Copenhagenize.com - Bicycle Culture by Design

Car Industry Strikes Back - BMW

noreply@blogger.com (Mikael Colville-Andersen) — Wed, 23 May 2012 10:00:00 +0000

BMW is at work in the Car Industry Strikes Back series. Sporty cyclists featured in the background. The text "Grace vs Pace" is prominent. But which is which? Does the car have pace and the cyclists grace? Or vice versa? We're not sure.

But the point is clear. Joy wins.

The joy of driving a BMW far exceeds riding a bicycle.

And now their calling it Efficient Dynamics. Less emissions. More driving pleasure. Greenwashing supreme.

Thanks to a follower on Twitter for the link.

New York's New Marketing FAIL

noreply@blogger.com (Mikael Colville-Andersen) — Tue, 22 May 2012 20:39:00 +0000

They're at it again, those New Yorkers. The city's DoT has chucked another bunch 'o money at a fancy ad campaign aimed at maintaining the status quo of the automobile's role in society.

Seriously... I can't think of any other city on the planet in recent times that has spent so much advertising money on finger-pointing and "behavioural" campaigns aimed at the vulnerable traffic users of their city. Desperately trying to cement, in the public consciousness of it's citizens, the rather outdated philosophy that cars rule supreme and everyone else are mere pawns to be swept aside without regret. Stand in the way of a Queen, you're stupid. You'll get taken. And you know what? We can afford to lose you.

This New York Postian attitude from the DoT towards a city that otherwise has great potential for being much more pedestrian, public transport and cyclist friendly is the primary reason why New York is so far off reaching any sensible level of liveable citiness. Paris makes New York like a Le Corbusier nightmare.

This approach is right out of Mad Men. "Cars! They're toasted!"

If I was a walking/cycling New York taxpayer, I'd be rather pissed that the city was chucking money into campaigns like these. One FAIL campaign is one thing, but this is just a continuation of a theme. The haiku posters of last year were in the same vein. Cars will hurt you. Stay out of their way, moron. The Don't Be a Jerk campaign went even more directly after the people who do least damage and most good to any city, instead of employing rationality and going for the motorist jugular. Like I say all over the world in my Bicycle Culture by Design talk, if your cyclists behave badly, you have crappy infrastructure. Period. Fix it, and fix the behaviour problem. Good design breeds good behaviour.

New York is the uncrowned champion of Ignoring the Bull, it seems. And they love it so much they keep on doing it. New York will always be great, sure. What a town.

But on the Liveable Cities chart, they are still stuck in Mosesland and can't get out.

Streetsblog have a write up about the campaign right here. As they point out, there is no equivalent campaign aimed at motorists. Through a link on their article I learned about the That's Why it's 30 campaign.

Look at the photo at the top of that link. Look at the poster. It tells people that when hit by a car at 40 mph (not kilometres) you have a 70% chance of dying. When the car is doing 30 mph, you have an 80% chance of surviving.

Where on earth did they get those numbers? In the rest of the world, this is the gold standard:

Hit by a car doing 30 mph - which is 50 km/h - you have a 45% chance of dying, not 80%. That's why the 20's Plenty campaign exists. This is just '30's Dirty'. Who provided NY with these stats? Not anyone who is serious about safety. Why isn't Manhattan one big 20 mph zone? In two years, 80% of Barcelona will be covered by 20 mph zones. Over 80 cities in Europe have adopted them.

If you're seriously about saving childrens' lives, you adopt 20 mph zones. This research is on of the many reasons why. This article in Forbes states that "The death rate more than doubles for pedestrians when speed increases from 25 to 35 m.p.h.. “That’s a big number. That’s something we hope all drivers will think about.” "

Indeed. Or what about this study in the British Medical Journal about 20 mph zones and the massive benefits. The BBC covers this as well, and Movement for a Liveable London has this piece on A City of 20.

Here's an illustration from the Swedish Road Directorate, showing what it's like to have 30 mph speed limits in a city. And New York is bragging about 30 mph? Is it possible to be more out of touch with reality and statistics?

Campaigns that place the responsibility on New Yorkers who walk and cycle and that allow automobile traffic to wreak the same havoc as it has done since engineers started messing with human streets back in the early 1900s are, quite simply, ridiculous. No city that continues on this course will ever achieve any decent and respectable level of urban cycling.

You know the campaigns are a massive marketing FAIL when The Onion whips up the same thing in an afternoon.

It's 2012 on my calendar. This old-fashioned approach to 'traffic safety' is embarrassing to see - especially from a city like New York.

Want to see change? It's easy. I'll give you this one pro bono, NYC. Spend all your marketing money for one calendar year on campaigns that cut to the chase. That go hardcore after motorists, and nobody else. I'm talking rational, right to the point, in yer face New Yorker style campaigns. Like the photo at the bottom of this article.

If you really want to be a world leader, go for health warnings for cars. Better yet, helmets for motorists. You want change? I don't think you can handle change. You fear it.

The great thing is that I'm getting fed brilliant material for my upcoming Copenhagenize book. So thanks for that, DoT.

The Good City - Visions for a City on the Move

noreply@blogger.com (Mikael Colville-Andersen) — Tue, 22 May 2012 10:12:00 +0000

If you're wondering about the sporadic publishing here on the blog over the past while, it's simply because we have so many exciting projects on the go around the world at Copenhagenize Consulting.

One of the projects has been preparing our offering for the upcoming exhbition The Good City - Visions for a City on the Move, which the Bicycle Innovation Lab is curating. The exhibition opens on June 8th in Copenhagen, the first stop on a world tour.

It's an exciting exhibition. We're presenting our own vision from here at the company but we are also curating the vision from a third-grade class at LaCour Vej School. Nine and ten year old urbanists. They have been working hard on the redesign of the roundabout next to their school.

