Snow in Copenhagen: First the bike paths — and what I learned in Tel Aviv about theft

When I lived in Tel Aviv, I had a bike. I worked in Ramat Hachayal, and it took me fifty minutes to get there by public transport. The bike was simply faster.

About once a month, I would arrive at work with injuries. I always fell on the way.

One day, I lent it to a friend who was going on a date in the south of the city, and it was finally stolen. It was bound to happen anyway.

The battery stayed with me for a long time until I sold it. The police took down some details and did nothing. After all, you can deal with any stolen bike.

Snow Revealing a Priority List

Last weekend, it snowed in a quantity not seen here in sixteen years. Twenty centimeters of white covered Copenhagen and revealed the municipality's priorities, which are far from being as equitable as it likes to claim.

At the top of the list were the cyclists.

Even before the access routes to the hospitals were cleared, before public transport resumed, the small snowplows went out to clear the bike lanes. The logic is simple and cold: a cyclist slipping on ice will burden the healthcare system more than a car driver.

When the storm subsided, the bike paths were already clean and accessible. The sidewalks remained snowy, and the small roads turned into brown mud of crushed snow.

Policy, Not Advocacy

This is intentional policy, and long-term strategic thinking.

The municipality understands that the urban commuter is an egoist, acting based on convenience: if the infrastructure doesn’t function in the snow, they will switch to public transport and burden the system, or worse – they will get used to the comfort of private cars even when the sun returns. It must ensure that cyclists continue to choose biking over any other alternative.

The municipality doesn’t waste its money on lectures, advocacy campaigns, or flooding the city with inspectors.

It creates a space of "positive-sum game": one where the most beneficial choice for the individual is also the most beneficial for society. And thus, it repeatedly makes cycling a worthwhile choice under any environmental conditions.

Not to Paint Paths Green

A city that wants to promote cycling must make it the most convenient, safe, and beneficial choice. It needs to ensure there are parking spaces, that stealing them isn’t worthwhile, that it’s safe to ride every day, in any weather, and anywhere in the city.

Not to paint paths green.