Six European cities made it in CNN Travel’s recent roundup of 10 of the world’s most bike-friendly cities. This former train tunnel is now a passageway for cyclists, runners and walkers and is part of the 250-mile Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail. While the Fyllingsdalstunnelen is pitching itself as the world’s longest purpose-built cycle tunnel, the reason for that caveat is the 3.6-kilometer-long Snoqualmie Tunnel in Washington, just east of Seattle. This stunning rail journey crosses Europe’s largest high mountain plateau, the Hardangervidda, and its snow-clad vistas were the backdrop for the battle scenes in the “Star Wars” sequel “The Empire Strikes Back.” The tram line through the mountain required a parallel evacuation tunnel, so the developers decided to make the new tunnel multipurpose.īergen is Norway’s second-largest city and the port city is linked to Oslo, the Norwegian capital, by the 496-kilometer Bergensbanen railway line. The new tunnel came about as a byproduct of Bergen’s second Bybanen tram line, which opened in November 2022. The man who cycled 870 miles for a croissant “This makes it more pleasant to use than if one would just walk on asphalt.” “We have laid down a blue rubber flooring throughout the tunnel, similar to an athletic track, explains Einarsen Heggernes. If you’re wondering how cyclists and pedestrians can use the same space, there are two lanes in the tunnel: a 3.5-meter wide bike lane and a 2.5-meter-wide lane for walkers and runners. The tunnel is otherwise perfectly straight, apart from slight curvatures at entrance and exit. To break up the monotony of the windowless tunnel, there are a variety of art installations throughout, as well as different colors and lighting to help users place where they are on the journey and offer a sense of direction.Īt the center point is a “sundial” installation – where the sun definitely will never shine – which shows the time of day, again helping to orientate visitors and also to break up the otherwise long line of sight. It takes a little under 10 minutes to whizz through the tunnel by bike and around 40 if strolling by foot. When you see this sundial, you'll know you're halfway through.
0 kommentar(er)