Here's the spiel about the exhibition from Bicycle Innovation Lab:

THE GOOD CITY
MINI-CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION

Friday the 8th of June at 12 o'clock, Bicycle Innovation Lab will inaugurate the international traveling exhibition The Good City. To herald the opening of the exhibition and the issues behind it, a mini-conference will be held the same day at the Danish Architecture Centre from 9.00 to 12.30. The exhibition runs from June 8th to July 8th.

“The world loves us. Copenhagen is a constant source of inspiration for cities around the planet, not least because of our bicycle culture, which has peaked at 37% of our citizens on bicycles. Our politicians have promised us that 50% of Copenhageners will use the bike in 2010... then 2012... then 2015 and now 2025. Since the promises were made, cycling levels have fallen to 35%. Copenhagen is the only city in the western world where cycling levels are falling, not rising.”

With these words, international bicycle culture consultant Mikael Colville-Andersen, of Copenhagenize Consulting, pinpoints the notion of Copenhagen as a pioneer in the field of cycling and urban development. Despite all good intentions and strategies, it has proven difficult to motivate an additional 15% of Copenhageners to choose the bicycle.

With The Good City exhibition, we seek to reverse this negative trend and inspire new visions and action. We have asked a number of prominent Danish and international architects, traffic planners, city planners, researchers and organisations to guide us toward the goal of 50% of people on bicycles, at the same time transforming Copenhagen into a better city to live in.

The Exhibition
Official opening and reception on Friday, June 8th from 12.00 to 15.00 In Havnegaden – around No. 3, 1058 Copenhagen K.

The Good City exhibition is designed on a series of posters, with graphics and text portraying the history of Danish cycling, and how we imagine the city can further develop this tradition.

The exhibition is located outdoors at the new waterfront park on Port Street at the Custom House from June 8th to June 22nd and at Amagerbro Square from June 22nd to July 8th. Thereafter the exhibition will be an international traveling exhibition.

The Conference
Friday June 8th from 9.00 to 12.30. At Danish Archtecture Centre, Strandgade 27B,1401
Copenhagen K

In preparation for the exhibition, we will hold a mini-conference that focuses on Copenhagen as a Bicycle City. Bicycle Culture in Copenhagen has become one of the city's major international brands. When it comes to cycling, Copenhagen is so far advanced that there is no turning back. But can we continue to be one of the world's most innovative cycling cities if we fail to develop and innovate our city and bicycle culture? There is a strong focus on increasing the number of cyclists, but how do we move from an abstract idea to reach that definitive goal? How do we create an innovative bicycle culture? And how can it be combined with concrete steps towards a better city?

To reflect on this we have invited four speakers:

• Architect for the City of Copenhagen, Tina Saaby works with architecture policy, which places emphasis on the sustainable city as a place with room for diversity, more bikes and more life between houses.

• International urban mobility consultant Mikael Colville-Andersen, of Copenhagenize Consulting,works to create and promote bicycle culture in cities around the world.

• Researcher in mobility behavior and the modern everyday life Malene Freudendal-Pedersen from Roskilde University who among other things, works on sustainable mobility as a possible future utopia.

• Project leader and one of the instigators of Bicycle Innovation Lab, Lasse Schelde, works with new ways to develop and promote bicycle culture in Copenhagen and internationally.

Participants will be asked about their own innovative task. The presentations will be followed by a visit to The Good City exhibition. After the program has officially ended, there will be a reception with time for refreshments and discussion.

You can register for the conference by sending an email to minikonference@bicycleinnovationlab.dk no later than June 2nd with name, contact info, and company and position. Participation is free, however any cancellations must be reported no later than Monday June 4th or a fee of DKK 150 will be charged for catering.

Choke

noreply@blogger.com (Mikael Colville-Andersen) — Fri, 18 May 2012 20:55:00 +0000

Ah. Spring flowers in Copenhagen.

Note the swath of deadness where the exhaust from cars waiting to turn left have left their mark. 60,000 cars a day on this boulevard carving it's asphalt trail through the heart of the city. No politican speaks of doing anything about it.

The Choreography of an Urban Intersection

noreply@blogger.com (Mikael Colville-Andersen) — Tue, 15 May 2012 11:20:00 +0000

We are in the midst of an interesting little project here at Copenhagenize Consulting. Something we've been planning for a while but only recently got started with. Like everywhere else, the ever-growing urban cycling boom is causing a backlash in Copenhagen. There's a lot of negative press about bicycle users and little happening to reverse that. When the police go out on their Viking raids for a week at a time, ticketing cyclists for trivialities, the press regurgitate all manner of hype about the 'lawlessness' that will surely cause imminent societal decay. Always forgetting to highlight the fact that The 99% ride by the book and have done for 125 years.

So. We thought we'd look at an intersection - an average one - to observe behaviour and chart patterns and numbers. The Choreography of an Urban Intersection.

We chose the intersection outside of our office window. Not only convenient, but also a unique intersection in that it is primarily a transport hub that connects a north-south road with the main east-west ring. On the four corners of the intersection there is only one shop. The other three corners are vacant. This is an intersection that people travel through. There's a supermarket 100 metres farther along, a hospital 50 metres away and the intersection is in one of the most densely-populated neighbourhoods in the country.

We filmed for 12 hours out of the window. From 07:00 to 19:00. In order to digest and observe we have enlisted the help of an anthropologists - Agnete Suhr. She is well into the material and busy marking desire lines, patterns and counting the traffic users.

Agnete's notebook. We're quite sure we'll understand what this all means when she is done.

Without revealing any hard facts or observations at this early stage, it is fitting that the very first traffic user to appear when I turned on the camera at 06:54 was a car roaring through a red light at easily 80 km/h. I believe Agnete is about 5 hours into the day at the moment and already the myths of lawless cyclists have been dispelled. It's really quite dull the way that Citizen Cyclists roll in all directions. It's a ballet more than urban jungle warfare.

