. . . So while $1 billion [$923m actual] seems like a lot to spend on an ambitious bicycle highway system in a mountainous country with short, cold days for much of the year, it makes more sense when you consider the ways in which Norway is exceptional.
The 10 planned "super cycleways," serving nine major cities, will provide wide pathways isolated from other traffic to allow for easier commuting. . . . As for the steep grades outside of the cities, makers of electric-assisted bicycles stand to see an increase in business.
The goal is to have somewhere from 10 to 20 percent of journeys take place via bike, compared to five percent in 2015. Norway would also like to have zero growth in automobile ownership through 2030, and making cycling a safer, quicker, and easier mode of transportation is an obvious way to help make that happen. . . .
