The Life-Sized City Blog

As we've mentioned before here on the blog the City of Copenhagen decided a number of years ago to quietly remove 2-3% of city space designated for cars and return it to people. A little added initiative to accompany the regular developments of bicycle infrastructure and pedestrian space. It is often done so quietly that it even sneaks up on those of us who know to look for it. I've been down this street a billion times. Then, looking out of my friend's flat window down at the street I noticed a little spot of reclaimed land. A single car parking space taken over by a subtle sidewalk extension. It's a side street with little through-traffic so it is hardly an in-your-face affront to car parkers everywhere. But it's nice. It serves absolutely no function whatsoever in its current state. To the right is the entrance to a back courtyard where people come in an out on bicycles or not. I would bet that bike racks are planned for it, as there are none right outside...

We've written about parking zones before. The City of Copenhagen has been testing painted zones in order to help people park a little less chaotic. It was tested in Amsterdam as well, and in both cities it seemed to work quite well. My friend Michiel from the Dutch Fietsersbond (Cycling Union) sent me the above film about a Dutch artist, Roosmarijn Vergouw, who created sculptures of parked bicycles using only tape and, in the process, discovered that people will park in the zones when they're there. She calls it Fietsenzwermen - Bicycle Swarm (I'm guessing). It's amazing to see how disciplined the cyclists became when there was tape on the ground. Vergouw now has an idea to do a similar project using spotlights. The City of Amsterdam's Bicycle Office is interested in hearing more. Here's a Dutch-language article about it in the Fietsersbond's magazine - opens as a .pdf .

Photo: Niels Ahlmann Olesen for Berlingske.dk / Urban.dk The City of Copenhagen has been on a 'charm offensive' since April 2010. The goal is to get more people to use the bike racks around the city's Metro stations, instead of leaning them up against everything else. Here's the simple trick. If you park your bicycle illegally, the City will move it over to the bike racks. Instead of finger-wagging, they will then oil your chain , pump your tires and leave a little note on your bicycle asking to kindly use the bike racks in the future. How brilliant is that? And the great thing is that the initiative has worked. "It's about getting people to stop parking their bicycles in areas that emergency service vehicles need to access if there is an incident at a Metro station", said Project Leader Poul Erik Kinimond, as his colleague Morten Schelbech oils a chain in the background. Twice a day they move bicycles at the city's largest Metro stations. "We...

The City put in a traffic calming measure on this street next to Saint Hans Square in the Nørrebro neighbourhood. It was a perfect opportunity to plant some bike racks on the raised curb sections. This area is a hotbed of bars, cafés and restaurants so both the narrowed street and the bike racks are fantastic details. I also enjoy the symbolism of a car being forced to slow down and navigate past long rows of bicycles. It's like a sandwich.

How lovely and polite, this tag placed on a bicycle at Copenhagen International Airport. "Undesirable Bicycle Parking With respect for the free passage of passengers and the emergency services, we ask you to please place your bicycle in the established bicycle racks in the future." And on another part of the bicycle was this tag: "Is this bicycle in use? Remove this tag before 16.05.2010 so we can see that it is in use. Otherwise the bicycle will be removed by the police."

Bikerakk is a New Zealand product - a bicycle rack made from steel and covered in a softer outer layer made from four used car tyres. The rear wheel is a glass disk that can be used for signage. To be honest, the production process seems to be a trifle overcomplicated just for a bike rack. A rubbery outer layer made of car tyres is a gimmick that doesn't serve much purpose unless you have some fancy, expensive wonderbike, which most people don't. Sheesh, if I was worried about scratches on my bicycles in this city, I would bubblewrap them and leave them in the cellar. BUT... with all that said, it's symbolism, which we like here at Copenhagenize. It's the bicycle as a symbol in cities and towns. The more symbolism the better if we're to reestablish the bicycle as a feasible, respected and accepted transport form. The Bikerakk is bold and oversized which is all the better. It's a sculptural addition to the cityscape. The "I used to be a car tyre" sloga...