There are 18.076 cars each day on the crosstown ring and 13.138 on the north-wouth road leading to and from the city centre. On the same routes there are around 8000 and 7700 bicycle uers respectively. So there is loads to observe.

There are two types of bicycle infrastructure that we're keen to chart. One is the classic cycle track that ends in the run up to the intersection, leaving bicycle users to mix with right-turning motor vehicles. The other one features a pulled-back stop line for cars (5 metres) and a stop line for bicycles up by the crosswalk. We've noticed that minor infractions like rolling through the crosswalk on the former type is more frequent than on the type with staggered stop lines. Simply because people feel safer getting ahead of the turning cars.

We'll be looking at cyclist-pedestrian conflicts as well, but there is really little to go after so far. Motorists, however, who buzz through yellow lights and worse, seem to be keen to win the statistic race.

All in all, it's fascinating so far.

Not surprisingly, we're inspired by William Whyte and his work. Not least this legendary film:

The Scooter - The Unsung Mobility Option

noreply@blogger.com (Mikael Colville-Andersen) — Thu, 10 May 2012 19:16:00 +0000

It's important to provide facilities for all forms of human-powered transport. In my neighourhood, many kids live close enough to walk to school, including my kids. They can and do ride bicycles there, too, on safe, separated cycle tracks, but scooters are a popular option as well.

My son Felix started riding his scooter around the 'hood recently. Disappearing off to football practice or to a friend's house. However, when he scooted to school he came home saying he needed a padlock to lock it. There were too many scooters inside the school so a parking rack was provided outside. I didn't really get what he meant until I saw the rack the other day.

A couple of rows of funky scooter racks have been placed in the schoolyard. You rest the neck of the scooter in the slot and a little bar is tilted down over it. You lock it with a simple padlock.

Brilliant and simple solution. There are six slots per rack and three racks in all. 18 parking spots.

Scooters are quite underrated as transport. They have an air of childishness about them. Playthings. But with so many kids kicking about the neighbourhood I've realised that they are a respectable form of transport in their own right. So certainly facilities must be made available for them.

Another place you see a respectable fleet of scooters is at the larger Danish hospitals. And here, as well, parking spaces are provided. The sign at Hvidøvre Hospital, above, reads, "Scooter parking". You'll see hospital staff, from cleaners to surgeons, rolling along the long halls on their A2B journeys. There are the simple versions like the ones in the photos (I love the little kickstands on both of them) but there are also larger ones for carrying gear, blood samples, medicine, you name it.

Google vs The Facebook Bike in Dublin

noreply@blogger.com (Mikael Colville-Andersen) — Thu, 10 May 2012 08:18:00 +0000

Googleised Facebook bike in Dublin - courtesy of billyvandenende on Instagram

The Social Media Wars are now using bicycles as a battlefield. Bear Bicycles is a small company in Dublin selling Dutch bikes to the Irish market. My friend Philip sent me the above photo of one of their bicycles.

He explains: "For a cycling campaign, we have created a 'Facebook' bike - together with local cycling advocacy groups. The goal: to get people out of their cars and on their bikes, by showing how cycling is a social thing and how it positively impacts people's lives."

You can see the Facebook bike on Bear Bicycles... uh... Facebook page, as above.

Dublin is home to both Google's and Facebook's European headquarters. Battlefield Internet, if you will.

Yesterday, one of Philip's colleagues inadvertently parked the Facebook bike near a metro station close to the Google office.
When he got back, the Facebook bike had been Googlised. The metaphor of the footprint escapes no one.

Sure, sure. All in good fun. But hmm. Doesn't Google encourage it's employees not to be evil? Wouldn't you think that they would enjoy some healthy competition and encouraging social cycling?

Or perhaps Facebooks IPO has them riding scared?

We may never know the truth.

Cats and Mice

noreply@blogger.com (Mikael Colville-Andersen) — Wed, 09 May 2012 20:00:00 +0000

The police in Copenhagen are going after those rogues of the urban landscape - the bicycle users - this week. It's generally slim pickings for them. The 99% usually cycle without committing any major terrorist actions - and have done for 125 years. The police are arch-conservative and continue to insist that societal decay is imminent. In the course of an average week with these bike raids - cykelrazzia in Danish - they'll ticket about 700-1200 people. Out of a few hundred thousand daily bicycle users. Brilliant use of resources.

The man in the photo, above, is Mogens Knudsen, Superintendent in Copenhagen Police Traffic Unit. It's his personal crusade to clamp down on cyclists and all talk of traffic calming, lower speed limits and other modern urban devices is swept aside by Mogens. If there is one law enforcement officer in Copenhagen who is desperately holding back the hands on the clock of progress, you're looking at him. As my colleague Lars Barfred put it, "For Knudsen, 30 km/h zones are like legalising heroin."

I debated with Knudsen a couple of years ago at the National Cycle Conference, which you can read about in this article. Little has changed.

If you're wondering what the photo is up top, it's a fine example of a bit of cyclist activism. The police were hiding around a corner, stopping cyclists who rolled casually around the corner despite the red light. There was a long period where nothing happened. Then they looked around the corner and found this sign hanging next to the cycle track.

It says, "Watch out cyclists. Police Checkpoint. No right turn..."

Bicycle users warning each other. To his credit, Knudsen took it casually. "It's fair enough. We're hiding around the corner and they are helping each other. It's large-heartedness." Yes it is.

What it also is, is a good sign. It's a sign that the bicycle users in Copenhagen are thinking differently. They are reacting to the rising car-centricism, not only from the police. Activism is a rare thing in Copenhagen, but it remains a necessity and I welcome every bit of it. Citizens reacting to 75 years of failed traffic engineering that continues to place the car on a pedestal. Even in Copenhagen.

