Riksveg 13, the only road through Oddadalen in Hardanger, runs on a narrow, preserved bridge from 1833. The road is one of the most used between Bergen and Oslo. The bridge here is also the best vantage point for the very popular Låtefoss, a regular in holiday photos from Vestland. The narrow bridge will carry both tourists and heavy traffic. Photo: Martin Værum Anda / news The meeting point between traffic and tourism has caused such a big problem that the Swedish Road Administration has now deployed traffic controllers at the site. – Where a lot of people gather, there can be traffic challenges. Things come to a head at Låtefoss and have consequences for other road users, commercial transport, emergency vehicles and tourists. says Acting Department Director of the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, Henny-Kristin Asprenden Navarsete. Many tourists go out onto the narrow bridge to secure the glimpse from Låtefoss. Photo: Martin Værum Anda / news Tourists on the road In winter, around 190 vehicles cross the bridge per hour. In the tourist season, the figure multiplies to 600 vehicles per hour. On the busiest days in July, almost 6,500 vehicles drove over the narrow bridge. Tourists must cross the road to get from the car park to the kiosk and the waterfall. Photo: Martin Værum Anda / news In addition to oncoming traffic, road users here also have to be prepared to meet shoe-loving tourists on the bridge, as well as cars backing out of the nearby car park. On several occasions, vehicles have also parked on the road, as there have been no available parking spaces. The chaos is not new, but has gotten worse over the years. As early as 1989, Øystein Sunde sang about the traffic challenges in the area in the song “Campingvogna”. This situation was caught on the Norwegian Public Roads Administration’s webcam at Låtefoss earlier this summer. Photo: Statens vegvesen – Many of the traffic problems have their origin in the parking here, says Navarsete. – When the conductors are there, there is only traffic one way at a time, so the soft road users get a little more space on the bridge. In addition to ensuring that there is good traffic flow, the conductors help those who have to back out of the car park. The management also makes it safer for the tourists, believes Navarsete. The conductors are in place from 11.00 to 18.00. Before and after, you can meet oncoming traffic and tourists simultaneously on the narrow bridge. Photo: Martin Værum Anda / news The fact that it is precisely a waterfall that tourists want to take pictures of makes it extra challenging, she says. – They are deprived of one of our most important senses in traffic, namely hearing. So I encourage the gentle road users there to be extra careful. – Not so hysterical From May to September, Patrick Hylland spends eleven hours a day in Låtefoss Kiosk. From here he has a good view of the road. – It is a wonder that nothing has happened. But something will happen, that’s clear, he says. Patrick Hylland looks directly at the meeting point between soft tourists and vehicles from his kiosk. Photo: Martin Værum Anda / news In the high season, approximately three thousand people stop to look at the waterfall every day, Hylland estimates. – It’s the same every year. The car park is full, people have to cross the road, and the cars don’t drive for 50, so to speak. I sit with my heart in my throat. But when the traffic conductors are in place, the situation becomes completely different. – It is much quieter and calmer, it is not so hysterical. The car park is on the other side of the road from the kiosk and the waterfall. Photo: Martin Værum Anda / news Daily manager Lars Ivar Kollbotn of Aarekol Trafikktjeneste, who has taken on the task of directing traffic on the site, says the conductors get good feedback from tourists and road users. – They wave and give a thumbs up! Day-to-day manager of Aarekol Traffic Service Lars-Ivar Kollbotn. Photo: Martin Værum Anda / news The company has assignments in traffic over large parts of Western Norway, but assignments in direct connection to a tourist attraction are not an everyday occurrence. – It gives a good feeling to be involved in looking after an area like Låtefoss. Now people can park and move calmly towards the waterfall, and have a good experience. – Could be here the whole high season Hylland would like to have the traffic conductors back next high season, then preferably already from May until the end of August. – If not, they must develop the area here. That is what the alternative is. Initially, the initiative will only last until 11 August this year, when the festival-goers to the Sus and Dus festival in Odda have returned home. Navarsete does not rule out that they will consider similar measures next academic season as well. – The most important thing is that we encourage both road users and those in vehicles not to contribute to obstacles or traffic-dangerous situations, she says. – If that encouragement is not forthcoming, other measures must be implemented. Published 07/08/2024, at 05.25
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Tourism and traffic at Låtefoss led to chaos – news Vestland
