Stockholm - SLL Tillväxt, miljö och regionplanering (TMR ...

SUMMARY323authority Banverket presented its preliminary studywhich, according to the law on railway construction,must be the first stage in the planning process, despitethe fact that various rail transport alternatives had beenunder examination for many years and regional planninghad been in process. No less that 18 different railalternatives suggested were dealt with in general terms,while six alternatives were examined more closely. Ayear and a half later, Banverket had reached the conclusionthat only the commuter train tunnel, with a stationin south Stockholm, should be proceeded with; in otherwords, the same solution as proposed in RUFS. Constructioncan commence at the end of 2005 and the tunnelbe ready for service in 2011. The question of financing,however, is not yet finally resolved.North-South road connectionsThe limited road traffic capacity over the so-called Saltsjö-Mälarensection has, together with rail transport,been one of the most central issues for regional planning.The solution indicated in RUFS – a StockholmBypass west of the regional centre as well as the easternroute Österleden – has received significant supportduring the planning process. One important motivationfor developing bypass routes is the need to link up theregion’s southern and northern halves to form aneconomic and social whole.The introduction of the Environmental Code in 1999and the changes it made to the Roads Act meant newdemands of the planning process to include new roads.For this reason the Roads Administration introduced, inthe spring of 2001, so-called “early consultations” onnorth-south road links in the Stockholm area. TheRoads Administration is currently examining possibleroutes for the Stockholm Bypass as well as such alternativeswhich have already been discarded from regionalplanning. Building the road can begin in 2007 and couldbe completed at the earliest in 2013.In the comments it submitted on the regional planRUFS 2001 while it was on public exhibition, theCounty Council suggested that in addition the outerRing Road, the Bromma branch of the route Essingeledenand the Ålstensleden route should be shown onthe regional plan, in order that the north-south roadconnections could be finally decided upon. In practicethere are thus several areas reserved in the regional planfor north-south connections: Stockholm Bypass, Ålstensleden,Ulvsunda Diagonal and Bromma branch aswell as the eastern route Österleden. Despite many yearsof inquiries and consultations, it has not proved possibleto reduce the number of alternatives. A regional planshould give direction for decisions on subsequent roadcommissions.AirportsOne of the premises of RUFS work was the shortage ofairport capacity in the region, while at the same timeclosure of several of the existing airports is impending.The region’s two existing public airports are Bromma,which was opened in 1936, and Arlanda, which openedin 1960. With its three runways, Arlanda is the region’sprincipal airport. The question of closing Bromma airport,and turning the airport land into a residential area,has long been discussed.There was a certain optimism as to the possibility ofalso achieving a long-term solution to the airport questionthrough RUFS work. A fair number of municipalitiesappeared to be ready to join in supporting theproposal for a new airport in Hall in Södertälje, near theedge of Botkyrka, which was launched by the Civil AviationAuthority with a detailed investigation of variousconceivable alternatives. The country’s Prime Minister,however, made a solution impossible when he declaredthat this was not a good proposal at all. In RUFS nospace is reserved for a new airport. Instead, Brommamust continue in use, and possibilities for further ex-