We've been doing a bit of activism as well. Running a twitter account and Facebook group where bicycle users can warn each other. It's good fun.

If you cycle on the sidewalk around a corner, instead of turning right on red on the cycle track, you can save 300 kroner on the fine. That's about $60. The same applied if you cycle down a one-way street. Save money on the sidewalk. :-)

And if you're a student you can get a 50% discount on any fine you get.

:-)

Here's our article about the last police raid on cyclists and how the City of Copenhagen has been handed a map over locations where infrastructure and desire lines for cyclists can be improved. No News is Big News.

Getting Carried Away

noreply@blogger.com (Mikael Colville-Andersen) — Wed, 09 May 2012 11:16:00 +0000

Been busy lately. Running behind with articles but doing lots of great projects with Copenhagenize Consulting. I figured I'd post some of the photos I've taken recently. Citizen Cyclists carrying stuff around is the theme.

Shoes and a suitcase.

Suitcase and a group of friends on a stag night by bicycle. Two cargo bikes filled with beer.

New frame heading home.

Kids' bicycles in transit. That's me and Lulu-Sophia on the right, taking her new (used) bike home.

Transporting a guitar by trailier in Copenhagen and a trailer by trailer in Strasbourg.

The City of Zagreb has a respectable fleet of cargo bikes for cleaning the streets. As well as for bakery deliveries.

Cool wooden crate in Copenhagen. Cool Danish Ambassador to Croatia, and his wife, on a Christiania Bike in Zagreb.

Muffins on the move.

Car Industry Strikes Back - Ford

noreply@blogger.com (Mikael Colville-Andersen) — Tue, 08 May 2012 17:49:00 +0000

Nothing like a good Car Industry Strikes Back article to kickstart your day. Our reader, Krzysztof in Gdansk, Poland, spotted this advert for Ford Poland in the Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper. You're going to love this desperate attempt by Ford to sell some vans.

The main text at the top left reads, "Ford Transit - a machine for saving money"

Then, below, Ford tries to alter reality by writing; "Delivery bicycles do not exist. You don't need to switch to riding a bike to save money."

Yes. They just wrote that. Delivery Bicycles Don't Exist. In all seriousness. And then they paid to have it published in a newspaper. If Poland has an advertising standards commission, someone should let them about this advert. Lying, as far as I'm aware, isn't allowed in advertising.

The text continues with optimistic texts about how you can "Save on buying", "save on petrol", "save on service", etc. "The usual blah blah blah you'd expect from a commercial", as Krzysztof put it in his email to us.

He continues, "Now I know commercials go a far way to bend facts and I know delivery bikes are not popular in Poland (in fact I've seen just 1 or 2 in
Gdańsk so far) but come on... I felt like someone was lying while looking me straight in the eyes. This ad is something I just couldn't pass by."

When you live in Copenhagen, with 40,000 cargo bikes and you are involved with the Cyclelogistics project to promote cargo bike use in European cities, this advert is so stupid it's amusing. As ever with this Car Industry Strikes Back series, we can see that they're worried. That they see the bicycle as serious competition. And well they should. It's last century versus this century and we're winning it.

Cargo bike delivery in Paris.

Vintage Russian cargo bike delivering flowers.

Left to right: Supermarket delivery bike in Montreal.
Citizen Cyclist in Copenhagen carrying stuff.
Royal Danish post.
Rio de Janeiro and Rio, again. Two of 11,000 cargo bike deliveries in that city.

Left to right: Copenhagener moving stuff to a flea market.
The Fruit Bike, Copenhagen.
Ice Cream Bikes at Copenhagen Zoo.
The Coffee Bike by Espressomanden, Copenhagen.
Cargo bike in Amsterdam.

Left to right: Newspaper bike, Copenhagen.
Cargo in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Crêpes bike, Copenhagen.
Sushi bike, Copenhagen.
Bike repair bike, Copenhagen.

And so on, and so on.

The Cargo Bike Culture photo set kind of thumbs its nose in the general direction of Ford.

Catch The Cyclist With Your Eyes

noreply@blogger.com (Mikael Colville-Andersen) — Sun, 06 May 2012 19:42:00 +0000

This is a recycled campaign that returns regularly but we approve of it simply because it places the responsibility on the motorists. No ignoring the bull in society's china shop here.

"Catch the cyclist with your eyes - not your door" is what it says.

These car doors are on posts in various locations. This one was captured by Sandra from the brilliant Classic Copenhagen blog.

Sure, people get doored anywhere there are cars and that includes Copenhagen. I know a few people who have experienced it by I personally have been lucky to never have been even close to it in 17 years in Copenhagen. Motorists know to watch for cyclists, to expect them. I know that in the few times I've been in a car with my kids (my kids spend about five hours in a car each year), you always find yourself saying "watch for bikes" when they're getting out. It's a mantra that every kid hears. When getting out of cars, crossing the street, at bus stops, you name it.

Ironically, this campaign is from Byens Trafikråd - The City's Traffic Council - and it one of the very, very few campaigns from their hand that is actually rational and doesn't point fingers at cyclists.

Now You See It, Now You Don't

noreply@blogger.com (Mikael Colville-Andersen) — Wed, 02 May 2012 15:30:00 +0000

When I first saw this campaign from Italian carmaker FIAT I was convinced that we had a contender for our Car Industry Strikes Back series. Then I realised it was a campaign for drinking and driving.

The text, in Portugese, reads. "Now you see it. Now you don't".

Simple and effective marketing.

Here's the film version of it. And more info about the campaign is available here, in Portugese.

Thanks to Eduardo for the link.

