Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

Back to news
news
Infrastructure
Norway (population 5 million) plans to spend £660 million on ‘super cycleways’Trondheim Church and cyclist (CC licensed by markheybo via Flickr).jpg

Norway (population 5 million) plans to spend £660 million on ‘super cycleways’

As in Germany, it is hoped that the growing popularity of e-bikes will encourage greater usage of new routes
by Alex Bowden
Fri, Mar 04, 2016 12:19
10

Norway has announced plans to spend 8 billion Norwegian Kroner (around £660m) creating 10 broad, two-lane, cross-country ‘super cycleways’ in and around its nine largest cities. The project is a key part of plans to halve the country’s transport emissions.

Citylab reports that the new cycleways will link inner cities with outer suburbs, before ultimately extending through the commuter belt into the countryside. Oslo will get two super cycleways, while eight others have also been proposed.

The plan is one of a host of measures comprising the country’s new National Transit Plan. By 2030, 75 percent of Norway’s buses and 50 percent of its trucks must be low-emission, while 40 percent of short-distance ships and ferries will have to be either low emission or powered by biofuels. The government is also looking to achieve zero growth in car use in this timespan.

Norway currently lags behind its Nordic neighbours when it comes to the proportion of journeys made by bike. According to 2014 figures, cycling accounts for just five per cent of journeys, compared to 12 per cent in Sweden and 17 per cent in Denmark. The Norwegian government wants to reach 10 to 20 percent by 2030.

Winter conditions do of course present a challenge, with North Norwegian politician Kjell-Idar Juvik telling newspaper VG Nyheter: “I find striking few measures relevant to North Norway in the plan. Right now in the winter it’s not realistic for people to throw themselves onto bikes. They already have enough trouble getting out and scraping snow off their cars.”

But locals need only look to the example set by Montreal to see that sub-zero temperatures needn’t mean putting the bike away.

As with Germany’s planned cycling highways, it is hoped that growth in the popularity of e-bikes will help ensure greater usage of the cycleways. Transport Minister Ketil Solvik-Olsen said e-bikes could change people's willingness to ride and also encourage them to travel further.

Norway
super cycleways
Oslo
Alex Bowden

Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.

Add new comment

10 comments

Avatar
StuInNorway | 8 years ago
1 like

Skipping merrily past the sarcasm, smiling as I go, I can happily say I live in one of the "other 8 towns" . .  Here in Stavanger they are not just planning a cycle suerhighway, but significant parts are already under construction or in some cases built (note I do NOT say built and in use as they have yet to connect the 2 ends of a 1.5km stretch to anything else, but it was part of the works for a new motorway junction.
We're looking at a 15(ish) km route along beside the main motorway, including a tunnel through the biggest hill, raised flyovers, tunnels under junctions. . .  Initial questions asked of the roads authority imply that the route will have a nominal speed limit the same as non-motorway roads, 80km/h 1  
As well as this they are currently building a "bus-way" with primarily centre located bus lanes (ready in case they ever go to trams) with nice wide cycle lanes on the outsides. Just a shame about the stupid traffic light controls at the roundabouts where the busses go straight through the middle,... In order to prioritise busses there are sensors to stop other traffic as they approach th roundabout, just a shame some idiot put the sensors BEFORE the bus-stops. . . cue all other traffic sitting idling while old and young get on and off the busses.

Avatar
bikebot | 8 years ago
5 likes

There's always one.

Avatar
JamesJ | 8 years ago
14 likes

That's all very well for Norway, but this kind of plan would never work in the UK because of our poor weather and steep hills.

Avatar
Al__S replied to JamesJ | 8 years ago
2 likes
JamesJ wrote:

That's all very well for Norway, but this kind of plan would never work in the UK because of our poor weather and steep hills.

Winner.

Avatar
Alessandro replied to JamesJ | 8 years ago
0 likes

JamesJ wrote:

That's all very well for Norway, but this kind of plan would never work in the UK because of our poor weather and steep hills.

