Cycle Superhighways in Capital Region of Denmark

Summary

Copenhagen, the capital city of Denmark, is known worldwide for its exemplary shift in urban mobility, with cycling and walking as the backbone. Together with the neighbouring towns in the capital region of Denmark (1,800,000 inhabitants), the next step is to allow fast, safe, and enjoyably cycling.

Background and Objective

Thirty municipalities have joined forces to create the cycle superhighways —— a regional network of cycling infrastructure. That allows long-distance commuters to commute by bicycle across municipal borders on cohesive and correlating routes. So far, nine routes have been implemented. With 174 km of cycle superhighways today, the aim is to make more than 850 km of cycle superhighways in the region, helping to decrease congestion, improve health, and save the cities and municipalities in the area from large amounts of CO2 and NOx. Effects of this new infrastructure are already showing. On the cycle superhighways, there has been an average 23% increase in the number of cyclists. 14% of new cyclists used to travel by car. And the cyclists ride long distances, whose average trip is 11km (one way). The TC recommends this initiative for several reasons: 1. Scale and strategy: promoting cycling are not new, but the vision behind the initiative and its dimension is impressive. 2. Combining experience with new targets: the superhighways show that exemplary work at one place can be enlarged through multiple actions. 3. Institutional success: organizing such huge infrastructure projects in an entire region with so many institutional actors (30 municipalities) is impressive. 4. Results are visible: this initiative is far beyond a planning phase; it can report a real shift of mobility patterns, proving that people are ready to change their behavior. 5. Direct contribution to climate mitigation and urban development: the results so far indicate that a real CO2 reduction can be achieved, and new opportunities for car-light urban development are opening. 6. Lighthouse initiative for many more: the capital region of Denmark provides an excellent model. It is likely to encourage many cities and regions around the world. The superhighways initiative contributes particularly to SDG 3 (good health), 9 (innovation& infrastructure), 11 (cities), 13 (climate), and 15 (life on land).