Norwegian Cyclists
Cyclists ride during the 92 km stage of the Birkebeinerrittet race between Rena and Lillehammer in Norway August 29, 2015. Reuters/Geir Olsen

Norway would allocate $923 million (AUD$1.217 billion) to build 10 bicycle highways in nine cities. The two-lane roads would ensure safety of bike riders as they travel in and out of big cities and would be connected to the suburbs.

In building the bike superhighways, Norway wants to ensure the safety of bikers especially during the longer and darker winter days when the country gets chilly, although most of the ice is at bay because of the Gulf Stream, while temperatures are often in the moderate range, reports Inhabitat.

The ambitious plan aims to reduce the country’s transport emissions by half. Under the new National Transit Plan, by 2030, 75 percent of Norway’s buses and 50 percent of trucks must be low-emission, while 40 percent of short-distance vessels and ferries, must also be low-emission or run on biofuels.

However, there are apprehensions because the roads would be built on the mountainous country that is cold and dark much of the year, notes Citylab. The planned bike highways would allow cyclists a top speed of 40 kilometres per hour which makes longer commutes feasible.

Norway would follow what Edmonton, Canada, and Oulu Finland had done, although it has a lot of catching up to do. In Denmark, 17 percent of all journeys are on bike, in Sweden it was 12 percent, while in Norway it was only 5 percent in 2014.

As more European cities take to the bike, the continent’s cycling industry continues to expand at a fast pace with 655,000 people employed in the cycling economy. These are those in bike production, tourism, retail, infrastructure and services.

In contrast, the mining and quarrying sector employs 615,000, while the steel sector provides jobs to 350,000 workers. According to a comprehensive study of jobs created by sector, released in 2014, by just doubling the share of journeys across Europe on two wheels from the current three percent, the number of jobs it could provide would jump to 1 million by 2020, reports The Guardian.

In his message to European national and local governments, Kevin Mayne, the development director of the European Cyclists Federation, which commissioned the study, points out, “Every cycle lane you build and every new cyclist you create is contributing to job growth. Investing in cycling provides a better economic return than almost any other transport option. This should be your first choice every time.”