Norway’s new National Transport Plan, issued Monday, calls for bicycle expressways—special roads or lanes where travelers will be able to maintain 30-40 mph speeds—as a major initiative to reduce urban pollution by luring up to 20% of urban traffic onto two wheels.
The plan, budgeted at about $1.2 billion, will build two expressways in the Oslo area and one each in nine other cities including Bergen, Trondheim, Kristiansand and Tromsa. The 20% goal is high; Kristiansand is presently the champ with 8%, but the idea is that the new routes will make bicycle travel safer and faster. In fact, by taking the bikes out of heavy traffic, riding could become faster than driving.
Norway’s goal for emissions reduction is also helped by its high proportion of zero-emission cars; all-electrics accounted for 17% of new vehicles last year.
