Who is a cyclist?
In Copenhagen, "going by bike" is completely normal. Copenhagen is able to market itself as the "City of Cyclists" because everyone is a cyclist. Bicycles are quite simply "just transport,” and the emergence of cycling culture and identity in Copenhagen is enveloped by these mantras. Moreover, Danish culture values modesty and doesn’t appreciate displays of wealth and bicycling is seen as a modest mode of transport. Most importantly, Copenhagen cyclists are in their everyday clothes, with their everyday kids, at their everyday age, in their everyday gender. Life can happen without a car!
In the United States, and certainly in Milwaukee, being a cyclist is more complicated and is certainly not based around modesty. From my personal experience, cyclists are identified as such based on the fact that they actually ride a bicycle and from there they are divided into small sub-cultural groups. The roadies are generally clad in spandex, have aerodynamic helmets, ride expensive bicycles built for speed, and go on rides mainly for recreational and competitive purposes. Commuters, are quite unlike the aforementioned because they ride mostly for transportation. Often you will find them decked out in safety equipment including mirrors, reflecting striping, fluorescent colors, and hardhat-like helmets. Often doing errands by bike, they will have racks and panniers or bags built for cyclists. Then there are the style-riders which have many names but I've come to know them as Fixters. This is from a combination of a 'fixed-gear' bicycle which has become very popular among fashionable riders that are often called 'hipsters.' Lastly, an important group in Milwaukee are the Messengers whose job it is to cycle and form their own bicycle culture clique. These are couriers that risk every day traffic downtown to deliver packages to people and businesses downtown.
With all of these different categories to get lumped into in Milwaukee, it's hard to just identify as someone who "goes by bike." Here's a common situation. The host of the party you are at introduces you as 'a cyclist' to someone else who is 'a cyclist' so that you might hit off on a conversation or make a new friend. After a few minutes, you find they are not in your sub-cultural group and you either switch subjects or move on. I've found that people "wow" in disbelief that I haven't actually owned a car in 8 years, think I’m some crazy environmentalist (another sub-cultural category) and slowly back away. The numbers of people that really enjoy "going by bike" are increasing and this is good news for the Copenhagenization of cycling culture in Milwaukee. I'm very excited about the prospects of a 'skirt guard' on my bicycle so I can wear everyday clothes just like they do ‘across the pond.’
Unique to Milwaukee, as an anecdote, you also have to be careful about calling yourself a 'biker. A leather clad ruffian with a loud Harley Hog might just roll you away!
Is bicycling transportation?
In Copenhagen, the answer is resoundingly, "Yes!" -- bicycling is most certainly transportation. People who ride bikes are not looking to reduce greenhouse gases or save the world. According to the 2006 Bicycle Account (a cycling survey conducted every other year) 54% say they do so because it is 'easy and fast.' Cycling as transportation is taken very seriously in Copenhagen and is an important issue for a wide range of political parties. As of 2007, a third of Copenhagen's road transport budget was earmarked for cycling facilities and programs. Additionally, to show their commitment to the policy goal of having their bike share of work trips increase to 50% by 2010, the city of Copenhagen plans to double funding for bicycling.
Is bicycling transportation in Milwaukee? It actually depends who you encounter and has mixed reviews -- including maybe and definitely not. Bicycling is not necessarily a “normal” way to get around and often confuses drivers. I have experienced countless bizarre driver reactions to the fact that I am on a bicycle in traffic. Some of them are over cautious and yield when they have right-of-way at an intersection and others honk, yell or wave to tell you what type of traffic you should be. These are the maybes. The worst of the drivers, the definitely nots, try to play games or run a bicycle off the road. The most frustrating experiences can actually come from law enforcement who typically do not know the rights of bicyclists (maybes) or from the actual laws that put bicycles at fault (definitely, but at your own risk).
Milwaukee has been engaging in a Complete Streets initiative to make motorists share the public right-of-way with bicycles and pedestrians. Also, there have been recent police education efforts regarding cyclists rights as well as initiatives to change some of the laws to favor bicyclists in situations where they were previously at fault for accidents. To truly see the bicycle as a viable form of transportation in Milwaukee (more "Yes!" and less of the rest), however, there need to be more bicyclists out there feeling comfortable on the roadways "going by bike" as every day people.
