Odense is to Copenhagen as Eugene is to Portland

After a few long days of bike touring, we finally made it to Odense! Odense is the third largest city in Denmark, with a population of just a little under 200,000. The city is home to a major university and is the birthplace of famous author Hans Christian Anderson (this is sort of their claim to fame). We met with Connie Juel Clausen, a transportation engineer in the city of Odense, and she explained to us that the city of Odense has invested in many projects to make the city more attractive and popular for young people, families, and really anyone.  

Connie presented to us about the campaigns and initiatives she has worked on to encourage cyclists. They range from just little signs around the city that say, “thanks for cycling!” to families cycling to a fashionable young person cycling. Connie mentions cargo bikes are available for free at some of the bike shops for families to test out for a day or two before purchasing. The city also encourages cycle playgrounds and education for young ones about cycling. There are various bike pumps and tools for free use around the city. Connie explained it is vital to make bicycling a part of common sense for citizens; It must be incorporated in every part of life from space to economics to health to climate protection. Connie revealed that she put cycling in the context of all these aspects and utilized those as selling points or explanations when trying to convince people to implement more cycling, either into their lives or into policy. 

On top of all these cool campaigns and projects, the cycling infrastructure in Odense is quite advanced. There are cycling highways across the city and a major cycling bridge connecting the city over the train station. There were even bike lanes made of cobblestone! I appreciated as a pedestrian and cyclist that the city center of the city was. There was ample room to park my bike and I liked having a chance to bike somewhere and then walk through a lively city center to get to my final destination. I also enjoyed the bike lanes going through the parks! Google Maps took me on beautiful bike lanes through the parks and it was very pleasant and well planned. In Copenhagen, a lot of parks do not allow bikes at all.  

Odense is a perfect example of a midsize city that has mastered cycling infrastructure and encouragement of culture. I think there is a lot of potential to bring these ideas and tactics back to midsize cities in the United States. Particularly, Eugene and Portland. Eugene is very similar in size to Odense, and Portland is very similar in size to Copenhagen. Copenhagen and Odense are also about the same distance apart as Portland and Eugene. On our train ride from Copenhagen to Svendborg, we had a transfer in Odense. The train from Copenhagen to Odense was around an hour, was easy and smooth, and runs about every 30 minutes. I, and many of my friends, have struggled with getting from Eugene to Portland easily. It either takes about an hour and a half by car (without traffic), or longer by train or bus. From my experience, the buses and trains from Eugene to Portland are often delayed, and not pleasant. It was shocking to see how easy it was to get the same distance in a country with a well-functioning rail system. The university culture in Odense is also something like Eugene. I saw many college-aged students biking around, hanging out, spending time in the park, and more! This sort of culture is something I would love to see in Eugene and other midsize cities back in the states.  

Overall, though the Odense leg of our trip consisted of lots of relaxing and reviving ourselves after a lot of cycling, I felt very inspired by the work they have done there to become a midsize-cycle city!  

Yours, 

Macy