kleejourneys on CBC Metro Morning

It has come to my attention how special Nørrebrogade is, a street located in Nørrebro, Copenhagen . Not only is this where kleejourneys is based, it is also where many significant events or activities take place.

For instance, both at the beginning and at the end of the summer, hundreds of motorbikes gather and meet on Nørrebrogade before heading off on a group ride to Bakken, an amusement park one hour north of the city. Even though I am a bicycle advocate, I admittedly have a personal fondness for motorbikes and was thrilled when over 300 of them arrived and parked outside my window. Many bicyclists were however less thrilled at the CO2 and noise pollution.

As Nørrebro is the only ethnically diverse area of Copenhagen, Nørrebrogade is also the street for immigrant protests. I blogged back in March about a funeral demonstration that took processed down this street: Ligtog på Nørrebro.

However, demonstrations and gatherings aside, Nørrebrogade is actually a main commuter thoroughfare for cyclists and in October 2008, a decision to restrict vehicle access onto the street for a 3 month trial period was instigated by Klaus Bondham, Copenhagen's Major of Traffic and Environment. Instead of widening roads in order to ease heavy street traffic which is often a solution in North America, the project proposed the closure of Nørrebrogade to vehicular traffic at 2 sections, thereby allowing for the increase of bicycle and bus access. More information can be found by reading about Agenda 21 Grøn Nørrebro (Agenda 21 Green Nørrebro).

September 22nd is World car free day and in conjunction with this event, CBC radio Toronto was eager to speak to an ex-torontonian currently living in Copenhagen. Thanks to Spacing magazine and editor Dylan Reid, it was my pleasure to be selected to speak live from Copenhagen and have the opportunity to be interviewed by Andy Barry on Metro Morning about the recent infrastructure changes on Nørrebrogade.

Click here to listen to the interview.