Farvel Olav Kyrres gate - fordi du stenges for biler i morgen

Olav Kyrres Gate in Bergen city centre will be closed to private cars from tomorrow. Molesting of motorists by the Norwegian policymakers knows no boundaries.

I am outraged to say the least, partly because I did not know about it until this morning when I read about it in the newspaper. Then I was outraged again by how small the article was.

This is a big issue! Olav Kyrres Gate is one of the main roads in the city centre which enables motorists to travel south directly through the city without having to reconnoitre through the complex one-way streets (One way streets? I think it is completely unnecessary for a small town of just 250,000 people!). Now all the cars have to add extra kilometres and traffic lights to their driving plan from tomorrow. Just imagine how much CO2 will be emitted by all the cars having to make a long detour around the city. Completely unnecessary.

 

The whole point of this, supposedly, is to make it easier for busses and taxies to go through the street without traffic jams. Big deal. The traffic jams are just going to shift places. The traffic jam will still exist in the streets. Just another place. Some reckon this will put drivers off from entering the city with their cars in the first place. I don't think so. In fact, because now that people have to drive the long route, cars are going to be in the city for longer, increasing pollution levels.

 



Click on the map to enlarge!

Imagine you're driving from Allehelgens gate (Point A on the map) to Rokkanshus (point B).Today, its just a 750 metre drive with 4 traffic lights, as shown in the blue rooute. But from tomorrow, its going to be 12 traffic lights and double the distance, as shown in red line. Lot of wasted fuel and time. And what for? Just to make some bus drivers happy?

 

The government cannot manage without the tax revenues from the car owners. Yet, its the car owners who are being punished for bringing in the taxes. What crazy world we live in.

 

 

Today, I took a last drive down Olav Kyrres gate in my beloved old car. The ride is bumpy, since the cobblestone road is not well maintained, so please bear with me. In a matter of hours, its all going to be part of history.

We can continue driving our old cars for the rest of our lives, and still not pollute as much as it took constructing one of them new "bybanens".  It's disappointing, really.

Check also; New policy will lead to 10 million litres of wasted fuel for more about this issue.

Any comments? Please feel free to make one below!