The Life-Sized City Blog

Update: Segways are now legal. But only because the people of Copenhagen need something to laugh at. And that handful of Americans a day looking so hilariously out of place on their dork machines in the world's best city for cycling - and a walkable city - are just the ticket. Seriously. We mock you. Segways look like something out of a cancelled Jetsons episode and should never have evolved from a drawing on paper to a working model. The Danish police don't seem to fancy them either. They're cracking down on Segways in Copenhagen. A company Segway Tours CPH have been running Segway tours of the city. 399 kroner, according to their website. They've been running the tours for a year or so. (You can rent a bike and get a guided tour with Bike With Mike for only 260 kroner , enjoying a wider radius of sightseeing and fitting in with the local population instead of sticking out like a sore, geektech thumb) But Segways are illegal in Denmark. They're not appr...

It was announced today that Danish State Railways [DSB] will allow bicycles to travel free on the red S-trains that serve Greater Copenhagen and suburbs. It is a test period that starts this Friday and that will last for the rest of the year. DSB hope to make everyday journeys easier for Copenhageners and encourage more people to use their bicycle. It normally only costs 12 kroner [$2.25] for a bicycle ticket - even less if you buy a ten trip card, as above, but completing removing the need for a ticket will encourage many more people to combine train and bike on their daily journey. All the rules about taking your bicycle on the S-Train still apply, it's just free now. The S-trains have about 7.5 million passengers a month. DSB is not concerned about the increase in bicycles in the specially designed bike/pram/wheelchair compartments. " We have personnel on board to help people move around and rearrange so there is space for everyone. We are very confident that there will b...

Marc, from Amsterdamize , and I both got a kick out of this. He picked up this on his stats for his website. A visitor to Amsterdamize who arrived via Copenhagenize's post about the World's Most Bicycle-Friendly Cities . Let's hope they're worried as shit because their time is running out.

Now THIS is how to promote cycling. No fear mongering from helmet advocates, just pure joy. Showing the facts about the health benefits of cycling without mentioning them. Absolutely brilliant advert from Hungary. Her bag reads, "Bike to Work." The dialogue goes like this: Lady: Would you like some tea? Man: Yes, that would be lovely, thanks. Telltale noises from the other side of the wall. Lady [muttering under her breath]: You should rather be biking, too, Rezso. The tagline at the end is "You should rather be biking, too..." With the Olympics in full swing I thought I'd post this little screen grab: We fancy our rowing in Denmark - mostly because we usually win medals - and watching the rowing I was fascinated by the long line of bicycles on shore, following the boats. So aesthetic - human powered boats dancing with human-powered bicycles. Here's a little addendum to a previous post about our Electric Boogie elderly/disabled citizens, happily humming abo...

The Mayor in charge of traffic and environment, Klaus Bondam , has a new idea. He has been trying, together with the Lord Mayor Ritt Bjerregaard , to implement road pricing in Copenhagen in order to limit the amount of motorised traffic. The problem is that the national government is of the right-wing variety and they are blocking the plans. Even though the studies from cities that have road pricing are overwhelmingly positive. So he has now proposed something City Hall calls ' Intelligent Traffic Control '. It involves setting up sensors that measure air pollution in Copenhagen and the levels of pollution they report will regulate the traffic heading into the city. If the pollution levels are too high on any particular day, all the traffic lights on the main roads into the city will turn red and stay red longer than normal. The time the traffic lights are green will be reduced by 10 percent. Motorists will be informed by the internet or text messages before they leave for work...