– For my part, it is important that it is built. I find it annoying and frustrating that you can spend so much time agreeing on where it should go. That’s what Elise Løseth Øvrebø (22) says, who will be voting for the second time this year. She doesn’t think it’s so bad that the Bybanen should go over the Bryggen: – I think it’s better that it goes over the Bryggen than that it doesn’t go at all, she says. The 32-year-old Simen André Rydland does not want a rematch either: – They have to finish now. I don’t know how many years have passed, but I think it’s finished now. POSITIVE: 32-year-old Simen André Rydland is positive about the Bybanen til Åsane. – Then we will have even more public transport services that we can use, he says. Photo: Linnea Skare Oskarsen / Lotte Solheim Johannessen The two belong to the majority in the inflamed light rail case in Bergen, shows a new news survey. A political firestorm The Bylane to Åsane has been the most heated political issue in Bergen in the last ten years. It has split parties, overturned city councils and caused the largest parties to switch sides. The core point of the conflict has been whether it should go along the world heritage Bryggen in Bergen or not. Dramatically, the politicians in the city decided last year that the Bryggen alternative was the best. But before the first sod roof is laid, the route choice for the Bybanen can shape Bergen’s politics in the future as well. HOW IT COULD BE: Bergen municipality’s illustrations show how the light rail route along Bryggen could be. Photo: Bergen municipality But now the people of Bergen want to move on, shows a survey Norstat has carried out for news. 50 per cent of those questioned do not want another rematch for the Bryggen route. A minority, 40 per cent, say they want a rematch for the route. 10 percent say they don’t know. Among young people, there are even fewer who want a rematch. City council leader in Bergen, Rune Bakervik from the Labor Party, is satisfied with the figures news shows, he says. His party now has the Bryggen route as one of its major campaign issues. – The reason why I ran as city council leader was to save the further planning of Bybanen. This shows that it was a correct assessment. – HARD WORK: Bergen city council leader Rune Bakervik (Ap) acknowledges that the battle for the Bybanen til Åsane has cost the party a lot. Now he is concerned that the politicians and the people should gather around the track. Photo: Gerd Johanne Braadland In recent years, the Conservative Party has fought tooth and nail to put the Bybanen in a tunnel behind Bryggen. But towards the election campaign, the tone has changed. City council leader candidate Christine Meyer does not want a city rail dispute to overshadow yet another election campaign. – It is very important that we, as party leaders, show the way, which we are trying to do now. We must focus on other matters. We must not let this light rail issue ruin another election campaign and just become a one-issue election campaign once again, says Meyer. It is not necessarily her own voters, according to the latest news survey. Asked Conservative voters want a rematch 600 Bergen residents were asked in the survey. They are also asked which party they would vote for. The survey shows that more than half of the Conservative Party’s voters want a rematch. Meyer nevertheless says that she and the party are not out of step with their own voters. – No, we know that the Conservative Party is divided on this issue. This is also why we have fought for so long against the Bryggen route. But at one point or another, the city must get an answer, says Meyer. She is aware that the Conservative Party wants the Bybanen to Åsane, but is worried about high costs. Although the major parties want peace in the light rail issue, the commitment among Bergen residents is still high. In fact, so large that a new protest party, with opposition to the Bybanen along the Bryggen as its main cause, is likely to win two mandates in the city council, according to a recent news poll. On 31 May, the city council in Bergen is scheduled to adopt the proposed route to Åsane along Bryggen. PROTEST AGAINST THE BRYGGEN ROUTE: Former Labor finance councilor in Bergen, Trond Tystad, is at the head of Bergenslisten. Their main issue is that Bybanen should not go over Bryggen. Photo: Gerd Johanne Braadland
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The people of Bergen do not want a rematch for the Bybanen langs Bryggen – news Vestland
