Skip to main content

Permanent Sustainability on Nørrebrogade

Single File
Good news this morning. The street here in Copenhagen - Nørrebrogade - that has been closed off to cars for a trial period of three months will now enjoy a permanent status.

"Our goal of transforming Nørrebrogade into a better place to be, making it easier to be a cyclist, pedestrian and bus passenger, has succeeded", said Klaus Bondam, the councillor in charge of Traffic and Environment.

"Even among those who choose to drive there is a majority for making the initiative permanent", he added.

We've covered this exciting development in previous posts. See the link list at the bottom. In summary, Nørrebrogade [North Bridge Street] is a main artery leading into the city. It slices through a neighbourhood where only 30-40% own cars so the traffic isn't local. The street has always had problems flourishing, despite the fact that 75,000 people travel down it each day.

It is the busiest bike street in the nation with 35,000 bikes a day. In addition, 65,000 bus passengers are transported down the street. Roughly 15,000 cars was the average.

The street was closed off to through traffic for a three month period. Busses and bicycles are allowed to use it but cars are diverted onto other streets. The street is also the home of the first Green Wave for cyclists. The traffic lights are coordinated so that cyclists can ride 20 km/h and hit green all the way into the city.

So. With all that said. The closing of Nørrebrogade is now to be permanent. The trial period has been a roaring success.

- In November there was an increase of 15% in the number of cyclists.
- Car traffic has fallen by an average of 40% during rush hour. It varies along the stretch, from 30% at the far end to 80% in the heart of the neighbourhood.
- Traffic on some of the side streets has fallen dramatically and risen in other places.
- On the two main approach arteries into the city that bookend the neighbourhood - Åboulevarden and Tagensvej - there has been a modest increase of 10% in car traffic. These two streets are actually designed for cars and can easily handle this increase.
- Busses enjoy a higher mobility level now. They can stick to their schedules along the entire stretch.

Most importantly, the majority of residents in this neighbourhood love the initative. 67% support keeping the street closed to cars. 24% are against and 9% don't know.

There is a flipside to the coin. Along certain stretches there is a no-stopping zone and trucks with goods are sent to loading zones on side streets. Unfortunately there are often cars parked in the spots. It's a behavourial issue, which will certainly be ironed out. It's only been three months.
Nørrebrogade
There have been protests from local businesses. 61% of them in the area are against the permanent plan and 25% are for. The nay-sayers claim that business will be affected. This is rather silly. We have heard the same crap before in Copenhagen, starting back in the 1960's when streets were pedestrianized. Predictions of a commercial doomsday proved to be wrong. This is much the same as in other cities around the world. Creating more liveable spaces and improving quality of life/reducing noise and pollution has always served to increase business.

Half the businesses say that sales are down on the street. Funny how they blame the traffic initiative when in fact there are two reasons for it. The global financial meltdown is a main reason but there has also been a spate of gang shootings in the neighbourhood, which has caused people to stay away. All the more reason to improve the street and make the neighbourhood more attractive.

As we've mentioned before, it's important to remember that cyclists make better shoppers than motorists.



Previous posts about a car-free Nørrebrogade:
- The Drastic Measures of Visionaries
- Dots and Bikes and Bondam
- Load on, Load off
- Flexzone on Nørrebrogade
- Surfing the Green Wave in Copenhagen - See the film
- The Green Wave Spreads

Sources: DR, Politiken, excited text messages from friends.

Popular posts from this blog

7550 New Bike Parking Spots at Copenhagen Central Station

For all of Copenhagen's badassness as a bicycle city, there remains one thing that the City still completely sucks at. Bicycle parking at train stations. At Copenhagen Central Station there are only about 1000 bike parking spots. Danish State Railways can't even tell us how many spots they have. They're not sure. Even in Basel they have 800+. In Antwerp they have this . Don't even get me started on the Dutch. 12,500 bike parking spots are on the way in some place called Utrecht . Amsterdam has a multi-story bike parking facility, floating bicycle barges round the back and are planning 7000 more spots underwater . Even at the nation's busiest train station, Nørreport, the recent and fancy redesign failed miserably in providing parking that is adequate for the demand . Architects once again failing to respond to actual urban needs. It is time to remedy that. Here is my design for 7550 bike parking spots behind Copenhagen Central Station. Steve C. Montebello i...

The Race for Lithium for Electric Cars and Bicycles

Uyuni Salt Flats, Bolivia. Photo: Ezequiel Cabrera/Wikipedia The coming boom in batteries to electric cars and Lazy Bikes (electric-assist bicycles) means a boom in batteries with which to run them. A new race for natural resources has begun. Enter Lithium, the world's lightest metal. For 150 years it's been nickel and lead that have been used in batteries but the advent of lithium technology has allowed for a revolution. Longer battery life, lighter batteries in our laptaps and mobile phones and iPods. Lithium weighs 1/20th of what nickel and lead do. Lithium is also used in anti-depressive medicine, ceramics and nuclear power. With all this talk of electric cars and bicycles, the demand for lithium is on the verge of exploding. Lithium is the new oil. Enter Boliva. This developing country sits on at least half of the world's supply of lithium, most of it in underground salt layers beneath the world's largest salt flats in Salar de Uyuni , in south-west Boliva. Betwee...

Traffic Safety Orgs Speak for Themselves - Not the Rest of Us

Classic traffic safety organisation narrative. "Stop cycling". By Stephanie Patterson With Mikael Colville-Andersen In the diverse world of traffic planning, advocacy and various movements for liveable cities, there is an odd group of outliers who broadcast conflicting messages. While “traffic safety” organisations seem like a natural part of the gallery and of the narrative, upon closer inspection they exist in a communication vacuum populated exclusively by like-minded organisations. There is little correlation with those organisations who advocate cycling, pedestrianism or safer streets. The traffic safety crowd are in a world unto themselves, with little or no accountability for the campaigns they develop or the messaging they broadcast. They are often allied with insurance companies who clearly take comfort in working with others who embrace scaring the population at large through constructed fear . In many ways, they are a classic subculture, with strong hints...