“How many fat motorways do we need before we forget we live in western Norway?”

How many fat motorways do we have to drive before we forget we live in western Norway?

Forget the weather, Forget nature, forget budget – if you stop thinking about traffic growth, natural areas will always be destroyed and dangerous roads will be de-prioritized, yes, it’s the easiest thing in the world to vote for hairy road projects.

That doesn’t mean I don’t see arguments for it – I certainly want a vibrant district. The question is how long it can be called a “district” if it is so close to the city that it will eventually be considered a suburb.

It is in Sweden They are very good at connecting parts of the country with wide, good roads and high speed limits. In the context of county politics, at least in the last few years, when it seems they might also see the value of having people outside the cities, that’s mostly good.

They are subject to the EU’s territorial policy more than we are, so local priorities will be very different.

Speaking of Europe: I was recently on vacation in Italy and drove around in a broken-down Fiat 500. I wish I had ordered something more solid, because driving on a pillow at 130 km/h is not good.

The famous Autostrada It takes you very quickly over the Italian flatlands, but the standard is completely different when you drive off the motorway. I’ve never actually been on narrow, potholed roads anywhere in western Norway, and I can vouch that no Fiat off-road vehicle has.

All I can understand is that all the money goes to the autostrada and the county roads are given low priority. Looks familiar. More than 60 million people live in Italy, with five million living in Sicily alone, which is slightly less than the number of people living in Norway.

The answer is yes With a land area of ​​385,000 km² compared to Sicily’s 25,700 km². But our landscape, what does it consist of, especially in western Norway?

Mountains, valleys, fjords, islands – a conglomeration of unique nature, yes, but I would by no means say that it is particularly suitable for motorways. So if the money that keeps going east stops believing that there are flat villages to blow up like they have there, they can’t get up here even faster? And invest in retirement insurance?