Oslo A quick look at urban geography and transport systems
AS Oslo Sporveier Oslo public Transport Ltd
Oslo kommune Samferdselsetaten Road and Transport Authority, City of Oslo
Akershus fylkeskommune Akershus County Council
Statens vegvesen region øst Norwegian public Roads Administration
This brief guide Approaching a foreign city is usually an exciting undertaking but can also be quite time consuming. The general survey is not always easy to grasp, and even the best city guides tend quite quickly to move on to details of sightseeing, restaurants, bars and shopping, thus leaving more structural characteristics in the dark. This brief guide is a modest attempt to fill this gap, mainly by offering simple thematic maps, small photographs and short texts tightly woven together. Local experts within topics touched upon may find the general picture offered here too simplistic – and may be even somewhat naive. Priority is given however to facilitate matters to readers unfamiliar with the city and hopefully give them just what is stated on the cover: a quick look.
Contents 3 4 5 6 | 7 8 | 9 10 11 12 13 14 | 15 16 17 18 19 20 | 21 22 23 24 | 25 26 | 27 28 29 30 | 31 32 | 33 34 | 35 36 37 38 | 39 40 41 42 | 43 44 45 46 47
Some basic facts Arrival The main central axis Yes, it’s green Scale Topography Summer and winter Borders: Administrative … … and more natural ones History and timeline Tourists’ conventional highlights East and west of the river Hotspots Shopping by car The main road network Distribution of goods Additional points on road and traffic Public transport: Five modes The railway network The metro network The tramway network The two bus networks Tunnels, tunnels, tunnels The toll ring Oslopakke 1, 2 and 3 Housing: Some basic points Some typical neighbourhoods Water in and out Energy and waste Significant moves Nydalen and The metro ring line Bjørvika and The waterfront city Prospective infrastructure Wicked tongues (don’t read this ;-)
Some basic facts
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1 000 000 520 000
Oslo is the capital of Norway and its largest city with approximately 520 000 inhabitants. The Oslo region which includes the city of Oslo and the surrounding county of Akershus has approximately 1 million inhabitants which equals 22 per cent of the country’s total population. The region constitutes a metropolitan area, and its working population distributed according to occupation shows that services dominate: Public and other services 35% Private services 21% Trade 21% Transport and communication 9 % Industry 8 % Building and construction 5%. Located at 60°N and 11°E, Oslo belongs within the Central European Time zone and its altitude approximates that of for example St. Petersburg in Russia and Anchorage in Alaska.
Arrival Travellers arriving by plane reach the city via Oslo airport Gardermoen 50km northeast of the city, road users arrive from the southeast and international ferryboats sail in through the Oslo Fjord from the south. Foreign visitors normally come to Oslo along one of these routes – unless they’ve been visiting another part of Norway on beforehand or taken advantage of a low fares airlines operating at Torp airport 110km to the south west.
Oslo Airport Gardermoen
Airport Express Train Flytoget a 20 minutes ride every 10 minutes
E6 Motorway 50 km
Oslo Central Station Lillestrøm Stockholm (Sweden) 4h 49min E18 most scenic approach…
Copenhagen (Denmark) 16 hours Hirtshals (Denmark) 8.5 / 12.5 hours Kiel (Germany) 20 hours
E6 … better capasity
Gothenburg (Sweden) 3h 49min E6 Gothenburg (Sweden) 290 km
E18 Stockholm (Sweden) 530 km
The main central axis
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The main street, Karl Johans gate, stretches from the slightly elevated Royal Palace, Slottet, in the northwest of the centre to Jernbanetorget and the central station Oslo S in the southeast. The street is around 1.4 kilometres long and describes the extent of the city centre.
Karl Johans gate or simply Karl Johan Oslo Central Station
The Royal Palace Slottet
The old university
The Parliament Stortinget
Western part of the street: Wider and more formal character
Oslo Central Station Oslo S, Jernbanetorget
Eastern part of the street: Narrower with more shops
Offset on the perpendicular axis: The City Hall R책dhuset
Yes, it’s green Not only is the city surrounded by forests, large parts of it consist of green residential areas. Amongst these are satellite towns to be found, especially to the east. The actual urban areas only constitute a smaller, central part. Consequently, large parts of the city are sparsely builtup, and the transition between city and non-city appears less sharp in real life than maps normally lead you to believe.