Extreme Sport in L.A.! Not.

noreply@blogger.com (Mikael Colville-Andersen) — Tue, 01 May 2012 10:15:00 +0000

Los Angeles, California.

Addendum: Check this ride out from South Bend: http://www.wsbt.com/news/sbt-procession-aims-to-show-how-bikes-cars-can-coexist-20120427,0,2181987.story

If you look closely at the above Citizen Cyclist in Los Angeles it is clear that this person is participating in an athletic event which is an extreme test of her physical and mental limits and it carries with it the potential for death, serious injury and property loss.

I mean, it's bloody obvious, isn't?

Turns out that Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition is hosting a little bike ride today. Which is cosy. And nice. Here's the route:

Pomona 2ns St
Left on White
Left on 1st
Right on E st
Take a Break ( perhaps 7-11) COFFEE BREAK! COOL!
Right on Bonita
Right on Yale
Take a Break (Rhino Records) RECORD SHOP STOP! COOL!
Left on 1st
Right on College
Right on San Jose
Left on San Antonio
Right on San Bernardino
Left on Gibbs
Left on McKinley
Right on Palamares
Right on 1st
Left on Main

Here's a pdf of the route, too.

The ride should be less then 10 miles and we will go at a moderate pace. Please bring lights just in case it gets dark before we get back. We are meeting at 6pm and riding out at 6:20 and should be about an hour ride or less.

16 km. Group ride. For fun. Stopping at a 7-11 for a Slurpee. Stopping at a record shop. Groovy.

So here's the waiver form you have to sign to take part in this little Citizen Cyclist bike-o-rama:

"I acknowledge that this athletic event is an extreme test of a person's physical and mental limits and carries with it the potential for death, serious injury and property loss.

The risks include, but are not limited to, those caused by terrain, facilities, temperature, weather, condition of athletes, equipment, vehicular traffic, actions of other people including, but not limited to, participants, volunteers, spectators, coaches, event officials, and event monitors, and/or producers of the event, and lack of hydration. These risks are not only inherent to athletics, but are also present for volunteers. I hereby assume all of the risks of participating &/or volunteering in this event. I realize that liability may arise from negligence or carelessness on the part of the persons or entities being released, from dangerous or defective equipment or property owned, maintained or controlled by them or because of their possible liability without fault. I certify that I am physically fit, have sufficiently trained for participation in the event and have not been advised otherwise by a qualified medical person."

Readers may recall our Go Green, Go Dutch, Go Die! article from awhile back, about a similar event in Chicago.

What a ridiculous message to be sending to people who wish to participate in a cosy bike ride. This is a massive marketing/advocacy FAIL.

Spare me all the comments about "That's just the way our legal system is the US"... Because you know what? If advocacy groups are serious about reestablishing the bicycle on our urban landscapes, they will engage an attorney to reword documents like these.

Look at how many people get off the hook in the US legal system for crimes. So there are loopholes the size of North Dakota. It must be possible to rewrite these documents in a realistic language that presents an all important positive image of urban cycling, separating it from sport/recreation and that still covers all the liability issues that need to be addressed in the American system.

It can't be hard. But why isn't it being done?

And why don't motorists have to sign such waivers when they purchase a car? Or pedestrians when they purchase shoes?

It boggles the mind.

Cool Bike to Work Film from Hungary

noreply@blogger.com (Mikael Colville-Andersen) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 08:54:00 +0000

The Hungarians do it again. New advert for Bike to Workk campaign. As we've said before, the Hungarians are world champions in promoting cycling positively - check out this previous article about it.

The message on this new one is, quite simply:

"You can cure your lack of exercise. Bike to Work!"

Cool style. Go, Hungary!

Thanks to Aron at Hungarian Cycle Chic for the link.

Launching Copenhagens Bicycle Superhighways

noreply@blogger.com (Mikael Colville-Andersen) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 13:29:00 +0000

Last week, on April 14, 2012, the first stretch of Copenhagen's new and long-awaited Bicycle Superhighway network opened and Copenhagenize was there for the bike ride.

It was back in 2009 that we first wrote about the plans for these bicycle superhighways. The boys at Trunk films made this cool film that includes the Superhigways project. The project has taken time to develop but now the routes are getting ready for use. In addition, when we first wrote about it, there were plans for 13 routes. That has now been increased to 26. 300 km of dedicated superhighway routes when the project is complete.

The 17.5 km Albertslund Route is the first one to launch. The route runs through a number of municipalities, including Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Albertslund and Rødovre.

They are being called Bicycle Superhighways, but it's worth noting that the routes follow existing, separated bicycle infrastructure. There will be some improvements on certain sections and various facilities will be added.

It has proved to be a logistical challenge getting so many municipalities to work together. Copenhagen is comprised of 550,000 people but the greater metro area is comprised of many different municipalities. Planning routes through them has taken longer than expected, but now the project is finally underway. I shudder at the thought of how many meetings were required and how many litres of crappy, municipal coffee were consumed. But I respect that sacrifice for the cause.

Me and the kids headed out to Albertslund on the local train, using the large bicycle compartments on board. A lot of other people had the same idea.It was a bit crowded, but we all helped make the bicycles fit.

Everyone gathered at the meeting point next to Albertslund Station and after the usual speeches by the usual type of politicians everyone started rolling towards Copenhagen.

This area of Greater Copenhagen is a product of the late 60s and early 70s. Back then planning for bicycles was integrated into the design of the areas. As a result, cycle tracks avoid main streets and there are many overpasses over the cycle infrastructure for cars, allowing safe routes to everywhere in the area.

The superhighways follow these existing routes.

Like this route through a housing development. Lovely, wide streets for bicycles.

Pumps have been placed at intervals along the route, although there are also bike shops in the neighbourhoods along the way.