 

Norway is further north so their weather is, generally, worse than ours. For example, looking at the current weather on the BBC, Oslo is 1 degree and snowing, Edinburgh is 5 degrees and cloudy, both Cardiff and Belfast are 7 degrees and sunny,  while London is 9 degrees and sunny. I appreciate the some of the UK is under snow at the moment but, on the whole, I'd say Norway suffers from worse weather than we do. 

 

Granted, there are some steep hills in the UK but most cities are free from anything too extreme. I cycle to work in London and the most challenging part of my ride (other than the traffic, pedestrians etc...) is Blackfriars ramp. 

 

The biggest problem is apathy and an unwillingness to recognise cycling as a mode of mass public transport. Too many in this country still view cycling as a hobby rather than as a legitimate means of getting from A to B. 

Avatar
brooksby replied to Alessandro | 8 years ago
1 like

AST1986 wrote:

 

Norway is further north so their weather is, generally, worse than ours. For example, looking at the current weather on the BBC, Oslo is 1 degree and snowing, Edinburgh is 5 degrees and cloudy, both Cardiff and Belfast are 7 degrees and sunny,  while London is 9 degrees and sunny. I appreciate the some of the UK is under snow at the moment but, on the whole, I'd say Norway suffers from worse weather than we do. 

Granted, there are some steep hills in the UK but most cities are free from anything too extreme. I cycle to work in London and the most challenging part of my ride (other than the traffic, pedestrians etc...) is Blackfriars ramp. 

The biggest problem is apathy and an unwillingness to recognise cycling as a mode of mass public transport. Too many in this country still view cycling as a hobby rather than as a legitimate means of getting from A to B. 

You might want to google 'sarcasm'.

Avatar
Alessandro replied to brooksby | 8 years ago
1 like

brooksby wrote:

AST1986 wrote:

 

Norway is further north so their weather is, generally, worse than ours. For example, looking at the current weather on the BBC, Oslo is 1 degree and snowing, Edinburgh is 5 degrees and cloudy, both Cardiff and Belfast are 7 degrees and sunny,  while London is 9 degrees and sunny. I appreciate the some of the UK is under snow at the moment but, on the whole, I'd say Norway suffers from worse weather than we do. 

 

Granted, there are some steep hills in the UK but most cities are free from anything too extreme. I cycle to work in London and the most challenging part of my ride (other than the traffic, pedestrians etc...) is Blackfriars ramp. 

The biggest problem is apathy and an unwillingness to recognise cycling as a mode of mass public transport. Too many in this country still view cycling as a hobby rather than as a legitimate means of getting from A to B. 

You might want to google 'sarcasm'.

Er, yes. Can't quite believe I got hooked by that. :\"> 9

Having said that, can you imagine what our cycling network would be like if £132 per head, or even just 10% of that, was spent?!

Avatar
dafyddp replied to JamesJ | 8 years ago
0 likes

JamesJ wrote:

That's all very well for Norway, but this kind of plan would never work in the UK because of our poor weather and steep hills.

And snow of course. 2-5cm fell in Yorkshire overnight leading to 68 schools closing for the day and Leeds airport postponing flights. 

Avatar
Username replied to JamesJ | 8 years ago
2 likes

JamesJ wrote:

That's all very well for Norway, but this kind of plan would never work in the UK because of our poor weather and steep hills.

 

You could go further and say: that's all very well for Norway with its wide open countryside, it would never work in the UK where we have no space between the sides of our fjords and the sea.

Avatar
StuInNorway replied to JamesJ | 8 years ago
1 like

JamesJ wrote:

That's all very well for Norway, but this kind of plan would never work in the UK because of our poor weather and steep hills.

 

Plenty flat areas here in Norway, admittedly a lot of them are also vertical, so you need good tyre tread, no slicks....

Latest Comments