8|9 Forests The area of the municipality of Oslo covers 454 km2, of which 242 km2 is forest, mainly spruce and pine.
Detached houses with gardens The main part of the built-up area is of suburban character.
Satellite towns The suburban areas also include satellite towns with blocks of flats in green surroundings.
The actual urban area is quite limited in size.
Sea The Oslo Fjord with some 40 islands.
Scale The actual urban part of Oslo does not constitute much more than Manhattan south of Times Square or about a fifth of Paris within Boulevard Periférique.
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Another way of illustrating the size and scale is by looking at the metro travelling time from the city centre to the termini, which, in most cases, lies close to the border of the built-up areas.
Topography The city is situated at the head of the Oslo Fjord in a landscape shaped like an amphitheatre, which mainly opens to the south and is surrounded by wooded hills of varying heights. A trip uphill by metro line 1 to Frognerseteren will give a good impression of the scenery as a whole.
Tryvasshøgda 529m 148m 395m
418m
Grefsenåsen 379m
Ullernåsen 200m
363m
Ekeberg 142m
Highest situated landmark: The 118m tall Tryvannstårnet with an accessible platform 60m above ground level
Downtown landmark: The 117m tall Oslo Plaza Hotel
Summer and winter
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The contrast between summer and winter is characteristic. The mean temperature in July is 16.4°C while it is –4.3°C in January. The summer may be warm and temperatures around 25–30°C are not uncommon. On the other hand, there is snow 3–5 months a year. Albeit snow does provide excellent conditions for winter sports, it makes a more tedious impact on traffic. Large amounts of snow must be removed or made into banks. The banks are difficult to cross on foot and roadways and pavements become icy and slippery. The roadways have to be sprinkled with either sand or salt, which in turn requires extensive cleaning in the springtime. Even the fjord is occasionally iced over.
The sun’s highest altitude above the horizon at mid summer: 53.5°
The sun’s highest altitude above the horizon at mid winter: 6.6° 00:00
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Mid summer day: 19h 10min Mid winter day: 5h 54min
Mid summer: 88m The 117m tall Plaza Hotel’s shadow at midday
Mid winter: 940m
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Borders: Administrative …
BÆRUM
The City of Oslo’s borders do not coincide with the limits of the continuously developed urban area. On the contrary, they run straight through the NITTEDAL urban structure. This is most obvious on the western side of the city, where the border of the neighbouring municipality of Bærum is located no more than 6 kilometres from the city centre. In Norway the municipalities hold the land use and planning authority, while for instance public transport and secondary education are the responsibility of the counties. While the Municipality of Oslo holds county status as well, its neighbouring municipalities belong to the County OSLO of Akershus. The borders and the spheres of authority are conditioned by history, and bring about certain challenges regarding planning and urban development.
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… and more natural ones The hills and forests around the city, “Marka”, are protected against development by a politically decided border. The protection of this green belt is justified by the forests’ natural and recreational value. The area is much loved and used by the citizens all the year round. Together with the Oslo Fjord it leads the course of urban development. City growth can take two ways: Either as increased density on already developed land within the city, or by spreading into the neighbouring, suburban communities. Both have been taking place, but increasingly more development is being directed into certain concentrated areas near public transport interchanges and terminals in the whole of the metropolitan region.
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History and timeline
1898 Electric tramway to Holmenkollen 1800s Industrial growth along the river Akerselva
Approximate urban areas 1910 1928 First underground tunnel 1894 First electric tramway 1624 Christiania laid out beneath the castle
1299 Building of Akershus castle commences
1854 First railway line to Eidsvoll
1624 Medieval Oslo totally destroyed by fire Approximate waterfront 1624
16 | 17 c1000 The first urban area is constructed.
1899 The local building market collapses.
c1070 Oslo Episcopal residence is established.
