Yes, there will be chaos in Åsane

The parking solution should be based on the current traffic picture.

Discussion post

BT leader and the proposals for Thor Haakon Bakke (ODM) from last week shows that the factual basis of what will happen in Myrdal when Åsane Arena is finished in winter needs to be clarified, and we hope to be in control of the pandemic.

Åsane Arena will be one of the largest sports facilities in Norway. Along with the Vestlandshallen and Myrdal football field, it will probably be the largest in the country. The sports fields alone are nine times the size of Haukelandshallen.

Unfortunately, there is too much focus on traffic and parking, and too little on the fact that we have a sports area that every day will be a social gathering place and an activity area for many thousands of people.

175 parking spaces are related to the area. This despite the fact that the traffic analysis that followed the zoning plan was clear that the number of seats should have been significantly higher.

When the debate resurfaces naturally, Councilor Bakke refers to a 2016 recommendation from the Ministry of Culture, which says that within 500 meters there should be 20 percent of the number of parking spaces in the facility. .

175 seats are 20 percent of 875 people. With that recommendation, I will give two concrete examples that the number of parking spaces is far from being in line with the recommendation:

A wednesday in At 18.30 March, the Tertnes handball elite will play a league match and fill the handball hall with 2,500 people (spectators, officials, players, coaches, etc.). At the other eight sports venues in the area, including the Vestlandshallen and Myrdal football fields, there will be more than 1,000 people active at the same time. A total of 3,500 people will need 700 parking spaces, if the recommendation is to be followed.

Another example It is Saturday in March where Åsane Football Women organizes a big children’s tournament in Vestlandshallen. At 12 noon, there will be full activity at the nine facilities, and the number of people will be approximately 2,500 at this time. We will need 500 parking spaces for them, as recommended.

The Myrdal facilities with Vestlandshallen, the gymnasium, the climbing room, the ice rink, the sand room and the curling room, are facilities that will be used by people from all over Bergen and the surrounding municipalities. For many of them, the car will be a natural means of transportation.

Before the construction of Åsane Arena, there were approximately 175 parking spaces in the area connected to the Myrdal and Vestlandshallen football fields. When there was a tournament in Vestlandshallen, the organizer was allowed to use the gravel track for parking, so the total number of places was closer to 300, but it still felt like chaos. This is one of the reasons that everyone who lives and travels in the area is very concerned about what is to come, in terms of traffic and parking.

I believe that most of us are concerned about the environment and are committed to contributing to a better future. This means better public transport, better conditions for users of smooth roads, and a more environmentally friendly car fleet. The current public transport service is the bus terminal, which is 900 meters from the sports facilities.

The experiences of the events in Vestlandshallen before Åsane Arena arrived, we do not escape. It was a chaos of traffic and parking. Although the organizers encouraged the participants and their families to walk, bike or ride public transport, they did not. Maybe because the offer did not meet the needs of those who were going to the tournament, or maybe the weather in Bergen was just bad? Is there anything in the collective offer that indicates that this will change in the next ten years?

The traffic situation Around the Myrdal sports facilities it will be demanding from winter 2021. Then we must jointly find solutions that are not based on a future public transport network that is at least ten years ahead of us. We have to solve the parking and traffic situation based on the current traffic landscape, and there the car is still a necessary part.