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Oct

30

I ♥ Copenhagen

Filed Under Bicycling, Copenhagen, Sustainability, Transit, Transportation 

Note: Ryan Miller is a Seattle University student majoring in Political Science. He is currently studying abroad in Copenhagen and will be writing blog posts for Great City about his experiences and impressions of the Danish Capitol (and possibly other locations around Europe).

Drowning in the Green Wave

In my daily commute to and from school I have the great privilege of utilizing one of the prides of Copenhagen’s transportation system, the so called “green wave” streets. Streets on the “green wave” system have had their traffic light timings for rush hour adjusted so that a cyclist traveling at 20km/h will have nothing but green lights for their entire trip.

In theory, this system should create an environment which encourages cycling over other forms of transport during the times when traffic would be its worst. However, in practice, I find the green wave street I ride to be a mixed blessing at best. Perhaps I betray my racing roots a bit much when I say that 20km/h (12 mi/h) is a maddeningly slow pace for me to attempt to ride, especially when I’m running late to my economics mid-term. So what ends up happening is I set off from an intersection, get up to speed, and then come to a stop at every single intersection where I will put my foot down for 15 seconds as I wait for the timing to catch up with me. Conversely, when I do attempt to ride slowly I will constantly get stuck behind a cargo bike moving at 15 km/h and have the same problem in reverse.

That’s not to say there aren’t some benefits to the system, the closer I get to the city, the more congested the bike lanes are, and once just enough people are clogging the lane, the fast traffic will move at the 20km/h needed to get the timing right. And when that happens, riding in Copenhagen is pure bliss. However, you have to be very lucky for that to happen.

Despite my own personal objections to timings, I could not say they speak for the Danish population as a whole. My experience thus far is that the “average” Danish commuter is that they typically ride at closer to the correct pace than I do. So perhaps in time my riding style will become more accustomed to the green wave, and my annoying habit of getting stuck at every light will go away.

It is also important to remember that the people adversely affected by this light timing extend beyond the individual car traffic the system is supposed to inconvenience. One of my worst experiences with Copenhagen mass transit comes from attempting to ride a bus that was routed along a green wave route. The busses, having no dedicated lane on these streets, are stuck in the (planned) traffic jam that results from the green wave.

There are plenty of individuals who are unable to ride their bikes into work for a number of very valid reasons (e.g. the physically impaired), yet are still making the decision to not take their cars into the city. Why should they be punished in the same way car users are? I know that the street would have ample room for bus lanes if the on-street parking were removed. It seems to me that by giving these streets bus lanes instead of on-street parking you kill two birds with one stone. Not only are you avoiding the dilemma of punishing mass transit users, but you are also discouraging car use in an extremely effective manner.

Comments

One Response to “I ♥ Copenhagen”

  1. I ♥ Copenhagen : Great City on November 3rd, 2009 12:59 pm

    [...] along with our recent theme of Copenhagen sustainability envy, we are posting another report written by our friends at International Sustainable Solutions [...]

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