Newsletter.December 2011

Content

Mom, can we go to the bicycle playground today?

Good signals - for safety’s sake

Introducing: Mejlgade, the first cycle street in Denmark

Cycling on the agenda in 11 Nordic Municipalities

Published by Cycling Embassy of Denmarkwww.cycling-embassy.orginfo@cycling-embassy.org

By Nicolai Willemoes, Danish Cyclists’

Federation

When Danish children learn to

cycle, mom or dad is usually walk-

ing behind them steadying the

wobbling bike with a broomstick

attached to the rack. And although

they have chosen a quiet street

for the trip, it almost always ends

with the child having a couple of

scrapes – and becoming that much

wiser – and that’s the way it should

be.

Novice at full speed

But becoming a secure cyclist

takes practice. So, in cooperation

with the Nordea-foundation and

architects Sigurd Elling and Petter

Brandberg from the company

WoodCouture, the Danish Cyclists’

Federation has developed the first

mobile bicycle playground. Here,

the more and less experienced

bike kids can play themselves into

secure cyclists.

The bicycle playground was

opened during the UCI Road World

Championships in Copenhagen in

September 2011. “We had a boy,

Valdemar, who came by on the first

day and was very insecure about

everything and had to summon up

his courage. But after a while he

was wheeling around the play-

ground and taking the challenges

at full speed. I think he came down

here every day,” says Mai-Britt

Kristensen, Project Manager at the

Danish Cyclists’ Federation.

Safety comes all by itself

The challenges have been designed

specifically for small cyclists

and vary in level of difficulty. The

children have an opportunity to

practice coordination, timing, and

balance – and speed, usually when

the parents are not looking.

According to Trine Juncher

Jørgensen, Head of Projects and

Customer Relations at the Danish

Cyclists’ Federation, the many

bumps, seesaws, and mounds

provide a safe arena for the children

to learn the basics of cycling. “The

children get a sense of freedom on

the bicycle that they don’t get to

experience many other places. And

they think it is so much fun! The

less we adults are there to interfere,

the more they play, and the more

they develop their games in com-

pletely unexpected directions.”

Bicycle culture kids’ style

Having recovered from the heavy

bicycle play experiences during the

UCI Road World Championships,

the bicycle playground moved on to

Østre Gasværk Theatre where the

theatre version of “Cykelmyggen

Egon” (The Bicycle Mosquito Egon)

attracted full houses and full bicycle

playgrounds. Here, the bicycle

playground left clear marks - in the

grass and with children and adults.

According to Theatre Manager, Pia

Jette Hansen, the bicycle play-

ground activated thousands of kids

during its two-month stay at the

theatre. “Cycling, health, nature

interpretation, and theatre cycled

hand in hand in a fun, new way – to

the benefit of all. It was a bit of a

dream that was realized,” she says.

The bicycle playground is mobile

and can be rented by municipalities

and organizations all over Denmark.

At present, the bicycle playground

is hibernating in a 20-foot container,

awaiting the next round of bicycle

games.

Mom, can we go to the bicycleplayground today?Around 5000 kids in Copenhagen have tested and approved the Danish Cyclists’ Federa-tion’s bicycle playground. Now it is going out to play in the rest of the country.

The kids were all smiles during the opening of the bicycle playground in Copenhaegn, September 2011.

» The Children get a sense of freedom on the bicycle that they don’t get to experience many other places. And they think it is so much fun! «

The bicycle playground left clear marks at Østre Gasværk Theatre - especially in the grass

By Claus Rosenkilde and Anne

Eriksson, Traffic Department, City of

Copenhagen.

The City of Copenhagen has high

ambitions when it comes to cycling:

The goal is that by 2015, 50% of all

transportation to and from place of

work or education will be con-

ducted on bike. In addition, it is to

be safe and secure to cycle in the

city. Thus, the number of seriously

injured cyclists is to be reduced by

50% in the period 2007-2015.

The city works systematically to

improve the safety on our streets,

particularly at intersections. Two-

thirds of all accidents registered by

the police in Copenhagen happen

at intersections. Therefore, better

traffic safety at intersections is one

of our areas of priority in our action

plan for traffic safety.

One of Copenhagen’s most busy

intersections is located by the

lakes: here, Nørre Søgade & Vester

Søgade meet Gyldenløvesgade.

On a weekday, about 100,000

vehicles and 50,000 bicycles pass

through this intersection, and many

pedestrians who walk or run along

the lakes also pass through it. The

intersection connects several of the

large radial roads leading into the

city centre and is characterised by

right- and left-turning car traffic.

