This is how she wants to change your city – VG

It has led a green battle in the capital, which has eliminated 4,800 parking spaces to make room for bike lanes.

Now she wants to move on and, as the party’s first candidate in Oslo, she has a chance to take on national politics after this fall’s elections.

– You are not only popular in Oslo when Are you eliminating more and more parking spaces to create bike lanes?

– Make it easier for more people to choose the bicycle than the car is good for city air, climate and public health. Polls show there is strong support for the construction of new bike lanes in Oslo, Berg told VG amid the party’s national digital gathering this weekend.

Understand that not everyone agrees.

– I understand and respect that you can have different points of view, but at the same time it is like in a dense city like Oslo that if you want more space for pedestrians, cyclists and school children, well, then you have to take part of the space. of private cars.

– If he gets what he wants and ends up at the Storting; you will work to take the same measures in the cities of the country; So, prioritize pedestrians and cyclists over the car?

– Yes. I believe that municipalities should have great freedom to make plans that adapt to them, but we need a government that supports and encourages municipalities to do more for the climate and the environment.

It refers to the National Transportation Plan that was recently presented.

– In it, the government will spend 500 billion on roads over the next 12 years, but only 1 per thousand of this, 500 million, on the children’s transport plan. This is one of the many reasons we need a new, greener government, says Berg.

It has produced a list of ten measurement points for large cities where investing in cycling, walking and urban life, compared to parking spaces, is a key point. Along with, among other things, the construction of several green areas and the scrapping of highways.

Here you can read his ten points:

Berg says Norwegian cities will look different if he gets what he wants.

– Yes, for too many years, cities have been planned on automobile facilities. The motorway lobby has been very supportive in the Storting, while their commitment to the climate, the environment and traffic safety has been absent. We want to facilitate more life in the city and less pollution.

It sparked reactions when they announced a fossil-car-free zone in central Oslo, where twice as many residents live as in Drammen.

– Do you want to create zones without fossil cars in other cities as well?

– Yes, I think this should be the decision of local politicians, and we at the MDGs have tabled proposals at the Storting. Large zero-emission zones are an effective climate measure, which will also help improve the air in the city.

She says her policy in Oslo works.

– Now there are a record number of people using our parks and play areas, and the number of cyclists is skyrocketing. When thousands of people try out the bicycle seat for the first time, it is good to know that they can ride their own bike lanes and not in traffic.

Berg is controversial, but he was the one who got the most personal votes in the 2019 local elections.

– City people want less car traffic, more birds chirping in our windows instead of noise, better bike lanes and a better metro and tram deal, he says and adds:

– Fortunately, not many people want to chain themselves to cycle paths together with Fabian Stang, he says, referring to the former Oslo mayor’s battle against the cycle path in Gyldenløvesgate, among other places.

– Today, there are more and more car-sharing programs: Does it make any sense to have your own car if you live in the city?

– Surveys show that fewer and fewer people have a car in Oslo, and car-sharing programs are a good solution for many. In most places in Oslo, the public transport service is so good that you can do without a car in everyday life.

Car argument

However, it adds:

– But there are also people who depend on a car, either for work reasons or because they are weak to the bone, and it is important that the city is also accessible to them.

– Will your opportunity to cycle other big cities materialize first and foremost if you end up at the top of the Storting and can pressure the government to give green money to the municipalities?

– Yes, and it shows how much is at stake in this electoral campaign. A vote for the Greens is the best recipe to put Norway on a new course, as we have shown in Oslo and other municipalities in which we participate and decide.

– 3000 open street points

– You want to build more and more parking spaces. Where should electric cars park in Oslo when there are no parking spaces?

– At the beginning of this year, I opened the charging point on street number 3000 and we put them where they are most needed. We’ve also created several hundred carpool places, Berg says.

He points out that they also support schemes for housing associations and co-owners.

– It is a very popular support scheme that has enabled more than 56,000 charging points.

She adds:

– More and more people in Oslo can get by without staying, and driving home and carpooling are becoming more and more popular. Then fewer parking spaces are needed.

– Is it necessary for young people who live in cities to take the “note”?

She laughs.

– Young people almost have to answer for themselves, and the discourse of numbers is also clear here; that fewer and fewer young people decide to take the plunge. It is very good that many young people are very concerned about the climate and the environment, preferring the freedom offered by public transport or cycling in big cities like Oslo.

– Berg should be out of the Storting

Frp’s energy policy spokesman Terje Halleland says Berg should not enter the Storting.

– This interview is proven as to why Berg and the Greens should be out of the Storting. I fear that if we get a government that is pressured by the Greens to introduce support schemes that are harmful to cars and drivers.

He says the gradual introduction of electric cars is going so well that fossil cars don’t need to speed up.

– We see that electric cars are about to take over. This is all very well, but then it is completely unnecessary to make gasoline and diesel cars more difficult and expensive to drive.