Norway to build "bicycle expressways" in major cities to cut emissions

Norway's transport authorities are proposing the development of new high-speed bike lanes in the nation's nine largest cities as part of its plan to cut emissions, local media reported on Monday.

The construction of the so-called bicycle expressways, where cyclists should be able to maintain speeds of 30 to 40 km per hour, were presented as one of the main initiatives in the National Transport Plan, according to Norway's The Local news site.

The new bicycle expressways will cost about eight billion kroner (917.6 million U.S. dollars) and the new transport plan aims to have bicycling account for between 10 and 20 percent of all daily trips in the nine largest cities, including Oslo, Bergen and Trondheim.

Oslo will get two of the new bicycle expressways while either other cities will get one each, the report said.

Terje Moe Gustavsen, director of the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, said that significant investments in bicycling and pedestrian infrastructure will be an important part of keeping personal transport emissions low in Norway's largest cities

"The bicycle expressways are stretches that will really have an influence on transportation," he said. Endit