In Copenhagen, after large pro-bike demonstrations took place in the 1970's, the municipality engaged in a large undertaking to give back part of the roadways to bicyclists in the form of curb-separated facilities called "cycle tracks." Over the years, the design and implementation of these tracks were improved but this was the initial strategy which worked to increase bicycle mode share. Giving bicycles equitable space on roadways is the best way to ensure that driver's respect bicycles as transportation and to make cyclists feel comfortable engaging in cycling as transportation.
Victories through vision in Copenhagen
Copenhagen was once similar to Milwaukee in that it had a congested automobile culture in the 1960’s. The Copenhagen of today with its never-ending flow of bicycles has been almost 50 years in the making. The bicycle lanes were eliminated to make way for automobiles during this global economic boom. In the 1970’s and 80’s when the energy crisis loomed, the Danish economy was in a recession, and automobiles were creating massive congestion in Copenhagen, a collective consciousness spawned massive car-free demonstrations.
The political pressure from the demonstrations caused the first of many visionary decisions to re-establish bicycling as a viable form of transportation in Copenhagen. Massive investment into bicycle infrastructure occurred, but it didn’t stop there. After a quality transportation network was ensured for bicycles and the mode share began to shift, the bicycle was prioritized as a mode to give it competitive advantages over automobile transport. Advanced stopping at intersections as well as green waves for cycle flow at 20 km/hr were just a few ways that this was made possible.
Urban planning principles were also set that complimented the cycling vision in Copenhagen. Sustainable urban development is a key component of this. By centralizing housing and jobs along key transportation corridors, sometimes called “the fingers plan,” sustainable transportation (pedestrians, bicycles, mass transit) stays competitive. Sustainable traffic patterns are also used – instead of changing the form of city to accommodate vehicles; transportation that is sustainable in the urbanized region of Copenhagen is encouraged. There is also a high value placed on maintaining and improving the quality of life for those living in Copenhagen. Those living in Copenhagen believe that bicycling helps create a more livable city in contrast to the pollution and noise that automobile traffic produces.
In Copenhagen, the auto-culture that had emerged was changed with a grand vision and infrastructure improvements. Milwaukee has a great opportunity right now to set forward a visionary goal for the future of bicycle transportation because they are in the process of writing a new Bicycle Master Plan. Bicyclists in Milwaukee currently make up 0.65% of total commuters. The policy vision currently stated in the Milwaukee Bicycle Master Plan is a goal to make the bicycle mode share 2.5% of all trips 5 miles or less by 2015. If we truly want to Copenhagenize Milwaukee in 50 years, we need to have a grander vision. Small incremental steps will not achieve grand results. In fact, without some momentum, such as a large investment in infrastructure like that which occurred in Copenhagen, they might not achieve anything at all.
Local Hurdles
With Milwaukee’s local politicians like Scott Walker vetoing even the slightest investment in bicycle facilities like he did when the County was going to put bicycle racks on the buses, it’s difficult to imagine a climate in Milwaukee that would back some of these big visions. It took 5 persistent years of paperwork and hierarchy for the bike racks alone! Changes in Copenhagen came from grassroots demonstrations that changed politicians’ attitudes toward bicycling and funding was shifted toward facilities.
I have personally participated in many demonstrations in Wisconsin and been a part of numerous advocacy campaigns. Turning people that pledge to try cycling for Bike to Work Week into people that bike to work everyday (huge mode shift to change policy) or hardcore demonstrators (huge political pressure to change policy), isn’t likely to happen anytime soon. Large ‘Critical Mass’ bicycle demonstrations in other US Cities have sometimes been met with police violence. In Milwaukee, citations have been given and arrests made. Although it is difficult to compare these demonstrations to the original demonstrations that changed the political scene in Copenhagen, the grassroots approach to increasing bicycle awareness has thus far not been taken very seriously. Political pressure from the Federal level seems even less likely to occur.
So what do we need to do now to have a Copenhagenized bicycle culture in 50 years?
In Copenhagen, cycling is a normal attribute of every citizen. Redefining cyclists in Milwaukee as “regular people” is a function of getting more people on bicycles doing daily activities. This will come with time as more people feel comfortable “going by bike.” Making bicycles a regular part of transportation culture and recognized as a normal mode of transportation is also a function of getting more people on their bicycles doing daily activities. Using Copenhagen’s visionary approach and pushing forward with infrastructure investments is the best way to start bringing a Copenhagen-like cycle culture to Milwaukee. Building the infrastructure with complimentary urban planning policy should also be reinforced in the vision. From where I sit right now, I can see that we need to push this movement and shake our politicians so I can have a great city to bicycle in 50 years from now. It’d be nice to see that before I die.
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