Bicycle Mobility in Drammen Municipality, Norway

Abstract

Cities globally are implementing national and local strategies and measures to limit motorized vehicles within the city center and increase active transportation. Cycling contributes societal and individual benefits to the city and general population and thus local politicians and policy makers approve costly infrastructure strategies to increase the amount of cycling. Introducing different micromobility solutions and their integration into public transportation systems has also led to enhanced accessibility and modal shifts away from private car use.

This paper uses a mixed method approach to explore the accessibility to different facilities in Drammen municipality with bicycles using network analysis in ArcGIS and later study the strategies for bicycle mobility in Drammen municipality and investigate their effect and challenges for sustainable urban mobility by interviews with 9 experts and professionals working at different projects in Drammen and neighborhood, and several reports and publications.

The findings show that Drammen has an excellent road network, and different facilities are highly accessible by cycling. However, the share of bicyclists is significantly low. Thus, in addition to the establishment of facilities and infrastructure for cycling and cyclists, the initiation of an integrated multi-mode transportation system and policies of different initiatives and programs for increased bicycle use are highlighted as important strategies that could result in the transition towards bicycling for daily activities and result to the bicycle-friendly community.

KEYWORDS: Bicycle, Bicycle Mobility, Urban Mobility, Sustainable mobility, Accessibility