The Life-Sized City Blog

Part 1- Værnedamsvej Copenhagenize Design Co. has once again put our Desire Line analysis tool to good use in studying the behaviour and trajectories of bicycle users crossing a major intersection. We started with our Choreography of an Urban Intersection and have also applied it to studying a shared pedestrian/cyclist space in Islands Brygge . Based on the analysis of these “Desire lines”, we study and then propose changes to create urban spaces tailored for humans – cyclists and pedestrians. Today we can present a new case: a lively, neighbourhood street with a name unpronouncable to foreigners (like most streets in Copenhagen): Værnedamsvej. Værnedamsvej is a lovely little street lined with small shops and cafés/restaurants. These businesses and the French school, with around 800 students, create a bustling environment. Years ago the street was nicknamed Butchers Street (Slagtergade) because of the many meatmongers. Now, because of the ...

At CopenhagenizeDesign Co.   we certainly trust bicycle users' abilities to ride on the safest, easiest and quickest routes. The key to our Fixes is almost always found in our observations of the Desire Lines of the bicycle users and their behavior. We firmly believe that before redesiging the street the intersections on either end must be fixed. Here are our proposals. Northern intersection:  Værnedamsvej - Gammel Kongevej - Svanholmsvej To redesign this intersection we will use respect the Desire Lines of the bicycle users who use it . We'll propose changes to the infrastructure to maximise the safety of the intersection and make the wayfinding more clear. Our Desire Lines analysis shows that there are two problems caused by the asymmetrical nature of the intersection Værnedamsvej and Gammel Kongevej: 1. For bicycle users leaving Værnedamsvej a usual Copenhagen Left is unnatural, causing bicycle users to make a direct turn. This seems a safe route, but cou...

Part 1: Introduction - Desire Lines on  Værnedamsvej   Part 2: The Desire Lines tool applied to an asymmetric intersection (Værnedamsvej , Gammel Kongevej, Svanholmsvej) Here we get to focus on a major abberration in the street layout of Copenhagen. An intersection where bicycle users - and basically everyone else - have no normal way to cross the intersection. Indeed, the junction Værnedamsvej , Vesterbrogade and Frederiksberg Allé, is complex and not completely regulated by traffic lights. Generally, it's a bit weird. What contributes to the confusion is the fact the municipal border between Copenhagen and Frederiksberg zig zags bizarrely through the area. It is also worth noting that ALL the bicycle infrastructure in place is on the Copenhagen side of the intersection. Frederiksberg hasn't bothered to do much at all. Except for seemingly wishing to priortize cars. Here are the results of our observations made in October 2013 during the morning rush hour. Sout...