For many years, this intersection

was the most dangerous in Copen-

hagen. In 2006, it was redesigned

at a cost of approximately six

million DKK in order to improve the

level of safety. Prior to the recon-

struction there was an average of

5.3 serious injuries per year. Now,

this number has decreased to 3.4

per year. For the cyclists, the num-

ber of serious injuries has been cut

in half. Prior to the reconstruction

there were 3.5 serious injuries on

average involving cyclists; a number

that has now been reduced to 1.8.

We cannot say that it is now com-

pletely safe to pass through this

intersection. But we have halved

the risk that cyclists will get hurt

crossing it. At the same time, the

reconstruction has meant an im-

provement for the other road users

as well, and that must be said to be

a success.

Prior to reconstruction, the three

most dangerous situations while

crossing the intersection were:

1) Left-turning cars from Gylden-

løvesgade to Nørre Søgade who

ran into oncoming cars or bikes

going straight.

2) Right-turning cars from Gylden-

løvesgade to Nørre Søgade who

ran into oncoming cyclists going

straight (the so-called right-turn

accidents).

3) Left-turning cars from Nørre

Søgade to Gyldenløvesgade who

ran into oncoming cars, cyclists,

and pedestrians.

There were many things to be

considered when redesigning the

intersection. It had to be safe but

also had to have room for the large

traffic flows without turning the

fine parks around the lakes into a

freeway-style interchange. So the

reconstruction combines a number

of different solutions: turn arrows

for left and right turns, forbid-

den turns, and a “prison-island”

solution. In case this sounds like

a catalogue from the Prison and

Probation Service, here follows a

short explanation:

Turn arrows: This is when a turn-

ing traffic flow has its own signal,

i.e., red/yellow/green arrow. The

right-turning cars from Gylden-

løvesgade to Nørre Søgade have

their own signal, so now they do

not have a green light at the same

time as the cyclists going straight.

Forbidden turns: Cars can no

longer turn left to and from Vester

Søgade. The left-turning traffic did

not result in many accidents, but

the solution was chosen in order to

best direct the overall traffic in the

intersection.

Prison-island solution: When cy-

clists are going straight ahead from

Nørre Søgade to Vester Søgade,

they first have to cross a car lane

where the right-turning cars are

stopping at a red light. Then the

cyclists come to an “island” where

they await the green light for the

straight through traffic (both cars

and bikes).

The intersection has now been

adapted to match the traffic flows

as best as possible and to prevent

the conflicts the previous design

caused, and the traffic lights have

been set specifically for traffic in this

intersection. Thus, here it has been

great to design the intersection with

good signals – for safety’s sake.

Questions can be directed at; Claus

Rosenkilde (claros@tmf.kk.dk) or

Anne Eriksson (anneri@tmf.kk.dk)

Good signals – for safety’s sake

At their own green light, cyclists cross the lane for right-turning cars stopping at the red light.

From the prison island, cyclists safely proceed straight ahead while the car can turn right at its own green light without risk of hittingthe cyclists.

Mejlgade is one of the city’s most

important radial roads for cyclists in

Aarhus. In 24 hours, 4,600 cyclists

pass through the narrow street,

making Mejlgade the fifth most

frequented street in Aarhus as far

as bicycles are concerned.

In terms of issues with safety and

passability, however, Mejlgade is

number one.

“The problem in Mejlgade is that

the sidewalks are so narrow,

making the pedestrians walk out

onto the roadway and causing the

cyclists have to zigzag their way

through the street. Then when a

car is coming through as well, the

street is completely blocked,” Pro-

ject Manager Pablo Celis at Aarhus

Cycle City explains.

Today, Mejlgade is a one-way street

for cars, while cyclists can go in

both directions. The street is lined

with narrow cobblestone sidewalks.

The cars consider the cyclists

In order to improve traffic behaviour

and to strengthen the role of Mejl-

gade as one of the most important

cycle routes to and from the city

centre, the street will be trans-

formed to a two-way cycle street

where cars are only allowed to go

in one direction. The new street will

have broad sidewalks separated

from the roadway/cycle street by a

kerb, and the middle of the street

will be marked by studs dividing the

street into a two-way cycle street.

The inspiration for the cycle street

comes from examples in Germany

and Holland. The idea is that all

road users can use the street – but

on the cyclists’ terms – and the

pavement will be optimised in order

to cater for cyclists and pedestri-

ans, instead of the cars.

Pioneering project

The establishment of a cycle street

can become one of the most

important demonstration projects

in Denmark in terms of creating

better conditions for the increas-

ing number of cyclists in the city

centres – a problem many Danish

cities are facing these years. Often,

there is not enough room to build

cycle tracks in the narrow city

streets, and neither is it possible

to shut the streets off completely

from car traffic. The experiences

from the Mejlgade project in Aarhus

can thereby prove to be one way

to meet the calls from citizens and

politicians alike, in order to make

better conditions for cyclists.

