What is it about Copenhagen and Amsterdam that puts between 33% and 40% of its commuters on bicycles everyday?

It goes beyond the fact that the terrain is mostly flat. Nancy Keates tells about some of what they're doing in an article, "Building a Better Bike Lane," that appeared in Friday's Wall Street Journal. Among them:

-- Amsterdam has built five new bicycle parking garages, and one is in the works for 10,000 bikes at the main train station;

-- The Amsterdam Bicycle Recovery Center stores about 6,000 bikes that were confiscated because they were illegally parked or stolen. While rounding up about 200 bikes a day, the center provides "one-stop shopping" to find a stolen or confiscated bike, which is registered on arrival;

-- Amsterdam plans to increase parking fees and fines;

-- Copenhagen will double spending on bicycle infrastructure over the next three years; Denmark plans to install 1,240 miles of bike lanes on roads.

-- High car taxes and gasoline prices make SUVs unpopular; Denmark charges up to 180% tax on a new vehicle;

-- Both cities teach immigrants and school children how to ride bikes safely, and teach truck drivers to watch for cyclists, especially when turning right;

-- Companies in both cities sport indoor bike parking and changing rooms.

The push for cycling infrastructure in those countries came from the ground up, with residents seeking more bike lanes to ease congestion and promote health, the Journal articles says. Now it's concerns about global warming that is pushing the governments there to get more people on bikes, reducing vehicle emissions.

The Amsterdam and Copenhagen models are catching on in Europe. Neighbors Norway wants to increase bike trips to 8% by 2015, and Sweden wants to hit 16% by 2010.

If you don't have a Wall Street Journal subscription, which I didn't, you can find the article for free at MarketWatch.com.

82 pics in 73 minutes

An interesting side note is the Amsterdam Bicycles website I stumbled across the other day. San Francisco resident Brian W. shows 82 pictures of bikes and people on bikes (above) in a 73-minute span while hanging out at a square in the city in The Netherlands.

Brian says he shot the pictures because:

"I noticed how remarkably different the whole Amsterdam bicycle scene was from my home, and at the same time certain very clear 'Amsterdam Bicycle Trends' appeared I thought might be interesting to point out."

Some of those trends:
-- Formally dressed bicyclists;
-- Multiple riders on bikes;
-- No helmets;
-- Dogs as bike passengers;
-- Generator-powered bike lights;
-- Massive bike locks and chains;
-- Lots of cargo space on bikes.