1911 The first sewage purification plant is put to use.
1299 Oslo becomes the country’s administrative centre. The building of the Akershus castle is begun.
1925 The city takes back its old name, Oslo.
c1350 The Black Death has struck three fourths of the population.
1928 The suburban tramway tunnel from Majorstuen to the city centre at Nationaltheatret opens. 1939 Oslo Airport Fornebu opens.
1624 Medieval Oslo burns to the ground. A new city is founded under shelter of the castle and is named Christiania.
1940–45 The country is occupied by NaziGermany.
1686 Another fire reduces one third of the city to ashes.
1948 The surrounding municipality of Aker is incorporated into Oslo. The area increases from 17 to 453 km2.
1769 The first ever census is taken: 7 469 inhabitants. 1800s Industrial growth takes place along the river Akerselva. 1848 The Royal Palace is completed and put to use. 1851 The university buildings by Karl Johans gate are taken into service. 1853 The first sewage pipes are built. 1854 Railway line towards the northeast opens. 1858 40 centrally located buildings burns down. 1859 Several neighbouring suburbs are incorporated into the city 1866 The Parliament Building is put to use. 1867 Water main from the lake Maridalsvannet is taken into service. 1872 Railway line towards the west opens. 1879 Railway line towards the southeast opens. 1880s and 90s Building boom. Residential areas Frogner, Majorstuen and Grünerløkka are established. 1893 Electric streetlights introduced. 1894 The first electric tramway established. 1898 Suburban tramway to Holmenkollen opens.
1940s and 50s The central district around Rådhuset in Vika is cleared of its slums and redeveloped. 1950 The City Hall Rådhuset is inaugurated. 1950s The development of dormitory towns in the east commences. 1966 The eastern metro network opens. 1971 Pedestrian precincts are established in central parts of the city. 1980 A tunnel through the city connects the eastern and western parts of the railway system. 1990 The central E18 tunnel, Festningstunnelen, is taken into service and relieves the city centre of traffic. 1987 Shared central terminus for both eastern metro lines and western suburban tramway lines is established at Stortinget station. 1995 A fully integrated metro system is established, through-train service is introduced on all lines. 1998 Oslo airport is moved from Fornebu to Gardermoen. 1999 The national hospital Rikshospitalet is moved from the inner city to Gaustad.
Tourists’ conventional highlights In addition to in the city centre, the most popular and promoted tourist spots are to be found in the western parts including the Bygdøy peninsula. Certainly practical, but also limiting a typical tourist’s experiences somewhat. Holmenkollen. Arena for ski jumping, cross country skiing and biathlon. The tower offers a great view of the city.
The Vigeland Sculpture Park. Some 200 sculptures by the sculptor Gustav Vigeland.
Bygdøy
The Norwegian Folk Museum. Antique wooden houses including a timber stave church dating from 1200.
The Viking Ship Museum with its three authentic viking ships.
The Kon-Tiki museum. Thor Heyerdahl’s balsa raft KonTiki and reed boat Ra II.
The Fram Museum. The polar ship Fram used by explorers Nansen and Amundsen.
The Munch Museum devoted to the expressionist painter Edvard Munch. Intentionally located to balance the cultural assets in the east with that to be found in the west.
East and west of the river
Holmenkollåsen: By many considered the most prestigious area
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The river Akerselva
Grünerløkka: Former working class area which became hip during the 90s, and the most prominent example of the ongoing gentrification Gamlebyen: Next in line for gentrification?
Even though social differences in Norway are relatively marginal when looked upon from an international point of view, Oslo has its eastern and western side. Traditionally it is locally expressed as «east and west of the river» although the border presumably lies slightly further west. This map should represent the general picture, but one will certainly find local variations in most parts of the city. Life duration expectancy, degree of education and average income are somewhat higher in the west than in the east, and this is mirrored in real estate prices. Gentrification has been taking place however, and it seems likely to continue with growing investments in the eastern parts of the inner city.
