On Tuesday 14 June last year, Noah Landro (12) was hit by a car when he stepped into the path of a bus at the Torsvik crossing stop in Øygarden outside Bergen. There is an 80 zone on the stretch. There are no transition fields here. There have also been serious incidents in the past, including in 2013. Then a 12-year-old girl was hit by a car, but came away with a broken leg. Noah Landro’s parents now react to the fact that nothing has been done. – The road is exactly the same today as before. It is the same problem that can appear again, says Morten Landro. – It is important to get something done, so that more people are not forced to end up in the same situation as us. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. Measures should have been put in place to reduce the risk of something like this happening again. Neighbors sit with their hearts in their throats For several years, residents have asked for measures. One of them is Henning Øvreås. He has children of secondary school age who cross the busy road to and from school and leisure activities. – I sit with my heart in my throat every day. He thinks it is understandable that no speed-reducing measures have been taken to ensure the transition after the fatal accident last year. – As the traffic situation is now, we try to drive them to and from friends, leisure activities and school as often as we can. Henning Øvreås does not understand why the speed has not been reduced, or why no signs have been put up warning that children are crossing the road. Photo: Kjell Jøran Hansen / news – A lot has happened Mayor in Øygarden municipality says a lot has happened since the accident last year. – We have acquired the land for a turning point for buses on the other side of the road, a pocket where you can cross the road to get on and off the bus, says Tom-Georg Indrevik (H). The municipality has provided NOK 10 million in municipal funds for the new bus stop. In addition, this year they applied for funds from the county council for physical traffic safety measures and were awarded NOK one million for this. In the award, it was stated that the project must be started before the end of the year, but that the completion itself can be moved forward. Tom Georg Indrevik (H) says Øygarden municipality has taken responsibility for what they can when it comes to moving forward with the project for a new bus stop. Photo: Gerd Johanne Braadland The municipality is working on the tender basis for the project now, and did not manage to have the bus space ready this year. – I hope we can get the tender out reasonably quickly and that we can build this bus shelter during the winter, says Indrevik. The mayor nevertheless agrees that it has taken too long for anything to happen. When asked why no concrete speed-reducing measures have been taken, he refers to the county council. Must reduce the speed to 70 km/h The bus stop is on county road 561. Vestland County Council took over responsibility for the road from January 2020. Before that, the Norwegian Road Administration was responsible. In 2019, the Swedish Road Administration carried out a speed limit assessment after neighbors had requested it. They then concluded that there was no basis for lowering the speed limit. – We did not make any estimates of exactly how many people crossed this road on foot, says Frode Moen Aarland, section manager of the Swedish Road Administration. In their view, the stretch in 2019 did not meet the criteria for either being signposted or having the speed limit reduced. After the accident, the police concluded that no one could be blamed for what happened. The driver was driving below the speed limit, according to the police. The county council promised to take action. Department director for infrastructure and roads, Dina Lefdal, told Bergens Tidende that they wanted to look at the safety of the city, but that it was out of the question to put a transition lane in an 80-zone. One year and three months later, nothing has happened. There is still an 80-zone on the road. But in consultation with the Swedish Road Administration, the county council has now decided that the speed limit will be reduced to 70 km/h. Mats Korneliussen is head of the section for management and resolution in the department for infrastructure and roads in Vestland County Municipality. Photo: Private – We have only received approval to reduce the speed on the northern part of the section between Vik and Rong to 70 km/h. We are now working further with the formal processes to reduce the speed. – When exactly will the speed limit change? – This has a high priority and is important to us, and we hope to get it in place during the autumn, says Korneliussen. – Neighbors are calling for other measures, such as signs. Why haven’t they taken such steps? – It has not been assessed that there has been a basis for establishing children’s signs at the county road here, he replies. The work has taken time because they are waiting for the accident analysis group of the National Road Administration to finish their work after the fatal accident last year. Korneliussen does not know when the report will be finished. – But we have a number of ongoing plans with both a one-way bus stop at Torsvik and speed limit reduction.
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Over a year since the fatal accident in Øygarden, the county council has not taken action – news Vestland
