The Life-Sized City Blog

Okay... it's an attention-grabbing headline, sure. But it's not even my own invention. The Danish Police are going after cyclists and scooters this week across the kingdom. They do so a couple of times a year. The police are probably very good at a lot of things but let's face it... marketing isn't one of them. It's safe to say that they get all their marketing tips from the equally hopeless Danish Road Safety Council, and then they promptly make it even worse. John Sckaletz is the head of the traffic police in Copenhagen and he has actually said this week that, " The traffic law is the only law where the death penalty still applies ". He said that. That's the police's "cleverly worded campaign" at the moment. Well done! Well thought out! How very positive! The police want to "put an end to" cyclists who roll casually through a red light or across a pedestrian crossing. They are clearly of the opinion that such infractions shou...

The City of Malmö is located in the south of Sweden, just across the bridge from Copenhagen. It's Sweden's third-largest city. The City's bicycle office and transport department are also quite brilliant at promoting cycling. In fact, I asked one of the communications people at the City of Copenhagen's Bicycle Office a while back who they were positively influenced by and he replied, "Malmö" without hestitation. Followed by the Dutch Fietsersbond. Which speaks volumes. They have had a successful campaign running for four years now called " No Ridiculous Car Trips ". They discovered a few years back that 50% of all trips under 5 km were by car in the city and they decided to do something about it. The campaign has been a massive success. In the film, above, you can hear all about how and why the campaign started. I like how they turn the tables in their marketing. Directing confronting that very simple fact that using cars for short trips in their ci...

Cartoon by Roald Als in the Danish newspaper Politiken . It reads: "You're free to play..." I just don't get this Vanity Myth. No matter how hard real bicycle advocates work at getting people onto bicycles there is always a little group of people - let's call them The Fear Minority - who claim that the primary reason for people not to wear bike helmets is... vanity. That's it. Period. People who ride bicycles without a plastic hat are vain. They do so merely because of their hairdo or image. They are egocentric and arrogant and, as this little group of fear merchants will have you believe, they are shitting on the rest of society by acting so selfishly. Seriously... is that all they got ? Is that the best they can dream up? The Vanity Myth is the singlemost telling clue that The Fear Minority are quite desperate. They are acutely aware that they don't have any conclusive scientific evidence to show, so they start a personal attack and attempt t...

Here's an interesting film by Mike Rubbo, documentarist turned bicycle advocate, who traveled north to Darwin, Northern Territory to explore the territory's unique bike helmet excemption law. The Northern Territory mandated helmet use along with the rest of the country in the 1990's. Like the rest of the nation, they saw cycling levels drop. In an attempt to get people to ride again, they repealed - or rather adjusted - the law and allowed for helmet-free cycling on footpaths and bike paths. The result? It's in the film and in Mike's post over at his SitUp-Cycle.com blog . It's been 20-odd years since I was last in Darwin. Maybe I could find a travel agency specialising in Rationality Destinations and get me a ticket to the 'top end's' bicycle paradise.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about how right turns for cyclists should be allowed at red lights . So it was refreshing to click onto a link sent by a number of Danish readers this morning. The headline was enough to get us excited: Copenhagen Ready to Allow Right Turns for Cyclists at Red Lights . The national police have announced that it will be up to local authorities to decide if they wish to pass bylaws allowing right turns for cyclists at red lights as well as allowing them to continue straight on at T-intersections. The police have traditionally had a less than positive attitude towards making life easier for cyclists. Their announcement comes as a pleasant surprise. The Mayor in charge the Technical and Environmental Administration [councillor for the Dept of Transport], Bo Asmus Kjeldgaard [second from left in the above photo] says: "It's a fantastic, liberating announcment. We want to be the best bicycle city, therefore we need to get more people onto bikes. And th...

A resident of Vancouver, Canada has started a new church. The Church of Sit Up Cycling. Cycling 'enthusiasts' have long exhibited a passion for their hobby or sport that resembles religious observance. Now the realm of worship has come to the aesthetic art and act of regular citizens riding upright bicycles. We like this theological uprighteousness. Reverend James Twowheeler is the 'nom de plume' of the church's founder. As stated on the church's website: Wearing their normal work and play clothes is an essential religious practice of members of the Church of Sit-Up Cycling. This may or may not include wearing plastic hats. Believers wholly endorse the use of such accident-preventing safety measures as lights, bells, height, strict compliance with traffic signals, a leisurely pace and the use of dedicated cycling streets and lanes. Reverend Twowheeler discovered a potential loophole in British Columbia's Motor Vehicle Act . British Columbia is one ...

Turning right at red lights is not permitted in Denmark, like it is in many other countries, including Germany. I don't actually know why or when this law was put into place (hint: please tell me if you know). On occasion there are vague mumbles from the Danish bicycle advocacy wilderness about making it possible for bicycles to turn right at lights but little comes of it. Everytime I ride past this sign on Borups Allé I get a warm, fuzzy feeling. It reads No Right Turn (except bicycles). The warm, fuzzy feeling is often followed by a dismayed shake of the head, wondering why this isn't standard for bicycles throughout the Danish kingdom.

The final negotiations are underway about the proposed bridge from Denmark to Germany - the Femern Belt Bridge between the Danish island of Lolland and the German island of Fehmarn. Copenhagenize is wondering if we'll be third-time lucky. When the 17.5 km long Great Belt Fixed Link - linking the islands Zealand and Funen - was being planned in the 1990's, there was talk of adding bicycle infrastructure but it never gained any ground. When the bridge was completed in 1998, cyclists who previously could ride onto the ferry were then forced to take the train or a bus in order to cross between east and west Denmark. The next massive bridge project was the 15 km long Öresund Fixed Link between Denmark and Sweden , completed in 2000. Again, there were voices in the wilderness calling for bicycle infrastructure to be added to the construction. Again, nothing came of it. Cyclists who could take their bicycles on ferries from Copenhagen and Malmö now had to take the train. It must be...

I was just reading this article " Bicyclists to LA Drivers: We are traffic " and I recalled a poster I had done last year. Isn't it time to just make this point? Fortunately, there is a silver-lining in the clouds of anti-bicycle sentiment. A spot of research in the UK has shown that sentiment towards cyclists is actually rather positive and it's improving. Read the good news at The Guardian: " Cyclists! The public thinks you're cool and normal "

Another poster generated from the wealth of leftovers from a job for a client. Let me know if any other taglines pop into your mind. Maybe the text could be different.