Odense

I spent most of my time in Odense recovering from the biking and socializing of the previous week. For that reason, I did not ride my bike. My first impressions of the city was that it was very quiet and not a lot of bicycle traffic. It seemed like they had similar infrastructure to Copenhagen, just on a lesser scale. Although they had similar population, it was hard for me to compare Odense to Eugene. Since I didn't bike, I didn't leave the downtown core, but Odense seemed much more dense. It didn't feel like something that could be translated to Eugene because of the number of single family homes we have. Additionally, I think that Eugene lacks a strong downtown core. When I have family or friends visit Eugene, I don't know where to take them to "see" the town. We have the downtown area, but there is no consolidated section for shopping, dining, and gathering. I've taken visitors to the 5th Street Market but it's small and we can cover the whole area in 30 minutes. In Odense, they have strong pedestrian plazas that seem to be a destination. It also seems that most parking garages are underground in Denmark. It seems like a something U.S. cities could do more of. Underground garages don't take away parking spaces and keep the city free from blocks of parking lots. I think Eugene could look to Odense in their construction of the light rail. Construction being in 2018 and opened in June 2022. The line has 26 stations with an end-to-end journey time of 42 minutes with departures every eight minutes. When meeting with the City of Odense traffic planner, she said the first week ridership was free. Since then, she has seen the light rail be about half full. I think Odense will see a gradual increase in ridership as time goes on. Many people are on holidays right now and school is out for the summer. Additionally, a change in transit habits may take longer to catch on. The open lines are part of phase 1 of the project with additional stages proposed for the future. I think Eugene could learn from the Odense light rail project. Eugene is fairly grid-like in its design which could be a great opportunity for a light rail. We all know that university parking is difficult and pricy. With a light rail, students could get around Eugene and not need a car. If the line went to shopping hubs, downtown, and a green space, students could access most things they need. The Peach Health bikeshare or soon-to-be scooters could fill in any gaps in the system. I think there is greater appeal to riding a light rail than a bus. We could replace the EMX with a light rail. Odense used car traffic lanes to build the light rail track and then added in grass between the rails. Not only did this remove a lane of car traffic, but it created additional opportunities for green space. 


Source:  https://www.cowi.com/about/news-and-press/after-10-years-of-work-odense-light-rail-is-finally-opening 


Also, check out this great stair/ramp design! 




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rural Touring

Image
This past week, we biked around Aero and Tasigne island, from Svendborg to Korinth, and Korinth to Ringe. We biked around 75 miles over the course of four days. It was nice to get out of the city and bike around more immersive nature. My favorite part of touring was getting exercise while seeing new places. I think biking is a great way to see the country because it gets your around quickly and keeps you moving. Whenever I am in a new place I always walk everywhere or try to rent a bike. I rented a scooter once in Baltimore, which was fun, but someone who values physical activity, I missed that element. On both of those islands, it would have been impractical to sightsee via a private automobile. Bicycles allow you to explore smaller streets and pedestrian plazas easier. My overall reaction to the four days was surprised about the lack of infrastructure. I was thinking that we were touring because we were going to explore more great bicycle infrastructure, but it wasn't exponential...
Read more

Trip Aspirations

 I am graduate student in the community and regional planning program at the University of Oregon. Coming from a background in Interior Design, I enjoy thinking about how people interact with and shape the built environment. Continuing education in the planning field has allowed me to shift my focus from the inside to outside and work on a larger scale. Before making the decision to go to graduate school, I was already reading books like Happy City: Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design for fun! I’ve read about sustainable transportation and urban planning in Europe (see Houten on our itinerary!) and I’m excited to be able to experience it firsthand. Sustainable transportation is just one facet of a walkable community that brings together climate action, accessibility, and overall well-being. I hope to take my professional and educational experience to help design and plan for more holistic communities. The top 4 things I am looking forward to are: - Biking from to city to c...
Read more

Mopeds in Bike Lanes

Image
Something many of us noticed starting in Copenhagen was the presence of mopeds on the bike lanes. I assumed they were illegal because they have motors and can get up to high speeds, but they are allowed on bike lanes in Denmark. The Netherlands has had recent legislation around mopeds in bicycle lanes. In 1974, a light moped was introduced that had a maximum speed of 12 mph and dint require helmet usage. Over the years, the light moped evolved to have increased engine power and did not have to have pedals. This meant that people could just sit on the scooter and ride at fast speeds while still avoiding cars. I've been curious to read more about this topic as I don't think it is safe to allow mopeds on bike lanes. To me, they operate more like cars - they go fast, weaving in and out of bikes, they're loud, and they smell like gasoline. Bike lanes are meant to be a refuge from vehicles like that. I always get scared when a moped drives by me on the bike lane. I have the same ...
Read more