In a city of cyclists, Copenhagen pedestrians speak up

Some bicyclists are notorious about ignoring traffic laws. In Copenhagen, which has become a world center in cycling, the threat posed by bikers riding on sidewalks or disobeying other rules has spurred formation of the Danish Pedestrian Association (membership: about 160, as compared to the 17,000 members of the Danish Cyclist Federation).

The New York Times reports that conflict between bicyclists and pedestrians has become a sore point with some Danes, especially older folks who feel threatened by bike riders on sidewalks. But once you get past the Times article's headline and opening paragraphs, it becomes apparent that conditions in Denmark's capital are actually getting better, not worse.

“Last year, we had the lowest number of traffic accidents ever, including the lowest number of fatalities involving bicycles ever,” Frits Bredal, spokesman for the Cyclist Federation, told the paper. In 2010, the number of seriously injured cyclists dropped to 92, including 3 fatalities. That's a huge drop from the 252 people seriously injured only five years earlier.

Every day, 55 percent of the 1.2 million inhabitants of Copenhagen bike to work or school, says Andreas Rohl, who heads a city program aimed at making bicycles the dominant mode of transportation. Bike lanes abound, and are well used. 

Copenhagen has programs alerting bicylists to the need to ride in a safe manner. Remarkably, the city uses the carrot as well as the stick: Representatives of the city sometimes stop bicyclists who have displayed exemplary behavior, and reward them by giving them small boxes of chocolate.