The exception: Bekkelagshøgda and Nordstrand, “The west in the east”, one family houses and gardens with nice sunsets in the front row
Hotspots Shops and other venues attracting people are concentrated along Karl Johan and a couple of blocks to each side of it. Most shops are to be found in the eastern part of the street while nightlife seems to peak a little further west, the cinemas close to Nationaltheatret acting as a centre of gravity. Bogstadveien and Hegdehaugsveien. West end hotspot. Shops and other attractions of all kinds.
Aker brygge. Former shipyard area transformed in the early eighties. So far the only place where swarming street life meets the waterfront.
Karl Johan. The eastern part of the street is said to be Scandinavia’s most crowded pedestrian street in the summertime. A mix of international chain stores and more local ones.
Grünerløkka. Some complain that trendy shops, coffee bars and hip restaurants now are just about to run riot here.
Grønland. Blooming trade stamped by non-western immigrants.
Shopping by car
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Shopping centres based more or less exclusively on accessibility by private car have gradually appeared in the outskirts by the main roads. A concentration of out of town shopping has developed at Alna in the valley along E6 to the northeast. There one will find, for instance, dealers of furniture, electric appliances and building supplies formerly located in the city centre, as well as car based general-purpose stores. Some 90 percent of the customers come by car. In the centre of Oslo shopping centres are fighting back Alna for customers in other retail branches. At Aker Brygge on the western side of the centre less than 40 percent of customers come by car. At “Oslo City” and Byporten close to the Central station only some 20 percent come by car.
Shopping centres “Oslo City” and Byporten by Jernbanetorget and the Central station also act as popular meeting places for youngsters, especially from the east of Oslo.
The main road network The main roads in and out of the city are guided by the fjord and the forested hills into three main corridors of urban development, from the west, northeast and southeast. Most of the main roads have four lanes and dual carriageway, but only short sections have an international motorway standard, where the speed limit is 100 km/h. In the central parts the main road system consists of E18 along the seaside and three semi circled ring roads, Ring 1, 2 and 3. E18 and Ring 3 have the highest capacity and take most of the long distance through traffic. 4 Gjøvik
E6 Hamar, Lillehammer, Trondheim
E16 Hønefoss, Bergen
The Western corridor
The North Eastern corridor
The South Eastern corridor E18 Drammen Kristiansand Stavanger
The Oslo Fjord connection Alternative route through a tunnel under the Oslo fjord. Opened in 2000.
E6 Gøteborg
E18 Stockholm
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Ring 3 50 000 annual daily traffic
Ring 2 20 000 annual daily traffic
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Ring 1 85 000 E18
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Ring 1 20 000 annual daily traffic
E18 80 000 annual daily traffic
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Distribution of goods The main goods terminals for road and rail are located side by side at Alnabru in the Northeast corridor. Together with the Port of Oslo they form the main core of goods distribution in Eastern Norway. Through running heavy trucks mainly follow E18 and Ring 3.
Godsterminalen Alnabru
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Sjursøya. Harbour and terminal for oil and petrol connected to both the railway and the main road system, and with storage tanks in rock caverns.
E6
Additional points on roads and traffic Speed limits. The general speed limits in Norway are 50 km/h in built-up areas and 80 km/h in rural districts. However, all road sections are individually and fairly detailed evaluated, so drivers often meet signs that indicate other limits. Restricting driving speeds is seen as an important part of traffic safety policy. Compared to most other countries, Norway has few traffic accidents in relation to the amount of motor traffic Roundabouts. The use of traffic roundabouts – large and small – is steadily increasing motivated by their optimal combination of traffic safety and high capacity at junctions.
Studded tires are allowed in the winter season, but the use of such tires contributes to air pollution and increases the costs of road maintenance. Campaigns have persuaded more drivers to switch to non-studded winter tires, and during the winter 1999–2000 a special fee was charged for the use of studded tires in Oslo.
Cycling. The topography of Oslo does not encourage cycling to the same extent as for instance in Denmark and Netherlands, and we do not have the same well developed bicycle culture. Special road constructions and traffic arrangement for cyclists are still relatively rare. At the beginning of the 1990’s cycling was allowed on pedestrian pavements, creating new conflicts between cyclists and pedestrians, especially in the inner city.
