The latest Copenhagen bike story: bike "super highways"

[PotomacCyclist]

http://www.citylab.com/commute/2014/11/how-the-danish-cooperated-to-build-a-bicycle-superhighway/382982/

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Each weekday morning here, hundreds of commuters in the municipality of Furesø get on their bikes for the one-hour ride into Copenhagen.

They can ride quite fast on the first stretch of trail, a straight path between quiet forest and noisy roads. Later, bikers pass blocks of drab council housing and a lake area with lots of geese before arriving in the bustle of the Danish capital. Here, the path is thick with cyclists, not just the long-distance commuters but also girls with flowers on their bike baskets and parents hauling kids in bicycle trailers.

This is Route C95, also known as the Farum route, one of two cycling “super highways” that have recently opened here. They’re part of a fast-growing network of bike infrastructure targeted specifically at suburban commuters, featuring smooth pavement, good lighting, separation from traffic, safe road crossings, rain shelters, and air pumps. A total of 28 routes with 467 km (290 miles) of cycle paths are planned. Eleven of these will be ready by the end of 2018.

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[KLizotte]

Oz does exist!!!

[PotomacCyclist]

We should get something like this built in Northern Virginia and Maryland. We have some good trails already, but certainly not 28 bike super highways.

[dkel]

…innovative ideas like timing stop lights at road crossings to favor bikes rather than cars. Another idea was to include “conversation lanes” wide enough for two people to ride side-by-side and talk.

I think about light timing every time I try to cross Gallows on the W&OD. Also, every time I ride the trails with someone, I wish they were wider. That’s being pretty nit-picky though, considering how nice it is to be able to commute daily on the W&OD.

[Author]

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