This is the biggest attack on motorists in history

We are deprived of our freedom.

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This is a chronicle. Opinions in the text are the responsibility of the writer.

The new parking regulation of the Oslo City Council is the biggest attack on motorists in history. I have read the radical document imposing extreme measures against car owners.

If you can’t ride a bike in Oslo, just get moving.

This will be the “new prohibition line” on parking cars in Oslo:

• In most parts of the city, apartments of less than 143 square meters will not be able to have their own parking space.
• Grocery stores smaller than 200 square meters are denied customer parking. If the Røa shopping center had been built today, the center would only have been allowed to build 10 parking spaces. Today, the center has 138 parking spaces.
• The installation of parking spaces in buildings for the care of the elderly of less than 333 square meters is prohibited. A 10,000 square meter building where users, employees and family members quickly add up to 500 people, must therefore share 30 parking spaces. The same figures apply to student housing.

• Total ban on parking spaces in relation to cultural buildings such as cinemas, theaters, sports facilities and town halls. Therefore, cars for leisure activities are prohibited in practice.
• Office buildings of less than 500 square meters refuse to establish parking. If you build a 10,000 square meter office building with 1,000 employees, only 20 parking spaces are allowed.
• Industrial buildings and warehouses of less than 1,000 square meters are denied parking.
• Hotels of less than 500 square meters are denied parking. A 3,000 square meter hotel can kindly offer six parking spaces to its guests and staff.
• Schools of less than 100 square meters are denied parking space. A school like Bogstad Primary School, with 400 pupils and 50 employees, cannot have more than four parking spaces.

The city council proposes coercion

While the city council will set a limit on the number of parking spaces for cars, the leader of the city council, Raymond Johansen (Labor Party), proposes coercion when it comes to bicycle parking.

Non-compliance with the requirements for bicycle parking means a construction ban:

• The new apartments require five bicycle parking spaces per. 100 square meters of housing stock. This means that a 20 square meter bedroom must have a parking space, while a 300 square meter apartment must have 15 parking spaces.
• Stores are forced to build a minimum of bicycle parking spaces. A 400 square meter Rema 1000 store is required to build 12 bicycle parking spaces.
• Care buildings must establish a bicycle parking lot. 100 square meters. A new Hovseter house on the western edge of Oslo would be forced to create 145 bicycle parking spaces.

• For townhouses and single-family homes, developers are forced to create four parking spaces per. housing unit.
• The office building will have 2.5 bicycle parking spaces per. 100 square meters. So if the Oslo city hall had been built according to the new parking standard, Johansen would have been forced to establish a minimum of 1000 bicycle parking spaces and a maximum of 40 parking spaces.

• Shops and culture require a minimum of three seats per. 100 square meters of housing stock. Had the Opera, Deichman Library and the Munch Museum been rebuilt, a total of 2,544 bicycle parking spaces would have been needed.
• Industry and warehouse must have half a place per. 100 square meters.
• Hotels must have a place for. 100 square meters. For Oslo Plaza, this would mean that the hotel would have to build 450 seats.
• The schools, on the other hand, will have 3.5 places per. 100 square meters. For the new Marienlyst school, such a requirement would mean 528 places.

What is a bicycle parking?

The days when a bicycle was placed next to a fence is gone forever. It’s because of the Oslo City Hall. The parking standard defines clear requirements for the design of bicycle parking spaces.

These are the requirements for parking spaces for more than 10 bikes:

• Bicycle parking will be established as close to the main entrance as possible and car parking as far as possible. Under the rule, this requirement will force Oslo residents to choose a bicycle over a car.
• Half of the parking spaces must be inside the building or have a superstructure with lighting. Internal storage is not considered an approved bicycle parking space.
• 30 percent of the parking area will be adapted for large cargo bikes.
• Larger apartment buildings must have their own bicycle workshops for residents, and at work all cyclists must be able to shower.

Do you hate cars?

The Town Planning and Planning Agency has sent, on behalf of the City Council, a document called “Review of parking regulations for housing, industry and public services in the city of Oslo”.

The document is perceived as infused with a rare hatred of cars. It is no secret that the car will be impossible to drive in Oslo. Here are some excerpts:

• Using maximum standards for housing means that it will be harder and more expensive to own a car.
• When (the rules) are seen in relation to street parking measures, the new rules may prevent visitors from choosing a car as a means of transportation.

It will probably no longer be possible to invest in car-based solutions.

Picking up and driving children to and from kindergarten or school becomes more difficult. However, it is conceivable that the few parking spaces that are being built could be temporarily reserved for parents with injured children or the like.

The new parking regulation of the City Council has already been sent to 180 consultation bodies. Among them are the bishop, the police, Virke and the Pensioners Association. I promise to fight with everyone who wants a completely different Oslo than Raymond Johansen wants.

Sources:

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