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Considering the moderate size of the city, the public transport network in Oslo is distinguished by many different modes, good coverage of the area, but comparatively low departure frequencies. There are few sections of the system where passengers can start their journey without thinking of timetables, and they will normally have to wait some time if they have to change between lines and modes. All railway-, metro- and tramlines go radially to the city centre. Buses serve radial corridors left unserved by the rail systems, and provide non-radial connections outside the city centre. The market share of public transport has been relatively stable the last ten years. The weekday journeys of the residents of Oslo and Akershus counties have a modal share of approximately 15/65/20 percent between public transport/motor car/walking and cycling.
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The city centre has two, nearly equally important public transport interchanges or hubs, and both are served by all modes except the ferries: Nationaltheatret at the West end and the Central Station (“Oslo S/Jernbanetorget�) at the East end. Nearly all radial lines run through the city centre, and most of them serve these two hubs.
Both the planning of the public transport network and the operations of the system in the metropolitan region are marked by the historical, administrative borders between the City of Oslo and the surrounding local authorities that belong to the County of Akershus.
Comparative studies have shown that the level of public subsidy for public transport operations is relatively low compared to other cities in Europe.
Fares. The same ticket and price is applicable to all public transport modes within the borders of Oslo. This means that short journeys are expensive, while longer journeys are relatively cheaper. Pre-paid tickets and cards are cheaper than tickets bought from the driver when boarding buses and trams.
The ferries cater for a modest share of total traffic, but they are of vital importance for traffic to the Nesodden peninsula south of the city. This ferry does not carry any cars, and the road distance is long, resulting in a very high public transport share for the journeys between Oslo and Nesodden.
The railway network
Gjøvikbanen Single track line
(Metro network)
New dual track section under planning
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Sandvika Administrative center of the Municipality of BĂŚrum
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New dual track section due to open 2005
Asker Administrative center of the Municipality of Asker.
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Ski Administrative center of the Municipality of Ski
28 | 29 Prior to 1980 the railway system constituted two separate parts, a western and an eastern, with terminal stations at either side of the city centre. In 1980 they were connected by the Oslo Tunnel through the inner city, including a new underground railway station by the existing metro station at Nationaltheatret.
Lillestrøm Administrative center of the Municipality of Skedsmo
Romeriksporten tunnel opened 1999
There are now three main branches to the east and one to the west, but the north-eastern Gjøvikbanen is single tracked with less capacity and a more limited market than the other branches. The core sections of local train services fall within the triangle limited of Asker to the West, Lillestrøm to the north-east and Ski to the south-east. The train services on these inner rail sections are restricted by rail capacity however, and the frequencies are rather moderate. Local trains must share the rail capacity with regional trains, intercity and long distance trains as well as goods trains. In the north-eastern corridor this was somewhat changed by the opening of the new Romeriksporten tunnel in 1999. In the western corridor new dual tracks are now being built, while other sections are still under planning. Most of the railway services are operated by the state owned railway company NSB, but the Airport Express Train is organised as a separate operator. The responsibility for railway infrastructure and the train operations was separated in 1995. The services on the Gjøvikbanen will be operated on a tendered contract from 2006 as the first passenger railway line in the country.
The metro network
Frognerseteren Sognsvann
Vestli
First section of The Metro Circle Line opened 2003
Østerås Storo Majorstuen
Ellingsrudåsen
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Outer section of line 4 temporarily closed 2003
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Lines on four branches on both sides of the city run through a common tunnel between Majorstuen and Tøyen. With one line on each branch that runs at 15 minutes intervals, the city centre is served at 3–5 minutes intervals. The western line 1 to Frognerseteren terminates at Majorstuen for the time being. Generally the distance between stations is so short that the areas alongside the metro are more or less continuously served. The network is the result of building together two earlier separate systems, an old suburban tram system to the west and the underground (“T-bane”) to the east that opened in 1966. The two systems reached a common terminal station at Stortinget in 1987, and fully integrated operations started in 1995. A new connection between one of the western and one of the eastern branches is under construction, the Metro Circle Line. The first section was opened in 2003, and the circle will be complete in 2006. The outer section of line 4 to the west was provisionally closed in 2003 after disagreements between the City of Oslo and the County of Akershus about the responsibilities for the costs of operation and maintenance of the track.
