Green (lights) with envy.

Clarence Eckerson of Streetfilms returns to Copenhagen while Copenhagen continues its return to human scale thinking and development.

 

Journey Around Copenhagen's Latest Bicycle Innovations! from STREETFILMS on Vimeo. 

Copenhagen just keeps finding fun ways to make it easier to bike - and more convienent. I was able to take a nice tour with Mikael Collville-Andersen and see some new innovations that have happened since I was in Copenhagen 4 years ago. 

First off, if you've seen my Streetfilm from the Velo City Conference 2010 (yes, feel free to watch again here) the busiest bicycle street in the world has changed! Now the Knippelsbro Bridge boasts 40,700 riders per day! And speaking of bridges, Copenhagen is building SIX new bike/ped only bridges to help its citizens get around easier.

Last month another cool bridge debuted - the Cykelslangen "Cycle Snake" or "The Snake". You'll see lots of footage as we travelled back and forth over it. It is truly a work of beauty and the riding is incredibly smooth. Even going uphill seems pretty easy! 

You'll see lots of other things that will make you happy (or angry your city isn't doing it!) Including waste baskets angled for cyclists, LED lights that indicate whether riders have to speed up to catch the green wave, and a cool treatment for cobblestone streets that helps make biking easier.