We stopped at Damhus Lake for the official opening. The entire route was marked with an orange stripe along the side of the cycle tracks and the last bit was painted in front of a media scrum.

Cycle track (at left) and tunnel under a motorway (at right).

There are some interesting projects related to the new routes being planned. Sensors under the cycle tracks that can register if there is a group of cyclists riding together. If so, the lights at the intersections will turn green in order to let them continue freely towards the city.

Railings and footrests - first implemented in Copenhagen - are in place at intersections (at left). The Bicycle Office's cargo bikes were in action carrying juice and oranges for the participants (centre), but many people had their own refreshments - like the all-important beer (at right).

Signage has been updated to reflect the new routes. The Albertslund route is called C99. The C stands for the Danish name for the superhighways - Cykelsuperstier.

It all looks lovely and rosy but there have been challenges. The Danish Road Directorate, like many planners/engineers around the world, were tough to dance with in the preparations. It was a nightmare to get them to grant permission to add the new signage markings to the road signs (above left). The idea of painting an orange strip along the entire route was also a bone of contention. They refused to budge and, as a result, the orange stripe is painted with regular water-based paint that will be gone in a few weeks. (top right)

So much for the Road Directorate assisting in new projects with an open-minded, progressive attitude. They are stuck in their antiquated mindset and stand in the way of innovation and progress. Traffic is merely a rubik's cube that has to be solved and not much more.

If we are to further expand our bicycle culture and infrastructure we need visionaries on board, not pencil pushers.

The bike ride ended at Copenhagen's City Hall, in the gardens. The traditional City Hall Crepes (Rådhuspandekager) were served. Although when we arrived at the head of the pelaton, there were a large group of cyclists already there. A group that had sped off ahead instead of riding with the rest of us. They were all over 55 - and resembed typical members of the Danish Cyclists Federation - and they had consumed most of the crepes 45 minutes before everyone else arrived.

Which was rather regrettable for those of us with children - we'd been hyping up the crepes with chocolate and cream the whole way into town.

My Lulu got chilly after about 15 km so we just wrapped her up in a blanket on the bike. She soon forgot all about the chill when we got to City Hall and enjoyed playing around in a velomobile.

All in all it was a cosy event to celebrate the first bicycle superhighway. The Bicycle Office and Cykelsupersti Secretariat did a great job organising it.

Here's looking forward the next 25 routes!

More information in English on the Cykelsupersti website.

Cargo Bikes Delivered

noreply@blogger.com (Mikael Colville-Andersen) — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 12:27:00 +0000

What a lovely sight that greeted us at Lulu-Sophia's kindergarten last week. A long row of cargo bikes for kids delivered and ready for use in the playground. They're from the Danish company Tress, who produce many kids of cargo bikes for schools and kindergartens

Lulu hopped up on one right away. Lovin' it.

Add these to the many bikes in the educational institution armada in Denmark - as written about in the Cargo Bike Early Learning article here on the blog.

Antwerp Bicycle Parking at Central Station

noreply@blogger.com (Mikael Colville-Andersen) — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 13:25:00 +0000

Not only is Antwerp Central Station the most beautiful train station I've ever seen, they have the most gorgeous and comprehensive bicycle parking facility I've ever seen. Nothing, anywhere, can beat this.

Sorry, I was Speeding Slightly

noreply@blogger.com (Mikael Colville-Andersen) — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 07:28:00 +0000

Once again, the Dutch prove that they are the only country on the planet that completely refuses to ignore the rampaging bull in society's china shop.

Here the focus is - rightly and intelligently - placed on the motorist. The ones who possess the capability to kill and maim. Boy, what a simple concept. Bizarre it hasn't caught on. The Dutch campaign makes everything these car-centric monkeys dressed as clowns here in Denmark look like car advertisments, what with their insistance on maintaining the status quo regarding the role of the car in our society.

Mark over at Bicycle Dutch has a write-up about it, including interesting graphs about speed limits and the distance required to stop at various speeds.

The Societal Costs of Car Use

noreply@blogger.com (Mikael Colville-Andersen) — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 11:52:00 +0000

Brilliantly simple and effective video about the societal costs of automobile use. Filled with nuggets of wisdom, effectively communicated. Love the bit about how cars are like gasses - it doesn't matter how large the container grows, the molecules will still occupy the whole space. Build more roads, more cars come. Welcome to Square One. Amazing how after 75 years of traffic engineers and planners failing constantly and consistently at solving traffic problems, we still give them outrageous amounts of funding to keep... failing.

Seriously, what other vocation in the world gets so much money to play with without having produced ANY results for three quarters of a century?

The Mexican office of the Institute for Transportation & Development Policy (ITDP) produced this film - in Spanish with English subtitles.

Thanks to Ludwig from UITP for the link.

Your Daily Dose of Drama

noreply@blogger.com (Mikael Colville-Andersen) — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 16:25:00 +0000

Now this is vaguely related to Copenhagenize's usual fare but I'm blogging it for four reasons:

1. There are bicycles in it. (with material for people like us, who promote cycling positively, and for the myth-perpetuating safety nannies)
2. It takes place in Belgium - and I'm blogging about Belgium lately.
3. It's about marketing effectively.
4. It's bloody brilliant.

You saw it here first.

Thanks to Joel for the link.

Multi-faith Bicycles in Antwerp

noreply@blogger.com (Mikael Colville-Andersen) — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 15:00:00 +0000

What IS it about Antwerp? Like I've been blogging about, it's quite a suprising city on so many levels. Here's another example.

While many "bicycle enthusiasts" get all neo-sanctimonious about bicycles, let's see how "religious enthusiasts" use the bicycle. Oh, wait... they use it just like any other Citizen Cyclist.

