Cycling Super Highways are desired routes connecting small communities surrounding Copenhagen to the greater metropolitan area to make cycling to and from work in the city feasible and desirable. Currently, there are over 60 superhighways that cover more than 850km of paths connecting 29 municipalities.
I had the opportunity to stroll along the Roskilderuten route that connects Copenhagen city center to the smaller city of Roskilde. Measuring 28.8km long, it is currently one of the longest cycle highways established. Taking on this cycle highway was a challenge, given its distance and what I would find out on the ride, the elevation changes.
The cycle path itself runs along both sides of a significant auxiliary road, so it was quite loud for the entirety of my ride. However, the presence of the cars did not spark any of my anxiety which would
have been going off the charts if I had been cycling alongside a similar road in Salem or Eugene. It was essentially the equivalent of biking alongside West 11th where all of the grocery stores are in Eugene. This is made even more true by the accompanying strip malls and car dealerships that I passed.
The eras of architecture also shifted through the centuries. As I left Copenhagen, the 1800s 5-story buildings blended into single-family homes which lead to mid-century apartment complexes, and finally the awful car dealerships
and strip malls. Going from town to town the same patterns of the ages of the buildings continued.
I took note that even as the elevation changed and the sidewalks became increasingly steep the bike path was set at an angle that was manageable to bike up if you have the endurance built up (I did not).
Overall, I think that this strategy of connecting suburbs to the city center and just a general connection of places with the super cycle highways is a feasible and implementable design element that could be done in the states. Specifically looking at
the Portland Metro region, there is a collection of bedroom communities that are already connected by the regional public transportation and an addition of a cycle highway would be beneficial and utilized in those communities since they already have an established cycling culture in Portland.