Seventh Day in Copenhagen

6/22/11

Today was a restful day. I went with Eskil and his friends to swim in the canals. I got to ride in his Christiania bike. It was a nice rest after what had to be at least a 100 km day yesterday. I felt like a maharaja. Being so low offers a great view of the street. I wanted a video camera so I could make a movie of Melle riding her red bicycle with her blond hair streaming behind in the salty air.

It is common to see full grown people riding around in the Christiania cargo compartment. It is also a great way to transport babies in “car seats” (would it be a bike seat in this case?) and toddlers. Little Susie is tired of pedaling? No problem, just throw her, and her bike into the Christiania bike and you’re back on the road.

On the way home I stopped to watch traffic outside of Christianshavn station. Though chaotic, it seems to work well. Pedestrians have an island between the sidewalk and the cycle track where they can load the bus. They stream onto the island when they see the bus arriving. It seems to narrow and unprotected for people to wait on the island. Maybe if it were wide enough for a shelter they would feel safe enough to cross and wait on the island before the bus arrives. This would probably help to smooth the flow of bicycle traffic. I saw an elderly woman walk to the intersection with her bicycle. How would she navigate this space? When the pedestrian signal turned green she proceeded to cross the street. She made it about three quarters of the way across when the light turned red. Should the signal phase be longer? The cars and bikes all waited for her. Still, it must be disconcerting to feel that you are stuck in the middle of the road when everyone is chomping at the bit to move on with their day. I saw a blind man approach the intersection. How would he navigate this space? The sidewalk was made of brick with trails of two parallel wider, flatter brick paths. He followed the smooth trails to the intersection. From there he found the bricks with the bumps (I always forget what they’re called) and knew to wait for the green signal by the audible beeping. It speeds up when the pedestrian light is green and you are allowed to cross. He made it out onto the bus boarding island and boarded the bus without a problem.