.

bobthepanda 8y ago
The monorail corridor is developed with plenty of shops and apartments. The main issue is that the road under it is so wide and unpleasant to cross, as well as slightly dangerous due to the fact that it divides a one-way road in half. But this isn't really that bad: https://www.google.com/maps/@47.614548,-122.3406401,3a,60y,134.28h,81.03t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sOWmiRJ6wPkK2MAwcEkTKyQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192 https://www.google.com/maps/@47.614548,-122.3406401,3a,60y,1... If Fifth were two-way I would have a lot less of an issue with the monorail, though it would be nice if they added a stop in the vicinity of Denny Way.

edaemon 8y ago

Portland, OR, opened the Tilikum Crossing in 2015: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilikum_Crossing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilikum_Crossing It's much bigger than this Cycle Snake but it carries pedestrians, personal vehicles like bikes, public transit, and emergency vehicles. The city is still adapting things to use it but it already carries 2000+ bikes per day, the new light rail line uses it, it completed the East-West streetcar loop, and various bus routes have moved or are being moved to it from the crowded regular bridges. I can't speak for everyone but I think it has really benefited the city.

NotANaN 8y ago

Why can't all cities have waterways clean enough for swimming like Copenhagen's Harbor Baths?