Car Friendly Campaign in Copenhagen

It boggles the mind. It really does. These signs appeared on our bike lanes over the past couple of days, when you're approaching a side street. It reads, "Keep your eye on the side streets."

It's the latest car-friendly campaign from auto industry's favourite national traffic safety council - Rådet for Sikkertrafik. They've been protecting the car industry for decades and they're at it again.

Upon seeing the spray-painted sign I rolled up to the side street and looked for a corresponding warning sign for the motorists approaching from this direction.

Nothing. No brightly-coloured signs or posters or painted warning on the street reading, "Watch out for cyclists and pedestrians!"

No in your face billboard warning them of the fact that it's cars, driven by motorists, that kill.

Classic Ignoring the Bull from people who should know better. Here's a previous post about behavourial campaign challenges.

If the warnings on the bike lanes HAD corresponding messages to the motorists on the side streets, it may actually make sense. But they don't. The paradigm shift in this nation is becoming more and more defined. Less bicycle-friendly. More car-centric.

At the very least, here are some bad examples that we all can learn from. Now if only we had a cyclist organisation that could counter the constant attacks on our liveable cities and our bicycle culture. If only.

Driving Kills - Health Warnings

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Overcomplicating Winter Cycling - Why It's Bad

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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...

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