Baana is a former railway, which has been transformed into a pedestrian and cycling path as an

urban renewal Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blighte ...

project in Helsinki, replacing the

Helsinki harbour rail The Helsinki harbour rail line ( fi, Helsingin satamarata) was a side rail track in Helsinki, Finland, built in the 1890s, and dismantled in 2009. Originally it led from the Helsinki Central railway station, via the city's coastline, to Katajanok ...

way. Its length is about 1.3 kilometers (0.81 mi), starting from Kiasma. It is used annually by approximately 700 000 cyclists.

History

There were three plans to convert the

railway cutting Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

left behind by the disused Helsinki harbour rail to a new use. Of the three plans, the bicycle and pedestrian alternative prevailed in the end. The modification to bike and pedestrian use took several years. The name ''Baana'' (Finnish slang word for (rail)way coming from Swedish ''bana'' and German ''Bahn'') for the new route was obtained through a naming competition. Baana was opened to the public on Helsinki Day, 12 June 2012. Baana begins between

Helsinki Music Centre sv, Musikhuset i Helsingfors , image = Centro Musical de Helsinki, Finlandia, 2012-08-14, DD 01.JPG , caption = Helsinki Music Centre in August 2011, shortly before opening , former_names = , building_type ...

and Kiasma. It runs to a new separated-grade vehicle/bicycle junction called Länsilinkki (Western Link) near former level crossing of Hietalahdenranta street with a total length of and an average depth of . There are several staircase exits for pedestrians and a sloped exit for bikes. The pedestrian lane has chairs fixed to asphalt. In the wide part near Ruoholahdenkatu sports-related facilities have been provided for

skateboarding Skateboarding is an extreme sport, action sport originating in the United States that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry Profession, job, and a ...

and table tennis. Baana provides a speedy way to bike through western Helsinki downtown and adds to non-commercial space in heart of downtown. It has been very popular especially during prime biking season. There is a bike counter which shows bike count for today and for this year. It can also be viewed online. Baana chasm has been used for performances during annual festival

Night of the Arts The Night of the Arts ( fi, Taiteiden yö, sv, Konstens natt) is an annual event held in several major cities in Finland, usually in August. E.g. in 2019: Helsinki, Turku and Oulu 15 August; Tampere and Vaasa 8 August. It is one of many White Ni ...

. Baana received a special mention in

European Prize for Urban Public Space The European Prize for Urban Public Space is a biennial award established in 2000 to recognise public space projects. It is organised by the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona together with six other European institutions: The Architectu ...

competition in 2014. The name Baana has later been put for a wider use to describe multiple different cycling paths (such as ''Pohjoisbaana'' in north-south direction) and also the cycling network (''Baanaverkko'') as a whole.

References

External links

* {{Commons category-inline Kluuvi Kamppi Transport in Helsinki Urban renewal