It has been mathematically proven that car drivers would have little to worry about if Laugavegur were closed year-round.
Kjarninn reports that PR specialist Björn Teitsson and architect Andri Gunnar Lyngberg calculated just how long it would take to walk from any of downtown’s parking garages to any shop or service on Laugavegur. The longest possible distance any car driver would have to walk, it turns out, is about 350 metres – about three minutes’ walk at a reasonable pace.
To get an comparative idea of just how close this is, they also calculated the farthest point one would have to walk from a space in Kringlan’s parking lot to a store within. The greatest distance in this case was 210 metres.
The two say that with the data presented in black and white, the contentions of the Association of Merchants and Real Estate Owners on Laugavegur that closing the main shopping street is bad for business does not hold up to scrutiny.
“To expect to be able to drive your car right up to the front door of a shop on Laugavegur is like expecting to be able to drive your car up to the entrance of a shop in Kringlan, which is pretty far-fetched,” they said in a statement.
As reported, Laugavegur will be closed for four months this year, a compromise from the five months that were proposed and met with opposition from the association, amongst others.
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