Wednesday 22 June 2011

First Impressions of Copenhagen

I've finally arrived in Copenhagen, and my experiences have been nothing short of phenomenal. Before I came here, I knew 37% of Copenhageners cycled - but that's just a number that can be difficult to visualize. What I've been seeing is surprising, inspiring, and almost surreal. At any time of day, in any part of the city, you'll likely see one or all of the following:

1) Cyclists.


2) Parked bikes. 


3) Bike lanes.



I didn't have access to a bicycle the day I arrived, so I experienced the city as a pedestrian. I walked the streets casually, took photos, and was comfortable and relaxed. Yet today, after purchasing and finally riding a bike, I felt entirely different. It was as if a surge of adrenaline shot through the handle bars as I pedaled, pumping me with feelings of excitement, power, and freedom. These feelings, coupled with the fact that cycling in Copenhagen is fast, safe, and convenient, has helped me better understand why so many people here choose bicycles over cars.

As mentioned previously, I'll be uploading videos on my Copenhagen experience, and the first one is almost complete. Here are some topics I'd like to address in these videos - please let me know which you'd like to see most, and if you have any other ideas.

1) People's thoughts on helmet use
2) Relationship between drivers and cyclists
3) Cyclist trip destinations - where are they going?
4) Transporting goods (large and small) by bicycle
5) Bicycle parking
6) Public's perception of visible bike counters
7) Interview with professionals from the Danish Architecture Centre, Danish Design Centre, and more.

Hope you enjoyed this first blog post - more to come!

Best regards,

Joshua Joseph
Director, Active and Community Transportation
University of Waterloo Sustainability Project
josephmjosh@gmail.com | 519-897-5394
Josh on LinkedIN
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4 comments:

  1. Andie22 June 2011 at 14:08

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  2. Andie22 June 2011 at 14:12

    This is so exciting! I hope Waterloo really takes note of this. I'd like to see videos on all of those topics, but I would also like to know how many Danish people (especially students) actually use the bike share system. PS, be sure to check out the Christiania bikes! I haven't seen anything else like them...

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  3. Anum22 June 2011 at 15:03

    Hi Josh! Glad to know you arrived safely! I agree with Andie that I would love to see a little bit of everything, but I'm especially interested in the relationship between drivers and cyclists (is there something that's different that we can take note of? Do they interact much considering there are separate bike lanes?) as well as cyclist trip destinations. I've always felt that the reason why transit (and perhaps even cycling) is so convenient in Europe is possibly due to distance i.e. unlike rural or suburban Canada, there are no vast expanses of land that you have to cross to get somewhere.

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  4. Jennifer22 June 2011 at 21:49

    Way cool :D Definitely seems like an eye-opening experience! I'd really like to hear more from you regarding helmet usage and their attitudes towards them since there are wide bicycle lanes perhaps they don't feel the need to wear them as much. Personally I dislike riding my bike with a helmet, it's a little inconvenient :P By the look of things from the pictures it seems like the crowd knows kind of exactly where to go and are destination oriented, does this give others who might be just riding around for leisure as much freedom?

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