The tramway network
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Kjelsås (Metro network)
Outer section temporarily closed 2003
Rikshospitalet
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The tramway network is less extensive than the metro system, but covers more of the inner city with three sections through the city centre. Most sections of track are served by more than one line, thus favouring direct connections. The area covering is very good due to short distances between stops, but journey speed is relatively low. In the 1960s it was decided that the tram system should be closed down, and several sections were removed. The decision, which was partly due to the introduction of the new metro in the eastern parts of the city, was later reversed thanks to popular opinion. In the 1990s two new sections of track were built, one over the Rådhusplassen in front of the City Hall, and one line was extended to the new national hospital Rikshospitalet north-west in the city. A new generation of 30 trams have been delivered in 1999–2003. The outer part of the Kjelsås line to the north was provisionally closed in 2003 due to lack of funds for operations of service and maintenance of tracks, but is now decided to be reopened.
The two bus networks
(The Municipality of Oslo boarder)
The bus services in the Oslo region reflect the historical, administrative boundaries that have resulted in two largely separate bus networks. The red buses with double figure numbers serve the City of Oslo, and a few areas closely outside the city border. The green buses with three figure numbers serve passengers between Oslo and the County of Akershus, and local journeys inside Akershus. For various reasons the green buses are operated so that they, with some exceptions, do not take up passengers that travel locally in Oslo. The maps of the networks indicate correctly that the area coverage of the region is fairly good. Service frequencies vary considerably however, from high frequency urban services to lines that run only a few times at rush hours. The red lines run through the city centre, while most of the radial green lines terminate at the bus terminal that is located a short distance to the east of the Central station. For this reason, the western suburban and regional bus lines provide direct access to the city centre,
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Central regional bus terminal located at the far eastern edge of the actual city centre (The Municipality of Oslo boarder)
while passengers travelling on the eastern lines do not really reach the city centre without an interchange or a long walk. The region has organised a joint, well functioning travel information system overriding the different administrative divisions, www.trafikanten.no
Tunnels, tunnels, tunnels Norway possesses high competence and long experience in tunnel technology, and tunnels are much used for the infrastructure. Obviously, tunnels are a means of creating short cuts in difficult terrain, but in Oslo tunnel constructions are also motivated by local demands for the protection of the local environment from the disruptions of heavy infrastructure and traffic nuisances. However, tunnels are expensive to build, operate and maintain. They require special safety measures and traffic control systems. An interesting point: If all the planned tunnels in Oslo are implemented, 25 percent of the total traffic on the trunk roads at a given time will be inside a tunnel.
Under construction
Road tunnel Metro tunnel Railway tunnel
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Festningstunnelen existing
Bjørvikatunnelen building starts 2005 scheduled to open 2010–2011
Ekebergtunnelen existing
Clay Rock
The toll ring
Festningstunnelen The central E18 tunnel opened 1990
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The location of the city centre at the head of the Oslo Fjord with no nearby fjord crossings naturally leads to heavy traffic pressure towards the centre. During the 1980s the situation grew intolerable. The tunnel for E18 through the city centre opened in 1990, and the Oslo toll ring was established simultaneously. One of its main purposes was to finance this tunnel, but also other infrastructure projects. In total, 19 toll stations have been set up crossing all three traffic corridors, so that all car traffic going into the central parts of Oslo must pay. The toll ring is due to be removed in 2007, but further payment by transport users is being discussed.
Rådhusplassen in front of The City Hall prior to the opening of Festningstunnelen …
… and after
Oslopakke 1 and 2 Literally translated “Oslo Package”, Oslopakke is essentially a model designed and applied to speed up the infrastructure investments in Oslo and Akershus. The general idea is that both the Government and road users themselves contribute, and that the Government, the County Council of Akershus and the Municipality of Oslo jointly agrees on how and where to spend the money. Road users’ fund-raising takes place by means of the Oslo toll ring.
