Sustainable Mobility: Cycle Superhighways and Intelligent Signals
Discovering and developing sustainable mobility alternatives is one of the best ways to slow global warming and man-made climate change.
Nearly a third of greenhouse gas emissions come from the transportation sector. Hence, discovering and developing sustainable mobility alternatives is one of the best ways to slow global warming and man-made climate change.
Below are two of the most impactful sustainable mobility innovations in the past decade.
The Cycle Superhighways
The Cycle Superhighways span the entirety of Denmark’s capital region, serving as an interconnected net of strategically placed bike paths. It aims to provide a superior riding experience for cyclists and encourage other commuters to ditch private cars and other traditional transportation modes for bicycles.
The highway network could increase the number of cyclists in the metropolitan area by over 30%, making the project a critical factor in the advancement of sustainable mobility in Copenhagen. In the first five years since the Cycle Superhighways’ Farum route opened, the number of bicycle commuters rose by 52%.
Once complete, the Cycle Superhighways will have 28 main routes, which are estimated to reduce the number of cars on the road during rush hour by 1.40 million. Moreover, the health and fitness benefits of cycling are expected to reduce the usage of sick days in the city by 34,000 per year.
The Cycle Superhighways has an estimated socio-economic return of 19%, surpassing the 5% forecasted by Denmark’s Ministry of Finance. Furthermore, Copenhagen expects a 50-year socio-economic RoI for the project of €978 million for the first 50 years.
Intelligent Traffic Lights
Copenhagen will be the first major city in Scandinavia to upgrade all its traffic lights into intelligent ones. With its old traffic lights nearing 35 years old and needing replacements, the city took the chance to modernize them.
Intelligent traffic lights automatically adjust the length of each color change based on real-time traffic data. The modernized system is expected to cut traffic time by 10% for cyclists and 20% for bus passengers.
Conclusion
One of the biggest beneficiaries of technological innovations in sustainable mobility is the electric scooter industry. For instance, the Flash Motors Infinity X touts a 70-mph/70-mile speed/range combination, transcending not only e-scooters but also other hyperscooters.