The Muslim community in the Borgerhout neighourhood of Antwerp arranged a bike ride. Participants paid €2 to take part and the proceeds went to a school project in Kebdana, a village in Northern Morocco. They also hoped to promote better bicycle facilities and parking, as well as bringing all the different people in the community together.

The Fietsersbond donated two bikes to Kebdana and two others to teach new arrivals from Morocco how to cycle.

My friend Stef, from the Belgian NGO Fietsersbond.be took these shots a few weeks back.

The ride went past six different mosques and it was promoted by the imams - top photo. Each mosque got a banner that reads: "Borgerhout Cycles! And this mosque is in on it, too".

A festive day by all accounts. A repeat next year is on the cards.

Heres a film about ride from the website Steunproject.be.

Of course, a bicycle repair cargo bike was on hand, too.

Okay. Cool, right? Wait til you see what goes on in another neighbourhood in Antwerp.

Copenhagenize Consulting were talking to an architect in Israel last year. He lives in a town with a lot of Hasidics and was wondering how to get them onto bicycles. They lacked role models, basically. I figured that getting photos of like-minded Hasidics in other countries would help. In the neighbourhoods in Montreal with a lot of Hasidics, I've heard that many of them ride bicycles but I've never caught a photo of it.

I've more than made up for it. Last Saturday I rode through this Antwerp neighbourhood and it was a buzz with bicycles. I love the above shot - two citizens from different backgrounds have a chat on their bicycles.

Everywhere I looked, there were Hasidics moving about their 'hood on bicycles.

Go Antwerp! Fantastic.

The Hasidic community in Brooklyn have made themselves famous by their opposition to bike lanes through their neighbourhood. But I'm curious if any New York readers could tell us if they ride bicycles?

So while were on the 'Bicycles Bring the World Together After Religion Screwed It Up' topic, let's get some of the others into the post:

Catholic priest in the Netherlands, via Daniel Rink on Flickr. Buddhist monks in Laos, via Exodus Travels on Flickr.

Nuns on bicycles in Poland, via Klearchos Kapoutsis on Flickr and a nun in New York City, via Warzerjaff on Flickr.

Oh, and here's a humanist, for good measure:

Bicycle Piano in Antwerp

noreply@blogger.com (Mikael Colville-Andersen) — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 08:19:00 +0000

Antwerp was full of pleasant surprises. 'Piano Paul' and his bicycle piano was certainly one of them. Yep, he rides it down to the pedestrian street to play. And boy, does he play.

Antwerp Bicycle Infrastructure

noreply@blogger.com (Mikael Colville-Andersen) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 08:50:00 +0000

I was on a whirlwind Tour de Benelux last week and one of the stops was Antwerp, Belgium. The occasion was the opening of my Monumental Motion exhibition and a keynote talk about Bicycle Culture by Design.

While I could find Antwerp on a map, it was one of those cities that I knew little about. Arriving by high-speed rail from Rotterdam, however, I was astounded at the sight of the most beautiful train station I've ever seen. From then on in, the city continued to surprise me in the most pleasant fashion. I was guided around the city by the charming Stef, from the Belgian Fietsersbond.be and while most of our conversations were about art and architecture, I was shown the city's bicycle infrastructure.

Antwerp has a modal share of about 16%, which is very respectable. There were also a great many brand new cycle tracks around the city, some of which had only been completed a few days before. As I understood it, it's an election year and the incumbent mayor had promised 100 km of bicycle infrastructure before being elected. The race was on to complete the cycle tracks up to the next election. Which is quite brilliant.

Above, the cycle track was completed before the street. That's a lot of street space taken away from motorised traffic and handed back to bicycles and pedestrians. Great for traffic calming and inspiring citizens to choose other forms of transport.

The cycle track outside the stylish and charming B&B that had been arranged for me - La Gloria No. 10 - had been completed only two days before my arrival. They didn't have to hurry on my account, but I'm glad they did.

Another new stretch of bicycle goodness.

Quirky little bike box.

Safe separation along a stretch of 50 km/t roadway.

There are also many tramways in the city and, on the narrower streets, the solutions look like this. Like any experienced urban cyclists in cities with tramways, the tracks are not a problem.

All in all, Antwerp is a cool city.

Spanish Police Harass Father on Bicycle

noreply@blogger.com (Mikael Colville-Andersen) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 11:46:00 +0000

Oliver Green and his daughters. Photo: Courtesy of Oliver Green.
UPDATE: MONDAY 02 APRIL 2012
Here's the latest update from Oliver:

Last update before heading out for the Easter break.
I finally received a call from the town hall - the Councilor for Safety from the ruling People's Party wants to meet with me together with the Head of the Municipal Police to discuss my complaint. They're gonna have to wait till after the holiday though as we're heading out later today.
I had a productive meeting with David Cierco councilor and spokesperson for the local Socialist Party group in Pozuelo. Like the UPyD they too have cycling and bike lanes high on their agenda (http://www.gmspozuelo.org/pozuelo-dinamico/) but is is very hard to get through in this town as the PP has had an absolute majority for the last 30 years... What I really found quite surprising was their claim that the PP in Spain is anti-bike because they see the car as progress and as central to their model of urban development while the bike is for poor people… Maybe I shouldn't be surprised but surely in CPH and Amsterdam whether you ride a bike is not about your political belief and if it is this needs addressing - surely driving a car or taking a walk doesn't depend on your political persuasion! IMHO, to be successful the bike as urban transport must cut through political ideology, class, colour and creed just as the car has done.

