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Temporary bridge across Copenhagen Lakes removed as Metro nears completion

Christian Wenande
January 29th, 2019


This article is more than 5 years old.

Locals campaigned in vain to keep the bridge across Sortedam Lake

The temporary bridge that has stretched across Sortedam Lake in Østerbro since 2012 has been removed as the completion of the new City Ring Metro line draws near.

When construction of the City Ring started all those years ago, locals in Østerbro were aghast that one of the building sites would be located on the lake, but the temporary bridge would appear to have endeared itself to them over the years.

“The bridge has proven itself to be a massive asset to the area. The neighbourhood around Ryesgade has blossomed and is better connected to the area around Øster Farimagsgade, much to the pleasure of shoppers and residents,” Lars Rix, a local, told Østerbro Avis newspaper.

READ MORE: Copenhagen ranked among healthiest travel destinations in the world

A bridge too far
Rix also mentioned that the bridge provided a safer road to school and other activities for children in the area.

Hundreds of locals signed a petition to keep the bridge, but ultimately it had to be removed because Sortedam Lake is protected, according to Copenhagen Municipality. And constructing another bridge in its place is ‘a bridge too far’, said Ninna Hedeager Olsen, the deputy mayor for technical issues.

The Metro Company, meanwhile, is equipping the banks of the lake with permanent gravel pathways, grass and benches. Some remaining sheds, which have been needed as part of the process, will remain a little longer – most probably until the second quarter of the year.


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A survey carried out by Megafon for TV2 has found that 71 percent of parents have handed over children to daycare in spite of them being sick.

Moreover, 21 percent of those surveyed admitted to medicating their kids with paracetamol, such as Panodil, before sending them to school.

The FOLA parents’ organisation is shocked by the findings.

“I think it is absolutely crazy. It simply cannot be that a child goes to school sick and plays with lots of other children. Then we are faced with the fact that they will infect the whole institution,” said FOLA chair Signe Nielsen.

Pill pushers
At the Børnehuset daycare institution in Silkeborg a meeting was called where parents were implored not to bring their sick children to school.

At Børnehuset there are fears that parents prefer to pack their kids off with a pill without informing teachers.

“We occasionally have children who that they have had a pill for breakfast,” said headteacher Susanne Bødker. “You might think that it is a Panodil more than a vitamin pill, if it is a child who has just been sick, for example.”

Parents sick and tired
Parents, when confronted, often cite pressure at work as a reason for not being able to stay at home with their children.

Many declare that they simply cannot take another day off, as they are afraid of being fired.

Allan Randrup Thomsen, a professor of virology at KU, has heavily criticised the parents’ actions, describing the current situation as a “vicious circle”.

“It promotes the spread of viruses, and it adds momentum to a cycle where parents are pressured by high levels of sick-leave. If they then choose to send the children to daycare while they are still recovering, they keep the epidemic going in daycares, and this in turn puts a greater burden on the parents.”