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Europe’s Longest Bicycling Tunnel Opens in Norway

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Re: Europe’s Longest Bicycling Tunnel Opens in Norway

#151

Post by snovv_crash »

MagnumOpus wrote: post #44
aziaziazi wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why only 100d/y while Norwegian works around 190d/y? In my experience people tends to have a “main” commute mode that they only turn away from in exceptional cases. Easier to live with habits that mixing your timetables every other day.

People might use cars or public transport instead of a bike to commute if there is heavy rain or snow. This is an important consideration in Bergen which is notoriously the rainiest city in Europe (it rains more than half the time).

Luckily it doesn't rain (or snow) inside of tunnels.

Re: Europe’s Longest Bicycling Tunnel Opens in Norway

#152

Post by eajakobsen »

frumiousirc wrote: post #90
vidarh wrote: post #9

One of the articles linked at the bottom of the article includes a video: https://www.bicycling.com/news/a43249948/longest-cycle-tunne... And the CNN article linked at the bottom has more pictures: https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/worlds-longest-cyclin...

And, of course, there is a car parked in the bike lane blocking the entrance to the tunnel (very start of the video).

To be fair this video was recorded before the tunnel officially opened.

Re: Europe’s Longest Bicycling Tunnel Opens in Norway

#153

Post by cassianoleal »

Reason077 wrote: post #121
smikhanov wrote: post #91

Rotherhithe tunnel in London screams to be repurposed this way -- to become "colorfully lit, art-lined" thing where psychologists give input on how to make it more welcoming

Yeah, London needs more pedestrian/cycle options to cross the Thames - it’s a huge barrier in some areas. For example, a tunnel (or bridge!) between Canary Wharf and the Rotherhithe peninsula, replacing the existing passenger ferry, would have huge economic benefits by encouraging development of a relatively under-developed area. The Greenwich foot tunnel is a great asset, and despite not being very cycle-friendly is…

To cross the river in East London you have 2 options: the Greenwich foot tunnel, or the Woolwich one.

Indeed they're great assets but it's incredibly awful when the lifts are broken - and it happens frequently.

Either of them are a huge diversion depending on where you're going as well. If there was a cycle-friendly crossing around where Blackwall tunnel is, I reckon my rides to The Reach would be cut by nearly half.

Re: Europe’s Longest Bicycling Tunnel Opens in Norway

#154

Post by logifail »

Ntrails wrote: post #150
awestroke wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd be very very surprised if this became reality. There's no political force to make actual improvements in London, or in the UK as a whole.

> There's no political force to make actual improvements in London, or in the UK as a whole. HS2 was an attempt at an infrastructure project for the long term greater good but quickly devolved into nothing but bad news cycles. Everyone is too busy flinging shit and whipping out soundbites to actually do anything, in part because anything worthwhile is hard and mistakes are more punishing than not trying? It all just…

> HS2 was an attempt at an infrastructure project for the long term greater good [..]

Simon Jenkins' 2016 article entitled "HS2: the zombie train that refuses to die"[0], is worth reading:

"HS2 was always a project born of political vanity. Like several other unstoppable megaprojects, it was not rooted in commercial reality or value for money – and it has therefore not been halted by accusations that it is not needed and not worth the cost"

[0] https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/jun/07/hs2-the-zomb...

Re: Europe’s Longest Bicycling Tunnel Opens in Norway

#155

Post by snovv_crash »

vasco wrote: post #42
wouldbecouldbe wrote: post #26

In Amsterdam a bridge over the water connecting Central Amsterdam with the North is always a hot topic, for decades of talking about it sill hasn't materialized. A few serious alternatives that were proposed where tunnels for bikes. But they consistently decide not to do it because of safety concerns at night. Which is hopefully a bigger issue in Amsterdam than Bergen.

I wonder how the cost of one policeman posted there every night for 50 years compares to continuing to run 24/7 ferries. Specially dilluted on top of the cost of building the tunnel itself.

The ferry needs at least 2 people on it, right?

Re: Europe’s Longest Bicycling Tunnel Opens in Norway

#156

Post by ndsipa_pomu »

pastacacioepepe wrote: post #145
ndsipa_pomu wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It would be lovely to see parked cars disappear if autonomous cars become common enough. However, that would also rely on people deciding against car ownership and moving over to a shared vehicle model.