UPDATE: SATURDAY 31 MARCH 2012
Here's the latest update from Oliver. Be sure to read the comments. Lots of encouragement and good ideas there. Add your own!
Wanted to give you a quick update on the latest events and coverage:

Pablo published this piece in his blog today - very good because he was able to clearly explain that my bike is legal and why the Spanish law needs updating to remove the ambiguity. See here, in Spanish: http://blogs.elpais.com/love-bicis/2012/03/irresponsable.html

Basically there is a traffic law saying that a bike made for one can only carry one minor under 7 in a certified seat behind the rider. The loophole is that it doesn't talk about a bike like mine, built specifically for more than 3 nor tandems, trikes etc. However under this current regulation a child seat behind the handlebars is illegal which is crazy. I've done another extensive interview and photo shoot with another journalist from El País this afternoon. Will let you know when it's published.

I've have a meeting set up with the socialist opposition leader on Monday - he got in touch with me proactively and they are taking up my case as well as the other opposition party.

I was interviewed live on a national TV magazine type program this morning - haven't been able to find the clip for that on Internet yet. Will forward if I do find it - was positive overall.

Tomorrow I'm being interviewed on a local volunteer station (Radiociclista) in Albacete - smallish town near Alicante.

ConBici - the national association that represents 54 regional groups in Spain has nominate me for the "Cyclist of the Year" award :-)

Well that's about it - still got to see whether the town hall will back down - they still say they're gonna fine me and are also calling me a liar and a radical so it might end up in court yet… we'll see

UPDATE: THURSDAY 29 MARCH
Email from Oliver:
OK, so we made the national news today and a major national radio station - however they are spinning that my bike is not legal in Spain due to some crazy ass regulation - The regulation states that a bike made for one can carry only one child in a certified child seat. However, as the local councilors I met pointed out, my bike is not made for one but three.

http://www.antena3.com/noticias/sociedad/ciclista-denunciado-llevar-sus-dos-hijas-colegio-bicicleta_2012032800125.html

Meanwhile, the town hall are not backing down - they say they're going to fine me for riding an illegal bike, putting my children at risk etc….they don't care that it is perfectly ok and normal in other countries - bit of a shitstorm really. Oh well, will keep fighting this, I have the support of the community and common sense.

Can anyone help out with regulations in Spain or EU about bicycles? Any information?!

UPDATE: WEDNESDAY 28 MARCH
Oliver emailed me last night:
Wow, what a day… the comments still keep pouring in, it's all over the place, twitter, Facebook, meneame - http://www.meneame.net/ (a Spanish site like Digg with over 2000 "meneos" and 206 comments - the top one today in fact), tomorrow two national TV channels are coming to interview me and record our trip to school , a local councilor from one of the opposition parities wants to take it up in the town hall and El Pais want an interview. I can hardly keep up with it :-) Now I need to make sure to get maximum impact - not for my case but for the case of all citizen cyclists (and potential citizen cyclists) - here in Spain!

Good luck, Oliver!
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It is this kind of story that can really irritate me. My friend Oliver lives in Spain, outside of Madrid. He's English, but very much repatriated. He has been riding bicycles for years and now he rides his two daughters to school and back again each day.

Something that people do in many places in the world. Apparently the police in his city are very much like the police in many places in the world, too. They obviously have too much time on their hands.

Last week, Oliver dropped off his girls - aged 2 and 5 - and, when he came out of the school, two plainclothes policemen were waiting for him in an unmarked police car. Seriously. Waiting for him. They were in an aggressive mood and stated that his bicycle was not certified to carry two children.

He started a blog to write about it - Pozuelo con Pedales - Pedaling Pozuelo, referring to the town that Oliver lives in - Pozuelo de Alarcón.

The police demanded to see his "ficha tecnica" or vehicle registration, which is of course ridiculous - it's a BICYCLE.

Oliver was furious and when he started complaining about the treatment, they police started harrassing him about riding a section of the route to school on the sidewalk - about 200 m in total. It is technically illegal to do so, but Oliver had decided that committing a minor traffic offence was better than taking chances on a stretch with inadequate infrastructure for cyclists and lack of police enforcement of the 40 km/h speed limit, as well as enforcing the 1.5 m law in Spain.

In fact, the police had previously told him to take the sidewalk one day after picking up the girls from school. So this wasn't the first run-in with the local police. They have been keeping an eye on him and photographing his movements. How bizarre is that?

The story ends - well not really ends - with the police taking his personal data and telling him that they would prepare a report for the City Council and another for Social Services - claiming him to be an irresponsible father.

This is shocking. It's something you expect in Australia, the UK or North America, but in Spain?! Talk about Ignoring the Bull.

Oliver has been riding a bicycle for transportation every day for years and has been taking his kids to school and kindergarten by bicycle since they could sit upright.

Oliver writes on his blog that: "I'm shocked; shocked at having to endure this nonsense and more so while cars get away with all sorts of traffic violations, by the lack of respect for cyclists, the serious lack of adequate infrastructure for cyclists, the waste of tax-payers money and police resources etc, etc... This is in contrast with other Spanish cities such as Vitoria, Barcelona, Seville, Valencia or Majadahonda who are actively promoting the use of the bike. A shame."

So. What can we do about this? First of all, click right here. It's the website for the City of Pozuelo de Alarcón. Let them know we're here with a click. If you can manage the Spanish, here's a form for contacting the Mayor's office.

Now we need to figure out how to get some action, bring these policemen into the spotlight and get the city to take some action. Instead of persecuting a citizen who chooses to ride a bicycle.

Danish Minister's Meeting Room

noreply@blogger.com (Mikael Colville-Andersen) — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 13:55:00 +0000

This photo was posted on the Facebook page of Manu Sareen, the Danish minister for Gender Equality, Church and Nordic Cooperation. The caption he added was "We moved our meeting out in the fresh air."

Such is springtime in Copenhagen. You get out as much as possible.

And nothing like a cargo bike to relax on. We do it here at Copenhagenize Consulting, too. Sareen rode his yellow Bullitt to meet the Queen when the recent government was formed.

Not a bad signal for a politician to send.