The city of Bergen in Norway has created a 2.9 km bicycle and pedestrian tunnel that cuts through the Løvstakken mountain linking residential areas with the centre of the city. Its goal is to make it easier for more people to choose cycling and walking instead of driving. This will help reduce traffic in the city, while also reducing unhealthy pollution. It takes just 10 minutes to cycle through the tunnel, whereas the same trip took almost an hour by bike before. The tunnel is beautifully designed for use by both cyclists and pedestrians on separate lanes. The bike lane is 3.5 metres wide, while the lane for walkers and joggers is 2.5 metres wide. The walking lane has blue rubber flooring for the entire length of the tunnel. According to the designers, “It is similar to an athletic track, which makes it much more pleasant to use than walking or jogging on asphalt.”

To lighten the monotony of the windowless journey there are interesting works of art placed throughout the route. In addition, different areas of the tunnel have their own colour coordination schemes and lighting effects. This is not only decorative, but it also helps users to have a sense of direction, and a feeling of where they are on the journey. At the mid-point is a roundabout with an impressive centrepiece that shows the time of day, and also helps to break up the long line of sight, as the tunnel is otherwise perfectly straight. This is the world’s longest tunnel that was built specifically for pedestrians and cycling. There is one in Seattle, Washington (US) that is slightly longer, but that one uses an old train tunnel, so was not specially built for this purpose.