I spotted this around Nørreport metro station. A sign from the City of Copenhagen. The train and metro station are the busiest in the nation. This is, apparently, a rescue zone in case of an accident. The sign reads: Rescue Zone Is your bicycle gone? Maybe it's in the bike rack on Israel's Square. We moved it to be on the safe side. [or 'for the sake of safety'] I like the gentle, helpful tone. What a nice sign. The City moves bicycles a hundred metres away to a large bike rack on the nearby square so that the rescue zone is kept clear and they let you know where you can, perhaps, find it.

The Copenhagen Central Station has been the most massive bicycle magnet in the country for a century. The streets around the station are flooded with bicycles. Plans were revealed today for a new parking complex with room for... 7000 bicycles! behind the station. »Now more than ever there is a need for bike parking at the train stations and the problem won't get better with the coming Metro extension construction around the city", said Klaus Bondam - Mayor in charge of the Dept. of Transport. The idea is to widen the bridge behind the station - Tietgensbroen - so that it covers more of the railyard. The design for the new bicycle parking will be decided through an architecture competition that will start in the new year. The parking complex is expected to be finished in 2013. It will be financed by the City of Copenhagen, Danish State Railways and Banedanmark. 7000!

It's the new bicycle parking terminal outside Union Station in Washington, DC. Opening very soon, if not already. There'll be, if I recall correctly, parking for 150 bicycles, a shop/workshop, changing rooms for the cyclists who go too fast [:-)] and lockers. Outside of opening hours subscribers can gain access with a card. It's a useful and practical addition to the city but it's much, much more than that. Firstly, it's an eye-catching design. A little architectural monument. It sends many more signals than "see, I'm a pretty, modern building!" It sends signals to the city at large that the bicycle isn't really going anywhere. That the people riding bicycles you're seeing around town are here to stay. There may even be more on the way. Get used to it. It's an important visual landmark that with it's permanence is telling the citizens that bicycles are, and deserve to be, an accepted, respected and increasingly established transport for...

In the ruthless, cutthroat world of finding bicycle parking in Copenhagen, some citizens have taken to drastic measures to secure prime parking spots. This outside the Central Library.

We posted a while back about the bike rack design competition in New York City. As it happens, the winners were announced and the design duo from Copenhagen won the contest. Ian Mahaffy and Maarten De Greeve’s design reflects a modern simplicity that will greatly enhance the City’s streetscape. The rack is round with a horizontal crossbar, evoking an abstracted bicycle tire. Constructed of cast-metal, the design is elegant yet sturdy enough to withstand the harshest street environments. Congratulations. According to plan these racks will be the official bike racks of NYC and will be set up around the city. There were also indoor bike parking designs in competition. Have a look here to see the winners. Thanks to our reader Sean for the heads up.

I love this. There is no need for a little ramp here. It requires no great effort to get your bike from backyard bike racks to the street. Nevertheless, some Copenhagener deemed it necessary and cosy to make one. They used time and effort for this little bit of niceness. Every little bit helps. UPDATE Regarding our previous post about IKEA's collaboration with Velorbis in loaning out bikes and trailers from their big box stores , here's a little update. The first IKEA in Copenhagen to loan out the bikes is in Gentofte, north of the city. Since the programme started, IKEA reps from Sweden, Germany and China have flown in to visit the Gentofte store and to see the Velorbis bikes and trailers in action. The response has been overwhelmingly positive, so here's hoping the idea spreads quicker than a Dane can dismount a bicycle. Read more at the website for the programme FREETRAILER.DK

Our bike culture has come a long way over the past century and a bit. Back in the day, in the late 1800's, riding bikes was not considered cool. Cyclists were spit on and heckled [kind of like riding in American cities in 2007...] because cycling was viewed as a disturbance. Indeed, cycling in some Danish cities was illegal. The town of Slagelse, for example, first legalised cycling in 1885. Since then, however, we've gone from strength to strength, creating one of the world's leading bike nations and the world's foremost bike city - Copenhagen. Above: The train station in Odense, Denmark in the 1940's. Note the bike racks on the right. The same as these ones in a Copenhagen backyard. Above: Manned bike parking in Odense, Denmark during WW2. An association that battled unemployment set up safe bike parking facilities so you could leave you bike behind for a cheap price - 25 øre - and not worry about your tyres getting stolen. Rubber was rationed. Another manned bik...