Cycle Superhighways: How we built an inter-municipal network in Denmark

C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, Office for Cycle Superhighways, Signe Helledi, Diana Skyum, September 2024

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Most of Denmark’s cycling infrastructure is managed by municipalities and built on local roads. Consequently, our cycling infrastructure is primarily designed to meet individual municipality needs. Our regional and inter-municipal cycle superhighways are different: they are long distance, cohesive cycle routes connecting residential areas and workplaces across municipal borders.

The idea of cycle superhighways first emerged in 2009 in response to increasing congestion in the Capital Region, particularly during the daily commute. The first cycle superhighway opened in 2012. In 2024 we have a well-developed network of 16 cycle superhighways across the Capital Region, with more routes to be built and launched in the coming years.

This case study tells how a new category of infrastructure was developed and later realised in a voluntary cooperation between the region and the municipalities in the Capital region of Denmark.

What has the municipal partnership achieved?

The Capital Region of Denmark covers 2,568km2. It comprises 29 municipalities, including those that constitute the capital city, Copenhagen. Many of the municipalities are small, particularly those close to Copenhagen, creating a patchwork of political entities. Together, these municipalities and the Capital Region forged a partnership to facilitate the inter-municipal cycle superhighway network. A network of 16 cycle routes already links 21 municipalities. The partnership’s vision is to expand that network to link all the region’s municipalities through more than 60 routes, totalling more than 850km of superhighways. See supercykelstier.dk/English/ for full details of the network and the routes.

« Traffic does not take municipal borders into consideration. If we want more people to bike to and from work, municipalities must work together to create cohesive and interconnected bicycle routes in the region.” Signe Helledi, Head of Office, Office for Cycle Superhighways

Results for the first 16 cycle superhighways for 2023 show that:

• The immediate effect of upgrading a route to cycle superhighway is an average 52% increase in bicycle traffic when comparing the before and after measurements.

• The long-term effect, comparing the before measurements with the 2023-bicycle traffic counts, show an average increase in bicycle traffic of 75% on the first 16 routes.

• 14% of the new cyclists previously travelled by car.

• The average trip length on a cycle superhighway is 12 km.

• 20% use an e-bike.

The total cost of the cycle superhighway network’s 850 km is estimated to be EUR 326 million by 2045. The full network has the potential to provide substantial cost-benefit gains and has a 23% socio-economic return on investment, with much of that due to the additional health benefits associated with cycling. The cycle superhighway network has been one of the most socio-economically beneficial infrastructure projects in Denmark to date.

Existing and planned cycle superhighway routes in the Capital Region of Denmark

Our recommendations for creating inter-municipal cycle superhighway networks

Establish a structure across municipal boundaries to facilitate inter-municipal cooperation

The Cycle Superhighway Collaboration has played a fundamental role in the network build-out, facilitating the requisite cooperation across municipalities. The Collaboration is structured by having a steering committee, a project group and a joint office, which operates as the facilitating organ. The steering committee and the project group are made up of representatives from the municipalities in the collaboration, along with representatives from the Capital Region and observers from the Danish Road Directorate and the Local Government Denmark (KL).

• Steering committee: The Cycle Superhighway Collaboration’s focus and strategy are set by the steering committee, which is typically positioned by heads of traffic in the municipalities.

• Project group: The project group is typically positioned by traffic planners from the municipalities. Their main tasks are to qualify the professional contents from the office and to execute the local implementation of cycle superhighways within their administrative areas.

• The Office for Cycle Superhighways facilitates the cooperation. This includes ensuring that plans have political backing and coordinating municipal cooperation during the screening, forecasting, construction and operational phases. It also collects and assesses joint data, documents the impact of the cycle superhighways, is in charge of communication and branding and develops new solutions to improve cycling conditions.

The Collaboration does not have a politically assigned steering committee. However, a recurring Mayors’ summit is hosted, with mayors from all the collaborating municipalities and the Capital Region to discuss future progress and foothold.

