Copenhagen’s bike lanes: A tourist attraction or local headache?
For tourists, cycling through Copenhagen can feel like the best way to experience the city. For locals, it can sometimes feel like an obstacle course.
Copenhagen’s cycling culture attracts thousands of visitors each year, many of whom rent bikes from hotels and rental companies. But as tourists enter the city’s busy bike lanes, locals and visitors can experience the same streets very differently.
“I think the groups are a problem; they are distracted talking to each other and they suddenly stop in the middle of the road”, explains Tracy, who has lived in Copenhagen for 22 years.
“They don’t have the sense of urgency that we have. We take the bike to get to a place. For them it’s more of an attraction or something fun to do,” says Morten, a local.
Bicycle tourism, according to local cyclists, is mostly an issue in the city centre. Groups of tourists can stop suddenly in the middle of the road, become distracted or block the bike lane, creating dangerous situations for cyclists travelling behind them. Electric rental bikes have also added concern, with locals saying they go way too fast for inexperienced visitors.
Source: The Danish Accident Investigation Board
“The first time I got on a bike here I was very scared, but after doing it a couple of times you get very used to it”, Sarah, an exchange student, explains. Kate is also here for the semester and says that she thinks the bike lanes are very helpful and easy to navigate.
The fear comes from the amount of traffic and having to cycle next to cars. However, tourists did not see other tourists as a problem and felt comfortable navigating the city after getting used to the bike lanes.
Hotels that rent bikes are attempting to prepare visitors. Steel House Copenhagen rents more than 20 bikes a day and informs their guests about the rules and advises them on the safest ways to cycle around the city before they leave.
“We show them how to do the hand signs, and how to take turns,” Nassi, a worker at SteelHouse Hostel, explains to us whilst showing the hand manoeuvres. “We try to inform them the best we can”.
So far, the hostel has not experienced problems with its guests. But Steelhouse also stresses that cyclists are ultimately responsible for their own behaviour if they are involved in an accident.
The experiences may differ, but there is one point they agree on: dangerous situations happen. The question is whether better information can prevent tourists from becoming part of them.
Intrested in what locals and tourists had to say? Watch the video below:
