Gothenburg, Sweden is often considered the most environmentally friendly city in the world. What makes it different?
This is not an ordinary excellent bike lane, this is a street in Gothenburg, Sweden. I explain what makes this street so good.
Sources:
[1] https://www.goteborg.com/en/guides/the-worlds-most-sustainable-destination/
[2] https://www.outlooktraveller.com/explore/inspiration/what-makes-gothenburg-the-worlds-most-sustainable-destination
[3] https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20200223-is-gothenburg-europes-greenest-city
[4] https://smartcitysweden.com/gothenburg-green-city-zone-leads-the-way-towards-zero-emissions-transportation/
[5] https://www.cntraveler.com/story/getting-to-know-gothenburg-the-worlds-most-sustainable-destination
[6] https://www.vasttrafik.se/en/travel-planning/more-about-travel-planning/line-maps/
Video Clips from Amsterdam by @BicycleDutch : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5jdpXBMTN0
Music:
Broken Bells – Good Luck:
Sound Effects from Pixabay
Satellite Imagery by Google, Landsat / Copernicus, Data SIO, NOAA, U.S. Navy, NGA, GEBCO, IBCAO, U.S. Geological Survey, INEGI, TMap Mobility, Data LDEO-Columbia, NSF, NOAA, GeoBasis-DE/BKG (©2009), Mapa GISrael, Inst. Geogr. Nacional, TerraMetrics, CNES / Airbus, Maxar Technologies, Airbus
This is a street. At least in Germany, I rather tend to think of this. Here are 4 reasons why I believe this street in Gothenburg, Sweden, supposedly the most environmentally friendly city in the world, is so good. Am I the only one who thought this lane was a cycle path?
And in the rest of Europe(maybe except for the netherlands) it would be a damn good cycle lane Reasonable width, protection on both sides and smooth asphalt surface. This road also sees so little traffic that it could sure be until ** Hoonk**, suddenly there’s a van behind me. The design is simply brilliant.
The nice cobblestone character is retained, and the narrow width means that speeds of more than 20 km/h are almost impossible, the asphalt strip makes the space look even smaller, while cyclists can ride here safely and without any inconveniences such as passing cars.
And even on this this cold cloudy autumn afternoon it seems this is well received. And even if there are traffic jams or problems here, the 260 georgous blue trams run mostly separately from the rest of the traffic across 80km of tracks. Stops are separate to avoid conflicts when people get on and off.
In addition, the tracks provide a natural barrier and have a curb to prevent cars from overtaking cyclists or making unexpected turns. Although turning left can be more challenging due to trams and tracks, other than that it is also not a problem.
As beautiful as the trams are, Gothenburg is ultimately a city made for pedestrians. And you can also see that in the city center by looking at the street design. First, there are hardly any traffic lights as we know them from other countries in europe. Instead, there are often these crosswalks.
When I ride on the road here, they are clearly recognizable and are announced by slightly swerving the lane, which also creates an island in the middle for pedestrians to wait safely if a tram is coming. To make it even easier for pedestrians, but especially disabled people, and to slow down
Traffic, the entire area is raised to sidewalk level. This means that pedestrians do not have to wait long for a traffic light, nor do cyclists and the few cars. Even the few cars and delivery vehicles allowed in the city center are often electric, making these roads very quiet at low speeds.
This is no coincidence: Gothenburg aims to make the entire transport sector in the central regions of the city emission-free by 2030 as part of the Green Zone program. And even today this is the case in many parts. It is no coincidence that Gothenburg has been named the world’s most environmentally friendly
Travel destination seven times in a row. 93 percent of hotels, the airport and 97 percent of public transport are emission-free today. Additionally, the city also boasts about 274 square meters of green space per capita and a convenient bike-sharing service called “styr och ställ” with stations all over the city.
Unfortunately, during my time in Göteborg, I often preferred biking or walking over using public transportation. I found that the tram network, which consists of 12 lines and 260 trams, to be unreliable and slow, despite the mobility app providing real-time data and transfers down to the second.
In most cases, however, walking or cycling was the easier and quicker option, especially when you have to pay the equivalent of around €10 for a day ticket or €4 for a single ticket And: Gothenburg is still the home of Volvo and many other industrial companies
And the magic of the city centre quickly disappears when you cross the river. On the other side, you’ll find motorways, car parks, and cycling infrastructure of questionable quality. But I think with all of its construction works Gothenburg is well on its way to becoming one of the most livable and green
Cities in the world and has seen tremendous improvement over the last couple of years, and this is also reflected in the street design. So indeed this is a street.