Oslopakke 1 Oslopakke 1 concerned the development of the region’s trunk road network. A range of projects, among them several tunnels, have been constructed. Twenty percent of the Oslopakke 1 funding has been dedicated to public transport infrastructure. Over a ten year period Oslopakke 1 has enabled implementation of projects which otherwise normally would have taken 20–30 years. Oslopakke 2 The success of Oslopakke 1 inspired the launching of the public transport dedicated Oslopakke 2. Here public transport users contribute to fund-raising alongside the motorists by a dedicated extra charge on fares. The Western Corridor new dual track railway line and the Metro Circle Line are the most prominent first phase projects. A range of others are also included however, among them rolling stock, multimode terminals and traffic flow measures, such as bus-lanes and signal control.
Housing: Some basic points
Most people are owners of their house or flat. Rental is less common, and this market is limited.
For most people their house or flat is the primary object of investment and cater for their financial security. Their spending on redecorating, furnishing and other means of raising the standard and property value is relatively high.
By common conception there is no shortage of space in Norway. Visitors may notice that this is reflected in land use in general as well as in the details. Floorage pr person is relatively high.
To many Norwegians a detached house with a private garden around it represents the ultimate lifestyle. As this became steadily more difficult to achieve in Oslo, Akershus offered a window of opportunity, with quite heavy commuting as a result. More urban lifestyle now is becoming increasingly popular however.
After the Second World War housing development of larger areas, one at the time, was undertaken primarily by cooperative bodies. The satellite housing estates in the eastern parts are the prominent examples.
The housing marked was deregulated in the 1980s, and housing development stagnated around 1990. Development of larger new areas came to a halt, and the 1990s is characterized by more limited projects, infill development and of brown field redevelopment.
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Some typical neighbourhoods These neighbourhoods should in sum give a pretty good impression of how people live in Oslo, and what has been built during the last century or so. They are all easily accessible by public transport for those who want to take a closer look themselves.
Roms책s 1970s Sogn and Nordberg 1930s
Ullev책l hageby c1920 Marienlyst 1930s
Torshov c1920
Frogner 1880s and 90s
Lambertseter 1950s
Holmlia 1980s
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Sogn and Nordberg Area of detached houses built mainly in the 1930s
Ullevål hageby modelled on English garden cities, built 1915–22
Romsås Satellite town at the edge of the forest, built in the 1970s
Torshov Blocks of flats around wide courtyards, built in the 1920s
Marienlyst Functionalist blocks of flats, built in the 1930s
Frogner 19th century Berlin style blocks of flats, built in the 1890s
Holmlia Satellite town built in the 1980s
Lambertseter Oslo’s first satellite town built in the 1950s
Water in and out The lake Maridalsvannet is Oslo’s main water reservoir. The Oset waterworks supplies 85 percent of the total consumption, and is presently undergoing an upgrade to meet EU standards. An extensive network of sewage tunnels and pump stations was built in the 1970s. The main part of the network including the VEAS sewage treatment plant was built and is run jointly by Oslo and three of its neighbouring municipalities.
Bekkelaget sewage treatment plant
The Skullerud waterworks supplies 11 percent
VEAS, Slemmestad sewage treatment plant
Energy and waste
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Significant moves Moving of important functions as well as closing down of traditional manufacturing industries play a significant part in the region’s urban development.
Oslo airport was moved from Fornebu to Gardermoen 50km to the north of the city in 1998
The E6 motorway underwent a major upgrade …
The closing down of the old airport has yielded an attractive site for new housing and businesses at Fornebu in Bærum.
… and a new high-speed railway line including the Romeriksporten tunnel was built to make possible The Airport Express Train service. The significance of these major developments reach far wider than to the air travellers however.
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The national hospital Rikshospitalet moved out of the inner city to Gaustad in 1999, and a tramway line extension was built including a new metro station. Its former location is being transformed to housing.
Nydalen: Manufacturing industries closed down. The area being transformed and the metro ring line being built.
Skøyen: Manufacturing industries closed down
KvÌrner: Manufacturing industries closed down The port activities are to be consentrated near the Sjursøya area, thus yielding large waterfront sites near the city centre to new urban development.
