Cycle Superhighways (Unstructured)

View walking to the 'nearby' lake in Denmark.

During our time in Copenhagen, we got the chance to meet with a professional, Diana, to learn about cycle superhighways. Cycle superhighways are cycle highways, where the commuters’ needs have been given the highest priority. The highway works to create routes that offer direct connection as well as comfortable and safe service. Cycle superhighways offer a coherent network that provides a safe, smooth ride with fewer stops and increased safety. Cycle superhighways are often used as an alternative route to car travel, but highly prioritized biking conditions are needed for the bike to succeed as a competitive means of transportation.

Denmark’s Capital Region and 29 municipalities cooperate to create cycle superhighways. The intention of this connected network is to treat cyclists as car drivers, putting them on an equal playing field to cars in terms of infrastructure. The cycle highways are intuitive and easy to use, assisting the cyclist in going fast and far with limited stops, turns, and barriers. Cycle superhighways offer lighting, tunnels, markings, numbered signage, and footrests (as seen in a previous post) to give cyclists the most efficient and safe way of travel possible. 

While talking to Diana, we learned that the cycle highway network has caused a large increase in bicycle traffic commuting into Copenhagen, with up to 59% commuting by bike. She even shared a story in which a family told her that due to the cycle superhighway networks, they felt as though they were able to move out of the city and into a more ‘rural’ area in Denmark, which they did, and still commute into the city by bike. 

During our free day, I took the opportunity to bike along one of these cycle superhighways. I biked to a lake about 10 miles away from where we were staying in the city center. While getting out of the city the bike path was like most others, one way, with several stops and lights, but still safe and enjoyable. Once I got out of the city that is where I really saw the appeal of these highways. There were very few lights, which allowed me to bike at a speedier, more consistent pace. The path was also separate from the car traffic and went through a lot of green space, which I especially enjoyed. It allowed me to take my time, look up and observe the areas around me, and feel safe while doing so. I was able to bike 10 miles to the lake and 10 miles back while always being on a safe, protected bike path… imagine that. The ride was gorgeous and the only time I wasn’t able to bike was when I got to the trailhead of the lake and had to walk the rest of the way. 

One interesting aspect I noticed was that during this trip I had on the cycle superhighway and on the previous trip when a handful of group members visited the Louisiana Museum was that the cycle paths are two-way, which does not happen in the city center. This is due to the volume of people using them, and I don’t think that the two-way bike back is a problem except when (and this happened to me both times) a large group of road cyclists is biking along it in the opposite direction of travel. The first time this happened to me was when I was going through a narrow tunnel, and oh boy that was scary, but they moved out of the way and I stayed upright. The second time, on the way to the lake, the path was much wider and I was in a more open area where I could have gone off the path if needed, but the group was able to see me from a farther distance and moved out of the way with no problem. 

Cycle superhighway along the ocean. 

Cows right next to the bike path.

The cycle superhighway network really amazes me. Biking through greenspace, away from cars, relatively uninterrupted is the way I think biking should mainly be done, and the type of bike I would want to bring back to the US, being able to connect towns like Bend and Redmond by bike. The ease and intuitiveness of the highways were what brought me to travel on them, and the scenery is what brought the experience to another level. We should put cycle superhighways everywhere!