Denmark's Bike Superhighways are Open and Rolling

Half a million people commute by bike every day in the Danish capital, and for good reason—bike paths are ubiquitous, well-organized, and well-maintained. A colleague of mine has helped steer the Dutch toward these superhighways, and have had more issues with converting roads into bikeways because the bike traffic is so high.

The New York Times describes it:

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.

But for an even better sense of what the bike superhighway feels like, just watch the video above, in which a Politiken journalist tests out the new path. Beats being stuck in traffic.