It seems like a fantasy come true, but bike super highways are a reality in Copenhagen as city planners have literally “paved the way” for residents to commute from the suburbs to the city on bicycle. In April, the first of 26 routes opened by city planners in a combined initiative to make this Danish city carbon neutral by 2025. This means the city will have a neutral balance between the amount of carbon it produces and the amount it can sequester or offset, by such miraculous things as people biking to work on a regular basis. Advanced superhighways, with timed lights, areas for rest and comfortable roadways are just the right steps to achieve this type of balance needed to reduce carbon emissions.
There was a recent article in the New York Times along with a short video explaining some of the process this European city is involved with.
Commuters Pedal to Work on Their Very Own Superhighway
COPENHAGEN — Picture 11 miles of smoothly paved bike path meandering through the countryside. Largely uninterrupted by roads or intersections, it passes fields, backyards, chirping birds, a lake, some ducks and, at every mile, an air pump. For some Danes, this is the morning commute.
Susan Nielsen, a 59-year-old schoolteacher, was one of a handful of people taking advantage of Denmark’s first “superhighway” for bicycles on a recent morning, about halfway between Copenhagen and Albertslund, a suburb, which is the highway’s endpoint. “I’m very glad because of the better pavement,” said Ms. Nielsen, who wore a rain jacket and carried a pair of pants in a backpack to put on after her 40-minute commute.
Read more here.