Copenhagen - The Best Cycling City in the World
Copenhagen has approximately 400 km of cycle tracks and more than 25 bicycle and pedestrian bridges that closely connect the city. Here, the bicycle is the preferred means of transport, and there are more bicycles than Copenhageners. No matter where you are in the city, the cycling culture is clearly present.
Every single weekday, a total of over 2.7 million kilometers are cycled on the city’s cycle paths and roads – equivalent to 67 times around the earth. At the same time, it is safe to cycle in Copenhagen: only 0.1 injuries are registered per million kilometers cycled.
When we choose the bicycle, we reduce CO₂ emissions, decrease noise and air pollution, and help alleviate congestion on the roads. At the same time, we strengthen both public health and urban life.
The bicycle-friendly city is the result of a sustained effort. Over the past 20 years, the City of Copenhagen has invested massively in the expansion of cycling infrastructure to make the bicycle the obvious choice for both Copenhageners and commuters. We are continuing this effort.
On this page, you can read more about our work to promote cycling in Copenhagen. Here you will also find the latest strategies, analyses, and reports, which will hopefully inspire everyone interested in promoting cycling.
Strategies and guidelines for The Best Cycling City in the World
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Good, better, best. The city of Copenhagen’s bicycle strategy 2011-2025
The vision for our efforts is that we want to be the best cycling city in the world. That requires cycling in Copenhagen to be safe, fast, and comfortable for everyone, no matter how experienced the cyclist is. The cycling[HLK1] strategy also features the PLUS-net, a prioritised network of cycling connections with especially high requirements for cycle track width, maintenance, and snow clearance.
Download „Good, better, best. The city of Copenhagen’s bicycle strategy 2011-2025“
Bicycle accounts – facts about cycling in Copenhagen
Every second year, the City of Copenhagen publishes a bicycle account, presenting the status about reaching the goals set in the bicycle strategy. The bicycle account has been published since 1995 and gives a good overview of what kind of improvements have been made for the cyclists, but also about what can be done even better.
The Bicycle Account 2022
Download The Bicycle Account 2022
The Bicycle Account 2018
Themes: bicycle parking, cycling superhighways, socioeconomic benefits of cycling related to health and reduced congestion, social aspects of cycling and mobility, future tendencies, and innovation within cycling.
Download The Bicycle Account 2018
The Bicycle Account 2016
Themes: cycling- and pedestrian bridges, optimising space, regional connections
Download The Bicycle Account 2016
The Bicycle Account 2014
Themes: commuter traffic, cycling commuting, safety, cycling superhighways
The Bicycle Report
The yearly Bicycle Report is directed towards the Technical and Environmental Committee. The report gives an overview of the City of Copenhagen’s prioritised cycling measures, their effects, status of the politically set goals, and measuring of citizen’s satisfaction. The report also makes proposals for specific initiatives that can be relevant for budget negotiations.
NB! From 2020, the Bicycle Report is replaced with a yearly Mobility Report that does not only cover cycling but gives an overview of all measures within mobility. The Mobility Report is therefore a manifestation of a more holistic approach to different modes of traffic that both compete with each other, but also support each other.
The Mobility Report 2026
The Mobility Report 2023
The Mobility Report 2022
Download Mobility Report 2022 (in Danish only)
The Mobility Report 2021
Download Mobility Report 2021 (in Danish only)
The Bicycle Report 2020
The main focus areas in the Bicycle Report 2020 are developments in cycling traffic and the existing goals. The following six themes have been chosen as the most important future focus areas for cycling:
- Cycle tracks
- Cycling superhighways
- Green cycling routes
- Bicycle parking
- Shortcuts for cyclists and deprived areas
- Pre-analyses for cycling initiatives
Download the Bicycle Report 2020 (in Danish only)
The Bicycle Report 2019
The main focus areas in the Bicycle Report 2019 are developments in cycling traffic and the existing goals. The following four themes have been chosen as the most important future focus areas for cycling:
- Cycle tracks
- Cycling superhighways
- Bicycle parking
- Local cost-efficient measures
Download the Bicycle Report 2019 (in Danish only)
The Bicycle Report 2018
The main focus areas in the Bicycle Report 2018 are developments in cycling traffic and the existing goals. The following six themes have been chosen as the most important future focus areas for cycling:
- Bicycle parking
- Cycling superhighways
- Cycle tracks and safe schoolways
- Bridges and tunnels for cyclists and pedestrians
- Bicycle streets
- Green cycling routes
Download the Bicycle Report 2018 (in Danish only)
The Bicycle Analysis 2017
The main focus areas in the Bicycle Report 2017 are developments in cycling traffic and the existing goals. The following four themes have been chosen as the most important future focus areas for cycling:
- Implementation of Bicycle path prioritisation plan 2017-2025
- Cycling measures following urban development
- Bicycle parking at traffic nodes
- Additional measures that maximise the socioeconomic gains
Download the Bicycle Report 2017 (in Danish only)
The Bicycle Report 2016
The main focus areas in the Bicycle Report 2016 are developments in cycling traffic and the existing goals. The following three themes have been chosen as the most important future focus areas for cycling:
- Accessibility
- Safety and perceived safety
- Bicycle parking
Bicycle parking and cycle tracks – prioritisation plans
Prioritisation plan for bicycle parking
Better bicycle parking is one of the prerequisites to get more Copenhageners to cycle. Therefore has the Co-Create Copenhagen strategy set a goal, that 70% of Copenhageners should be satisfied with bicycle parking in 2025.
Download Bicycle parking prioritisation plan 2018-2025 (in Danish only)
Prioritisation plan for cycle tracks
Cycle track prioritisation plan 2017-2025 replaces the previous plan from 2006. The plan has to ensure that the continued development of cycling network in Copenhagen creates the biggest possible value in form of better accessibility, safety, and perceived safety for the cyclists.
Download Cycle track prioritisation plan 2017-2025 (in Danish only)
Mid-term evaluation of Cycle track prioritisation plan
Technical and Environmental Administration conducted a mid-term avaluation of Cycle track prioritisation plan in 2020. The evaluation follows up, how many of the initiatives of the plan are realised, and which ones are still waiting for their turn. The evaluation also contains an overview of existing knowledge about forecasting the future cycle traffic.
Download Mid-term evaluation for Cycle track prioritisation plan 2017-2025 (in Danish only)
Cycle-Friendly Infrastructure 2024 – Design standards for cycle and road projects in the City of Copenhagen
Cycle-Friendly Infrastructure 2024 sets a high standard for the design of cycle infrastructure and road projects in the city of Copenhagen. The design standards aim to contribute to the safe, secure and cycle-friendly design of cycle infrastructure. Previous design standards have been updated to ensure that the cycle infrastructure can handle the increasing number of cyclists and the growth in cargo and e-bikes. In particular, the description of cycle streets, cycle path widths, the connection between cycle and other traffic infrastructure, and cycle-friendly intersections has been revised.
More about cycling in Copenhagen
Contact
Mobilitet
Islands Brygge 37