Vörður, a representative council of independent associations in Reykjavík, have stated that they strongly oppose the the Reykjavík City Council’s plans to reduce the maximum speed limit on all streets in the city’s administration.
Last week, the City of Reykjavík’s Planning and Transportation Council approved a proposal to reduce the maximum speed on the vast majority of city streets to a speed of 40 or 30kph.
Belief traffic will increase if the speed limit is reduced
An announcement from Vörður states “All things being equal, it will push traffic further into the city’s residential area, which will threaten the traffic safety of all road users. Experience shows this. A clear example of this is from the year 2014, when the city authorities restricted traffic on Hofsvallagata. As a result, the number of vehicles increased by 1,000 per day in nearby residential streets, according to the city authorities themselves.”
Same results, different methods
The changes to the speed limits have been introduced to help lower particulate matter pollution in the capital area but Vörður believe it could be done in a better way.
“Cleaning of the city’s streets has not been sufficient and the streets of Reykjavík need to be cleaned more than once or twice a year,” they stated.
Vörður also believe that better snow removal would also reduce the use of studded tires, helping road surfaces.
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