The deputy chief of police in Reykjavík said that the city did everything right in turning certain stretches of road into pedestrian walkways. However, he said the signs could be more prominent.
The city is not allowed to physically close the streets off with bollards or gates due to provisions in traffic laws that stipulate, among other things, that driving services for people with disabilities must not be inhibited. However, the drivers have not been responding to signs stating that the streets are pedestrian, and traffic has not diminished in those areas. This could be due to the placement of the signs.
The chief officer of the traffic department, Árni Friðleifsson, told RÚV, “I’ve gone down to Laugavegur twice and looked at the signs. They are in accordance with the traffic regulations, but there are shortcomings. These signs are high up, they could be lowered, and we have made our comments known to the city.”
He added that it was not stated correctly on the police department’s Twitter page in regards to being fined for violating these signs. The Twitter post said that people cannot be fined; they can.
“There is no street that can receive 24 hour police surveillance. That’s out of the question. Otherwise, we would be living in a police state, and nobody wants that,” he said.
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