Promotion of more and safer bicycle traffic produces healthier road users and helps to create better towns. Collection of Cycle Concepts presents some ideas on how to increase the use of bicycles and how to prevent bicycle accidents. The growth in car traffic is creating environmental problems and congestion. Compared to other countries in Europe traffic problems in Denmark are still modest. An important explanation for this is the development in the course of the last century of a robust bicycle culture. Today, one trip out of five in Denmark is by bicycle. The future role of the bicycle must also be strong in order to create a sustainable society. It is important to develop an infrastructure that permits the optimal exploitation of the bicycle’s qualities and possibilities. A larger share of the short trips in towns can take place by bicycle. The car is often indispensable on longer trips. The bicycle can not be alone. Intermodality is important. The right balance of good roads and paths for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists can create better towns without losing the interaction between modes of transport. The bicycle can more often be used as feeder traffic for coach, bus, train and plane on longer trips. This calls for safe and functional access roads and terminals with good possibilities for interchanges. Not only road administrations, but also companies, institutions, schools, associations etc, must contribute to changing our attitudes to transport and making it more acceptable to cycle. The individual advantages are big. Half an hour’s cycling daily increases our mean life expectancy by 1-2 years and gives better quality of life, both physically and mentally. There are many measures that can be taken to improve cyclist safety. In spite of this, the accident risk for Danish cyclists has not changed over the past 25 years. It is necessary to approach the problem more systematically and introduce proposed solutions at places and among target groups where they will have the greatest impact. The main challenge in promoting more and safer bicycle traffic is the need to implement a wide range of measures simultaneously. The reader is invited to consider the many ideas contained in Collection of Cycle Concepts - and be inspired of those ideas, which apply to local conditions. (A)
Abstract