Monthly Archives: June 2022

Exploring as a tourist

Yesterday (6/26) I did more touristy things than I had the whole trip. It was still fun and good to experience a different side of Copenhagen. I went to the Rosenborg castle with Claressa where we saw a lot of cool art and old furniture. The castle was walking distance from the hostel and right near the Jazz Festival. It had 5 stories, including 2 in the basement. We saw renaissance style art of the kings and queens and their portraits as well. The castle was built in the 1600s and it was interesting to see how well many pieces of it were preserved. My favorite parts were the Crown Jewels and the weapons with rubies embedded in them. The weapons were swords and knives used in battle. Additionally, on display they also had a bloodied outfit from one of the Denmark v. Sweden battles where the king lost an eye.
After the castle, I went on a walk through the botanical gardens. It was so peaceful and nice to explore a large green space in the middle of the city. I walked by the pond, a fun bridge and saw many flowers. The pond was full of Lilly pads and looked so beautiful and refreshing. I sat near the plants and was able to relax for a bit. I hope to go back and check out the dock more, the gift shop and the butterfly garden. My favorite parts were the sculptures throughout the garden and the aster flowers I saw. The best statue was of Artemis, the Greek goddess, and her stag.

Bike Infrastructure

For specific bike infrastructure, it’s a lot easier to navigate than in the states. One of the examples of bike infrastructure I like is metal posts on the side of the sidewalk where you can rest you foot and hand while waiting on your bike for the light to turn green. There are also more traffic lights meant specifically for bikes, similar to the one on 13th in Eugene that is sensor activated. The ones in Copenhagen are much more common to find and also seem more accurate. Another example of bike infrastructure is the curbs. A lot of the curbs have spaces with concrete filled in gaps to ride your bike over. That way you don’t have to jump the curb and worry about falling. Many more streets also have protected and separate bike lanes, so that you aren’t having to ride right next to cars. You also never have to ride on the sidewalks and worry about hitting pedestrians. Additionally, I like that the cars and pedestrians here are much more likely to yield for you. At home, I have to avoid pedestrians like crazy, especially in the middle of UO campus. They also have more pedestrians and bicycle only bridges which are really fun to ride across. Additionally, the road has blue painted bike lanes in areas without separated bike lanes, so the path still stands out. I also see a lot more bike racks wherever I go and there is less worry about your bike being stolen than in Eugene. I think that’s probably because so many people have their own bikes already. For example, we just lock the back wheel of our bike. Back home, I always use a u-lock. There are painted blue and green bike paths on the street so that bikes no where to go that I also like. Lastly, we learned about how the culture in Denmark is more centered around biking. Kids can learn how to bike at a free playground that simulates traffic. They also learn about how to bike from a much younger age, usually around 2-3. The kids don’t use training wheels either.

Scavenger hunt

Day 3! Today, Bridgette and I went and did our scavenger hunt in Frederiksberg, which was a neighborhood neither of us had been to before. We saw a lot of green spaces and parks, which is always a nice break in a busy city. We walked through a large cemetery with cool, tall trees and paths that were just for pedestrians, as well as some for bikers. On the scavenger hunt, we had to find a pastry, so we each ate a cinnamon roll type twist. It was really yummy, especially the icing! We asked the owner which baked good was her most popular and that’s the one she pointed out to us. We took some photos of old buildings too. One was a church and the other one seemed like a school. Additionally, the neighborhood had a lot of murals and more art than other neighborhoods I’ve explored in Copenhagen. For a more modern building, we looked at an apartment complex with big glass windows and another living space on top of the grocery store. Next, we took a photo of an item you couldn’t find in a U.S. grocery store. These were chocolate cookies called “Prince.” They looked interesting to me because from the picture they seemed like Ritz crackers with Nutella inside them. The mural photo I took seemed to represent the neighborhood well, as it was so art focused. Lastly, for things that interested it us, we took more art photos and photos of buildings with unique colors. One photo of the buildings was a really pretty salmon color and reminded me of an office or hotel.

Playgrounds tour

The traffic playground were toured as a group was really cool. So was one park we visited with a tower for the kids to climb and another one with trampolines. We saw another playground in it that had houses based on the houses in the apartment building next to it. There was a lot of emphasis on climbing in these playgrounds, seemed to be something for kids of all ages, and the designs looked a lot more modern or unique than playgrounds in the U.S. I noticed less kids being watched by adults as well. A lot of kids just hanging out and fewer adults were there than I would have expected. We went to two staffed playgrounds and that was interesting too, because I had never heard of those before. I didn’t notice the staff being too involved, just walking over when the kids needed something. One of the playgrounds had a bubble machine that was going the whole time and kids playing chess. I also liked how the playgrounds were blocked off more from the street, either with trees or gates. This seemed a lot safer, and they had less noise pollution because they were further from the street. Lastly, I noticed how there was a lot more emphasis on art in these parks.

Bike experiences in Copenhagen (6/22)

The bike culture is a lot different in Copenhagen than in Eugene. I notice many more people on bikes, less people in athletic clothes, more people in work attire and professional clothes, less people wearing helmets, and people tend to bike quieter. I expected to hear more people talking on bikes, either on the phone or to their friends, but that seems to be less common so far. Also, many times when people pass you on the left, they don’t ring their bell or say anything, which can be intimating for a new visitor trying to figure out where there are going and the bike norms. Overall, the cars seem a lot less dangerous than in Eugene. In Eugene, it feels like you are in the cars way a lot. Here, it is more like the car is in YOUR way- as a biker. You can pretty much bike on any street, even the ones that are one way traffic or just meant for pedestrians. I also notice that the Danish bike very fast, probably because they are used to doing it every day. I see more people with bike cargos and less people with electric bikes than I do in Eugene. I also notice that you have to worry more about other bikers getting angry at you than drivers, which was a new feeling.

Transportation Assignment

I observed a rapid flashing beacon site in Eugene. Rapid flashing beacons (RFB) are enhancements to improve pedestrian safety at uncontrolled, marked crosswalks. They include an LED- light source to alert drivers that a pedestrian (or cyclists) is crossing the road. All a pedestrian has to do is push a button before crossing when using these. I found that they made it faster for pedestrians to cross the street, instead of regular crosswalks. I chose this assignment so that I could track how safe it is for pedestrians and cyclists to cross busy streets. The rapid flashing beacon I looked at was near Amazon Park, on Hilyard St. It was between E. 31st and 32nd avenue. I observed the area on a weekday, from 12:15-2:15pm. Because of this time of day, it was busy for pedestrians and vehicles.

I tracked 13 pedestrians cross at the RFB site during my two hours spent on Hilyard St. doing observations. I only noticed six cyclists crossing using the RFB. 10 of these pedestrians pushed the beacon button before crossing, while three did not. I also wanted to observe if the vehicles yielded or not when the RFB light was flashing. I observed 45 cars that yielded when the light was flashing. This included while the pedestrian or cyclist was actively crossing and for the moments right after they crossed, while the light was still flashing. I observed 14 cars not yielding to the pedestrians. When cars did not yield, it was usually just after the pedestrian clicked the button, so they didn’t have time to react and slow down. Some cars also did not yield when the pedestrian was on the other side of the road onto the sidewalk, but the RFB was still flashing. Overall I found the RFB lights are extremely helpful for safety of pedestrians and should be put in more busy areas in Eugene, especially near schools and active recreation sites. However, they could be improved or a different feature should be used for cyclists, as pushing the button was more difficult for them. The difficulty came from the RFB button being placed on the sidewalk, which was closer to pedestrians than cyclists in the road or bike lane.

Why I’m here

Hi everyone!

I’m most looking forward to biking around the cities and seeing what we in the United States can learn from Denmark and the Netherlands. I’m especially excited to go on the long bike rides between the cities, as I love biking in open spaces and for long distances. Additionally, I want to try new food, ride on a canal in Amsterdam, participate in Midsommar in Copenhagen and watch the end of the Tour de France. I’m excited to have class time and free time, so that I can learn about biking, while also exploring the city on my own.

I bike around Eugene for transportation and recreation so this course is applicable to my everyday life. I want to learn more about specific bike infrastructure techniques that would make biking in Eugene more attainable for everyone. Even people who might me scared of biking or feel that it’s too complicated of a way to commute. Additionally, I study public policy and environmental studies, so this course will help me gain new experiences to support my coursework and experience sustainable transportation as a biker. I also hope to learn more about what it’s like to live as a local in a foreign city, as my travel experience is limited and has been more tourist activity focused in the past. Lastly, I hope to learn about the bike culture in these countries and know more about the history of biking. For example, why is Amsterdam so world-renowned for bike accessibility? Why do so many Danish people bike to work? What encourages these policy choices? I’m looking forward to answering these questions and many more on my month abroad.

First Post!

First post! Hi everyone, I’m Lucy Partridge. I’m a third-year undergraduate student in the Planning, Public Policy and Management. This blog will follow my month long journey abroad in The Netherlands and Denmark. This course is called “Designing Cities for People on Bike” and is taught by Rebecca Lewis and Nicholas Meltzer. My journey starts June 20th, 2022 in Copenhagen and ends on July 18th in Amsterdam. We’ll also visit cities like Svendborg, Korinth, Odense, Nijmegen and Utrecht. I’m excited to report on my travels and meet other students interested in bike infrastructure!