Set a uniform infrastructural standard across municipal borders, focused on entire routes

The Cycle Superhighway Collaboration in the Capital Region of Denmark has developed a mutual concept that describes the principles and guidelines for cycle superhighways in the Capital Region of Denmark (also available in English). The concept covers all stages in the lifecycle of a cycle superhighway and therefore provides recommendations for several different process stages of a cycle superhighway.

Cycle superhighways must make it more attractive and give more people the opportunity to choose the bicycle for the daily commute. Both surroundings and infrastructure have an influence on this. Cycle superhighways must contribute to the good cycling experience by supporting the feeling as a cyclist of being a prioritized road user, being able to maintain a good flow and being on a predictable route. The Cycle Superhighway Collaboration has agreed upon five quality goals to support the good cycling experience:

• Coherency: A cycle superhighway provides a coherent and effective route for commuters that connects to educational facilities, job opportunities, residential areas, and important nodes of public transport. The route should be coherent across municipal and administrative borders and be easy to both access and locate.

• Accessibility: Cycling on a cycle superhighway it should be easy regardless of your speed. On a cycle superhighway it must be possible to maintain your own flow with as few stops and obstacles as possible. Accessibility must also be ensured through wide cycle paths with the possibility for cyclists to safely pass each other.

• Comfort: Cycle superhighways should support a comfortable experience by prioritising pavement management and a general high level of maintenance and upkeep of the route. Cycle superhighways should limit obstacles from the surroundings and offer good service to the commuters.

• Safety: A cycle superhighway should be safe and easy to follow. There should be a high level of safety through secure infrastructure solutions, lighting and good viewing conditions. The cycle superhighway should be visible to the surroundings and support safe interaction between all road users.

• Perceived security: Cyclists should feel secure on a cycle superhighway. This place demands on both infrastructure and maintenance throughout the year. The cycle superhighway must also be located in surroundings that contribute to the feeling of security.

A cycle superhighway does not necessarily mean a new cycle track – it is often an upgrade of existing routes, making the cycling infrastructure more cohesive over longer distances and enabling cyclists to experience a uniformly high standard across municipal borders. Some routes also require investment in new infrastructure, such as bicycle bridges and tunnels, new and wider cycle tracks, connections with public transport and park-and-ride facilities.

Existing and planned cycle superhighway routes in the Capital Region of Denmark

Seek political and financial support from regional and national governments

Inter-municipal cycle superhighway projects address regional challenges, but tight municipal budgets can make it difficult to prioritise regional cycling infrastructure. National and regional government support for inter-municipal cooperation and the co-financing of cycle superhighway networks and collaborations are, therefore, crucial to their success.

The network and Collaboration, including the Office for Cycle Superhighways, is approximately 65% funded by the Capital Region of Denmark and 35% funded by the municipalities. In principle, the municipality in question pays for the construction of the cycling infrastructure, but all cycle superhighways to date have received 40‒50% co-financing from the state. Municipalities pay for operation and maintenance.

A joint communications initiative by the Collaboration has helped to make politicians understand the necessity of effective inter-municipal cooperation and the role of cycle superhighways in tackling the climate, health and congestion challenges in and around Denmark’s larger cities. The investment case for these networks has also improved with the socio-economic analysis of the cycle superhighway network in the Capital Region showing the internal rate of return on investment to be 23%, confirming that it pays off to invest in cycling infrastructure.

What’s next for inter-municipal cycle superhighways?

There is still plenty of work to do to realise the Collaboration’s vision of a cycle superhighway network across the Capital Region of Denmark over the next 20 years. To derive full benefit, more investments are needed in new infrastructure along additional routes and investments in improving the connection to public transport. The Cycle Superhighway collaboration looks to a future where regional bike promotion and regional bicycle infrastructure is even more important in the fight against both the climate crises and the global health crises.

The idea of inter-municipal cycle collaboration has already been adopted in both other parts of Denmark and across Europe. Regions and metropolitan areas in countries as Holland, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Sweden and France are focusing on developing cycle networks and in April 2024, the European Union adopted a European Declaration on Cycling, recognising cycling as one of the most sustainable, accessible and inclusive, low-cost and healthy forms of transport and recreation. The declaration recognises cycling as a full mode of transport and serves as a strategic compass for existing and future policies and initiatives related to cycling.

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