Autonomous electric cars solve only some of the problems cars create while exarcebating others. In a world where semiconductors and rare minerals already cause a lot of geopolitical tensions, do you really think it is feasible to migrate most of the world cars to autonomous electric? There is only one solution that solves all of the problems car create and has several other benefits. Rethink the urban and infrastruct…

I do agree. Electric cars were invented to save the car industry, not the planet.

I consider that the main problem with cars are their size and weight, so simply electrifying cars doesn't solve issues such as congestion or pollution from tyre wear (which can be comparable to the emissions from an ICE). Here in Bristol, UK, we've got a lot of people using hired e-scooters (the privately owned ones aren't allowed on public roads without a license, insurance etc.) and I think they're a great way to get people around cities. As they're small they don't need huge batteries and thus they're much lighter and carry far less kinetic energy into collisions. A large percentage of the batteries in electric cars are used to move the batteries around, rather than just moving the passenger(s) and vehicle. E-scooters and e-bikes are great for delivery services as they can avoid getting stuck in traffic congestion and the batteries can be swapped out for fully charged ones in a matter of minutes if needed.

Re: Europe’s Longest Bicycling Tunnel Opens in Norway

#157

Post by altacc »

cjrp wrote: post #3
biomene wrote: post #2

It's the escape tunnel for a tram tunnel with an extra coat of paint: https://www.lifeinnorway.net/bergen-cycle-tunnel/

> It will cost an additional NOK 500 million to upgrade the tunnel from an emergency service to one that can be used daily. $46M USD, to save cyclists 5.5km/20 minutes; that seems like a pretty good return.

One of the factors other replies haven't considered is that Norway routinely spends a lot on transport infrastructure, with cost-benefit just one of the factors. This project was relatively cheap compared to the constant building of tunnels for cars that happens across the country. A typical project costs many times more than this.

Per capita Norway is one of the highest spenders in the world, due to the size and low population density of the country. Even with all this spending, transport in some places, especially the north, is slow & inefficient. This has resulted in a high number of airports and Norwegians flying more than almost every other nationality.

Re: Europe’s Longest Bicycling Tunnel Opens in Norway

#158

Post by loldot »

AndyMcConachie wrote: post #59
wouldbecouldbe wrote: post #26

In Amsterdam a bridge over the water connecting Central Amsterdam with the North is always a hot topic, for decades of talking about it sill hasn't materialized. A few serious alternatives that were proposed where tunnels for bikes. But they consistently decide not to do it because of safety concerns at night. Which is hopefully a bigger issue in Amsterdam than Bergen.

In Rotterdam they close the Maastunnel to cyclists and pedestrians at night. There are also people stationed in it during the day at either end. I don't see why Amsterdam couldn't do the same.

The tunnel in Bergen is also closed at night.

Re: Europe’s Longest Bicycling Tunnel Opens in Norway

#159

Post by ndsipa_pomu »

Glawen wrote: post #143
ndsipa_pomu wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a cyclist, I don't have an issue sharing space with other traffic, but I do have an issue with the hyper-aggressive drivers that seek to scare and/or injure cyclists by not giving them enough space when overtaking. There's also the abusive drivers that shout at you and beep their horn at you if they disagree with any choices that you've made such as which road to use. Drivers and riders are hardly comparable in te…

As a cyclist in a town with a lot of cyclist, I see less aggressive behaviour in my town, than in the countryside where people are not used to cyclist. I was discussing with a fellow cyclist and we agreed that some countryside places were particularly full of aggressive drivers. The more cyclist you have, the less aggressive it becomes

That matches with my experience too.

One particular problem with city motorists is mobile phone use, especially in traffic queues. People like to think that they can context switch between using their phone and paying attention to their vehicle surroundings, but I would disagree.

Re: Europe’s Longest Bicycling Tunnel Opens in Norway

#160

Post by lebski88 »

DeathArrow wrote: post #71
MagnumOpus wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People might use cars or public transport instead of a bike to commute if there is heavy rain or snow. This is an important consideration in Bergen which is notoriously the rainiest city in Europe (it rains more than half the time).

So there are places in Europe where it rains more than in UK?

Bergen is one such place funnily enough.
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