Fossil fuel vehicles are messing with our environment, and their number continues to grow on our roads. The exponential increase in the number of cars is causing traffic congestion that is becoming increasingly difficult to deal with. For the love of the environment, and obviously fuel saving, some people have begun to use cycling as an alternative mode of transport. While change has not been that great everywhere, Copenhagen has become a city with more bikes than cars. Naturally, that brings a traffic jam problem like no other.
The number of bikes in the Danish capital grew to 265,700 against only 252,600 cars in the last year. The limited space of the cycling lanes causes the cyclists to fight for space sometimes ending in accidents. The city is planning to solve its bicycle traffic jam problems by installing electronic information panels along the 390km (240-mile) network of bike lanes. The screens will inform the cyclists of the less congested bike lanes, of places where roadwork is happening, special events, distance to destinations, queues, and slow traffic, along with suggestions for alternative bike routes.
Bike traffic in the city has grown by 68 percent in the last 20 years, and forecasts show that the daily bike traffic in Copenhagen will increase by 25 percent by 2025, and by 36 percent in the rush hour. In order to accommodate the growth, the city is widening its bike paths, and the screen project costing 4.2 million Danish Krones is a part of the same initiative.
