Odense!

Hi All!

We just spent three days in Odense, which is about the same size as Eugene (Odense: 200,000; Eugene: 170,000). On our first day here we met with Connie Juel Clausen, a transportation engineer. For the past decade Connie has been working to transform the city into a cycling metropolis. Once again, we heard about the focus on the good life and how city planners work to increase livability. After traversing across the city, I can affirm that they are well on their way. The city is centered around a beautiful park with a small river running through it. There are coffee carts and big swings, and you can even fish in the middle of town! Really, what more could you want?

In Odense, only 54% of families have cars. However, this number is on the rise. For a long time Denmark had high taxes on cars that are staring to go down. Unfortunately, I didn’t find Odense as intuitive to bike around as Copenhagen; there were a lot more spaces on the road where I felt unsure of where I was supposed to be. A couple times I accidentally found myself biking on a really big road. This experience really hit home how important it is to feel safe and comfortable while biking. 

That being said, there were still so many parts of the city that were fantastic. There was a whole inner core that was blocked off for people, that had become a thriving shopping district. Bikes were allowed on these pedestrian roads, and it was entertaining (to say the least) to weave in and out of people. Connie said that the city allows this to bring more life to the area. And it makes sense, I found myself hopping off my bike to check stuff out, something I could never do in a car. 

Odense has also found a solution to make turning right easier; in Copenhagen a right on red was prohibited (and it drove us all crazy). Odense uses slip lanes, a little lane behind where pedestrians wait to cross to allow them to continue biking. This falls into the city’s goal of keeping the traffic as free flowing as possible. 

Connie is running a couple programs to increase cycling in the city. Similar to Copenhagen, they have a strong focus on children. In schools, children have cycle play units and go on trips to see all the cool places one can get by bike. Cycling is so much easier to instill in a culture at a younger age, and 75% of students self-transported to school. The city also has a free cargo bike lending program to get adults excited about the opportunities biking presents, and work to explain how running errands by bike is fast and feasible.

Funnily enough, Odense has some similar problems to Eugene. They both struggle with passing things at a political level, and one of their strategies is to get politicians on a bike. I don’t know if this is applicable to Eugene, but it’d be funny to try! Odense is also trying to increase their density, and are building taller buildings. Eugene is also working on this, and I’m really excited to see the impacts of HB2001. To deal with their parking issues, there are big public parking lots under public squares. 

This might be a controversial opinion, but Eugene currently struggles with too much community engagement that can tank projects. It’s important to remember that the people who dislike projects are much more likely to speak out than those in favor. In Denmark there is a different method to receiving feedback on projects. They create a plan, bring it to the community to talk about, hear what the community is concerned with, and make a few appropriate changes. In the States, there is so much more back and forth that can change entire portions of projects, and it really drags out the planning process. Perhaps this works better here because of the level of trust in the government and the people centered design. 

Alright all, I feel so much more put back together. It’s amazing what sleep, some alone time, and a hot shower will do. Today we’re on a ten hour van trip to The Netherlands. I’m so excited to see another way of structuring biking! I miss you all, hope you’re doing well!