Eastern section due to open 2006
Si
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en
Western section to Storo opened 2003
St or
o
Ny
da
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Nydalen and The Metro Ring Line
A whole new quarter of housing and businesses has sprung up in the former inaccessible industrial area of Nydalen. This urban development includes construction of the Metro ring Line connecting the Sognsvannsbanen branch in the west and the Grorudbanen branch in the east. When completed, Nydalen will host approximately 16 000 workplaces and more than 1000 flats.
Bjørvika and The Waterfront City
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The opera house
The new opera house under construction due to open 2008 Filipstad Bjørvika Tjuvholmen The forthcoming Bjørvika tunnel
As in many other seaports, restructuring of port activities and rethinking of land use for transport purposes opens up new windows of possibilities. The vision of The Waterfront City includes the 65-hectare Bjørvika area with a new opera house as a spearhead. A key project is the Bjørvika tunnel for E18. West of the city centre is the Filipstad area, and first in line to be implemented is the smaller nearby area of Tjuvholmen.
Prospective infrastucture
The Western Corridor
North Eastern Corridor
Railway: New dual track is under construction.
Trunk roads: National road 4 relocation is under consideration.
Trunk roads: E16 new sections are being planned, partly tunnels. Development of E18 is being planned.
4
Public transport: Development of railbound systems are being planned
E16
E18 The central area Trunk roads: E18 Bjørvika tunnel, construction starts 2005–2006. Ring 3 tunnel at Økern, construction starts 2005–2006. Public transport: A range of traffic flow measures.
The South Eastern Corridor Railway: New dual track is being planned.
E6
Trunk roads: E6 4-lane motorway continuous from the Swedish border to Oslo. Tunnels on environmental sensitive trunk road sections are under consideration.
Wicked tongues (don’t read this ;–)
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A train every 15 minutes … Is “metro” really the right name for it? Was it planned?
I don’t know Somehow our new trams remind me of armoured vehicles The Oslo cyclists seem to be colour-blind! … not to mention pedestrians … or motorists
Oslo can hardly be called a city. It’s just an overgrown village. Quite charming
Too many cars here! Let’s demand a tunnel! A long one!
Another tunnel? Soon we will all be living like moles
When in Norway ignore the manmade and head straight on to what nature created New projects? What about some good old maintenance?
hmm…
This booklet was made as part of the host city‘s presentation aimed at the delegates of IFHP 48th World Congress 2004. (IFHP, International Federation of Housing and Planning). It was jointly financed and published by Oslo Public Transport Ltd (AS Oslo Sporveier), Road and Transport Authority, City of Oslo (Oslo kommune Samferdselsetaten), Akershus county council (Akershus fylkeskommune) and Norwegian public Roads Administration (Statens vegvesen region øst). Project manager and responsible on behalf of the financing and publishing parties was Senior Architect Jørn Skaare of Norwegian public Roads Administration. Copyright © Concept, document design, words, cartography and other illustrations by information designer, architect Truls Lange of Civitas Consultant Group, truls.lange@civitas.no The information compiled from a variety of sources during the summer of 2004. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this booklet, the publishers cannot accept responsibility for any errors it may contain or any incompleteness of the information given. Special thanks to Gustav Nielsen, Rune Clausen, Peter Hemmen, Ann Helen Karlsen, Photographs Kjetil Grøntoft except Oslo kommune Plan- og bygningsetaten, Gustav Nielsen, OSL, Oslo Pro, ScanPics, Nokian, AS Oslo Sporveier, Statens vegvesen, Flytoget, Fram-muséet, Kon-Tiki-muséet, Mari Kollandsrud, Riksantikvaren (p 35) Original map data by Asplan Viak for Statens vegvesen Printed by Hestholms trykkeri AS
AS Oslo Sporveier Oslo public Transport Ltd
Oslo kommune Samferdselsetaten Road and Transport Authority, City of Oslo
Akershus fylkeskommune Akershus County Council
Statens vegvesen region øst Norwegian public Roads Administration