The cycle street is expected to

open in the beginning of 2012.

Introducing: Mejlgade, the first cycle street in DenmarkThe City of Aarhus has now begun work to transform the street Mejlgade to a so-called cy-cle street – the first of its kind in Denmark. In short, this means that Mejlgade will be turned into a sort of pedestrian street, but for cyclists – where the cars have to be extra consider-ate of cyclists.

The present cramped conditions for cyclists on Mejlgade in Aarhus.

The inspiration for the cycle street comes from Germany and Holland. The idea with the cycle street is that all road users can go about the street – but on the cyclists’ terms.

Visualisation of the new cycle street on Mejlgade.

By Dea Seeberg, VEKSØ Mobility,

dea@vekso.com.

During the past three years, 11

small and medium-sized municipali-

ties have developed methods and

tools that can help them meet the

challenges of getting more citizens

to jump on their bikes.

Prior to the project, ad hoc planning

and a focus on physical infrastruc-

ture often characterized their work.

Thus, one of the main objects of

the project was to secure a more

systematic and holistic approach to

working with cycling, and through

this process, to secure political

ownership and an organizational

framework.

Bicycle account, strategy, and

plan of action

The core of the project was the

preparation of three very central

strategic documents: bicycle ac-

counts, a bicycle strategy, and a

bicycle action plan which answer

the questions: “Where are we?”,

“Where are we going?”, and “How

do we get there?” This process has

involved different administrations,

politicians, and citizens in each of

the municipalities, and the politi-

cians have subsequently approved

the documents.

For the Swedish municipality,

Mölndal, the strategic effort has

resulted in a significantly greater

focus on cycling – and more funds

for cycling as well. Regarding the

effects of the partnership of Nordic

Cycle Cities, Project Manager in

Mölndal, Sweden, Ulf Bredby says,

“For us, participating in Nordic

Cycle Cities has meant that cycling

has been put on the agenda both

among politicians and government

officials to a much higher degree

than before. Working out the plan

of action has given us a plan for

what to do within seven different

focus areas. And the structured

drawing up of a bicycle strategy,

bicycle action plan, and bicycle ac-

count has significantly contributed

to the fact that it looks like we will

receive a lot more funds for cycling

in the coming fiscal years.”

For many of the project managers,

the project has had a great impact

on their work, among other things

because the increased focus has

resulted in more resources.

“For us in the region of Kristian-

sand, I think the most valuable has

been the development of a bicycle

strategy and action plan. It has

been an important task that has

meant that we have allotted large

resources for building cycle tracks.

The objective of doubling the modal

share of cyclists within 10 years

has also been incorporated into

other plans and strategies,“ says

Siri Gilbert from the Municipality of

Kristiansand, Norway.

Kids and commuters

In addition to securing the strategic

basis for the promotion of cycling,

the 11 municipalities have worked

on projects focusing on children

and commuters at local companies.

Exchanging experiences across the

municipalities has also opened the

eyes of the Swedish and Norwe-

gian partners to the use of training

bikes for bicycle events for kids,

which, for example, the Municipality

of Randers has done. In addition,

the participants have been inspired

to develop their own campaign

concepts.

Also many workers in companies in

the 11 municipalities have noticed

the increased efforts to support

cycling. For example, Mölndal es-

tablished a network for businesses

focusing on how to get more com-

muters to cycle.

The project has also focused on

drawing attention to cyclists on the

common Nordic Bicycle Day on 21

April 2010. Here, all the participat-

ing municipalities organized a list

of local events to the benefit of

cyclists. Moreover, a list of products

have been put up such as bicycle

racks, bicycle counters, water

fountains, air pumps, signs, and

information boards to offer better

services to cyclists.

At www.nordiskecykelbyer.dk all

interested parties can download

process plans for the preparation

of bicycle accounts, strategies and

action plan used by the 11 munici-

palities, read more about the work

of the task groups, and download a

magazine presenting the results of

the project.

Facts:

The participants of ”Nordic Cycle

Cities” were:

Frederikshavn (DK), Viborg (DK),

Randers (DK), Silkeborg (DK),

Kristiansand (N), Sandefjord (N),

Varberg (S), Mölndal (S), Svenljunga

(S), Mariestad (S), Tranemo (S)

Cycling on the agenda in 11 NordicmunicipalitiesStrategic and systematic promotion of cycling have been the key words for 11 small and medium-sized municipalities in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden who for the past three years have participated in the interregional bicycle project, “Nordic Cycle Cities.”

”I hadn’t heard about training bicycles for small kids before, so it was a great experience to see how Denmark has had positive experiences teaching kids to cycle through play.” Eva Berdenius, Project Manager for Nordic Cycle Cities, Municipality of Mariestad. Photo: Jeannot Huyot, City of Randers.