Scusate ma non ho avuto il tempo di tradurlo....
da:
http://www.utopia-eu.com/reptex/rep51/rep08.htm
The Bicycle lift and free city bikes in Trondheim, Norway
Trondheim (140.000) in Norway has the kind of hills, which loom large on
the psychological horizon of the average cyclist.
While the local authority was building an extensive network of cycle
paths, the planners in Trondheim felt that some help was needed for
getting commuting cyclists up a few particularly steep hills lying between
the suburbs and the city centre.
Design Management AS developed a bicycle lift â an equivalent of a ski
lift - and a prototype was installed in 1993. It involves an electrically
operated underground cableway in a housing, which forms a normal pavement
curb up the hill. Footplates are anchored to the cable at intervals of 25
m. They are concealed within the housing, emerging only when you insert a
key card in the control panel. Put a foot on the slanted footplate and you
are gently pushed up the hill at a speed of 6 km/h.
The prototype is 130 m long, has a 1:5 gradient, and carries 300 cyclists
per hour.
The Bicycle Lift demonstration project was initiated by a partnership
between the inventor, local industry, the Municipality of Trondheim and
the local Public Roads Administration.
The main objective of the project was to test an innovative new technique
for assisting cyclists up steep hills and, thus, to encourage the use of
bicycles in the city.
Initially there was a lot of scepticism among the general public,
politicians and the media which, over the 6 years, has changed to
enthusiasm. Without claiming that this is solely a result of the Bicycle
Lift, the last yearâs growth in cycling has probably been higher in
Trondheim than in any other Norwegian city. The lift alone is pushing
30,000 cyclists uphill every season (six months).
During six years of operation there have been no accidents or injuries on
the lift. In the area close to the Bicycle Lift, cycling has increased by
150 % since 1993. A users survey tells us that 50 % of the Bicycle Lift
users are students, and 20 % of the users commute more by bicycle due to
the lift. 72 % of the users want more lifts to be installed in Trondheim.
96 % are willing to pay for bicycle lift trips. It is expected that a
yearly subscription fee of 25 ECU, covering 3000 subscribers, would cover
both the operating and the investment costs of a new 250 m Bicycle Lift
planned on another steep hill in Trondheim.
The Bicycle Lift offers entertainment as well as sustainable transport,
and has turned out to be a big tourist attraction in Trondheim.
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