The Life-Sized City Blog

Vintage tire repair box. You'll be excused for thinking that May 25th is the Danish version of April 1st. The press last week featured articles about The Danish Working Environment Authority's [Arbejdstilsynet] new rules regarding working conditions in bicycle shops. Bike mechanics are now required to wear gloves and masks when repairing punctures using the vulcanized rubber glue for sticking patches on tubes. In addition, they're required to install a ventilation system in their bike shops. These rules will effectively kill off the possibility of getting a puncture repaired in Denmark. Sure, many people can fix flats themselves. However, many local bike shops [I have 22 bike shops to choose from within a 1 km radius of my flat], earn a fair chunk of their income repairing flats. I always chuck my bike into the shop to have it done. It costs 50 kroner [$10] and if I'm on my way to a meeting, I don't fancy getting my hands dirty or risk getting oil on my suit. It...

It reads "Remember. Stop for red". I've never stopped for red here, unless pedestrians are crossing. Sue me. The police in Copenhagen don't often bother cyclists. When they do, they're kind enough to announce it in advance. This week is "Go After Cyclists" week. The police will be focusing on cyclists in the traffic in the hope of filling some quotas. Funny thing is, I don't recall ever seeing a "Go After Pedestrians" week. And I certainly don't see any long-term concerted effort to "Go After Motorists", which would save lives. But hey... Here's a blogpost from a while back about a previous, symbolic 'bike raid week' in the Danish capital in 2007. So, if you're riding around the city this week, chill. Wait until next week to navigate along your " Desire Lines " and experiment with the anthropolgical mapmaking of your personal urban mobility routes. Save your rolling casually across zebra crossings, t...

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...

Thanks to Bojana for the link to a strange waiver on the website of the town of Perth, Ontario, Canada. It's not as ridiculous as the waiver required for a quiet bike ride in Chicago, as mentioned in the Go Green, Go Dutch, Go Die post , but what makes it odd is that you have to sign it before downloading... cycling maps. Cycling maps. I just had to repeat that. In order to download the pdfs of the Perth & District Cycling Route maps , you first need to read this disclaimer text: Disclaimer: This cycling map has been developed to assist in planning bicycle trips throughout the County of Lanark. Users of this cycling map are responsible for their own safety and use these routes at their own risk. Users should consider not only route conditions but also their level of experience, comfort level riding in traffic, traffic conditions and traffic volume, weather, time of day, and any obstacles, such as construction or potholes, when cycling on any route within the County of Lanark. C...

It's no secret that we're big fans of helmet campaigns for motorists. It would do wonders for reducing car traffic and encouraging people to ride bicycles. We've previously blogged about the first Motoring Helmet, developed in Australia in the late 1980's. Later we covered the Protective Headbands for Motorists developed at the University of Adelaide on the background of an Australian government study that showed that many lives could be saved and serious injuries reduced if car occupants wore helmets or similar devices. We added a blogpost about the headbands here . A few days ago, our colleague, Chris from Britain's CTC, sent us the link to Driving Without Dying. It's a Canadian website called Driving Without Dying by a man named Jack who says, "There are giant gaps in highway safety that need to be filled. My legacy to humanity is to change the driving habits of the entire world and I don't care how long it takes." The man sounds committed. ...

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...

I like details like this. Even when you have a big, bad-ass book featuring all the Best Practice for bicycle infrastructure - ( How many cars on that street each day? What's the speed limit? Right... turn to page 86 for your bicycle lane, please ) - there is often the need and possibility for details that fit one particular spot. It's where bicycle traffic planners get to be creative. This bicycle turn lane is in the Danish city of Roskilde, outside the train station. Like every other Danish city, there are bike lanes. Separated or painted, depending on the traffic volume. Most traffic here continues straight on but there are those who need to turn left. Take out a little piece of sidewalk and wiggle in a turn lane. Sweet. This one features a button for the cyclist to press when they need to turn. There's no irritating waiting time, it's a quick, efficient process. Perfect for Citizen Cyclists on their way through the town.

There was a record low number of traffic fatalities in Copenhagen in 2009. Five people lost their lives, compared to 16 in 2008. Right off the bat I'll say that apart from being wonderful news, such stats are tricky. 2006 was the best year ever for fewest traffic fatalities in Denmark but there was nothing special about that year. These stats rise and fall seemingly without logic. There are, however, many good things that can be done. The current municipal government, including the Mayor in charge of the traffic department, Bo Asmus Kjeldgaard , has bounced around the idea about lowering the speed limit to 40 km/h in Copenhagen. ( It's a great step in the right direction, but I don't actually understand why the 30 km/h zones we're seeing all over Europe aren't on the table. There are amazing safety results from all the cities that have implemented them. I guess Bo Asmus didn't see my Christmas wish list from last year. ) But hey... let's just concentrate on...

The city of Malmö, Sweden is no stranger to bicycle infrastructure. Just across the bridge from Copenhagen, Sweden's third-largest city has over 40 miles of bicycle lanes. Now those are Swedish miles, mind you, and a Swedish 'mil' equals 10 km so even I can figure out without a calculator that we're looking at 400 km of bicycle infrastructure. (The City of Copenhagen has about 350 km although Greater Copenhagen has over 1000 km of cycle tracks and bike lanes). The point being that Malmö , with a population of about 300,000 plus the metro area, is quite a brilliant cycle-friendly city. Anyway... this is the GPS age. The City of Malmö decided that many bits of bicycle infrastructure should be given names so that they can be plotted into GPS gadgets. It doesn't apply to cycle tracks that run along streets - those streets have names already - but the City has named a long list of bits and pieces of infrastructure that are separated from traffic. Paths that run do...

Here we have a graph from Sweden showing helmet usage and number of cyclists in the 6-15 age group. Erik from Ecoprofile.se blogged about it, in Swedish on his own blog . While helmet usage is up, the number of kids cycling is going down. They passed each other like ships in the night in 2007. Shocking, really, and a lesson to be learned. The graph is from VTI, Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute . I can certainly understand why Swedish MP Camilla Lindberg has proposed a motion in the Swedish parliament to repeal the helmet law in her country. Hey! How about a contest?! Have a look on the graph and answer these two questions: 1. Which year did helmet promotion begin in Sweden? 2. Which year did the country pass a helmet law for under 15's? It's bit tricky with the second question, but hey, it's a quiz. No cheating with Google, just look at the graph. Put your answer in the comments and add your name. The first right answer will recieve this messenger bag...