Flower Pots Calm Traffic

To decrease the speed of drivers on Bergstaðarstræti, actress Vigdís Hrefna Pálsdóttir has been placing flower pots in the middle of the road as traffic calming devices, reports Vísir.

“Usually it’s small things – more often than not, flower pots, bags or buckets with flowers in them – that I place in the middle of the street, with more than enough room on either side so that people can drive without hitting them,” said Vigdís. “It’s getting a lot of attention, most people like it and are happy but then the odd black sheep loses it over the flowers.”

These odd black sheep, Vigdís told Vísir, call the police to complain over the matter.

“I mean it’s almost laughable that understaffed police have to waste time removing flower pots from the road,” said Vigdís. “The other day for example a leather clad police woman had to show up and stand there as the flower pot was removed.”

Overwhelmingly however, the flower pots are getting support from the street’s residents. Vigdís even met with City Hall on behalf of Bergstaðarstrætið to officially apply to for traffic calming devices that have worked on other Reykjavík streets. Her hope is that it will help slow down the speed of drivers in her area.

Vigdís said that her aim with the flower pots is to help change how drivers see the street. “This is a message of love that I’m trying to spread with the flower pots, I’m hoping to remind people that the street isn’t just for cars,” she said.