In recent days, Copenhagen has been making headlines with a project to reduce driving speeds on municipal streets. The plan was announced a short while ago, with the municipality's technical and environmental department reducing speed limits on most roads by 10 kilometers per hour.
As part of a pilot plan, the technical and environmental management decided to reduce the speed limit to 40 km/h on large sections of roads in the municipality of Copenhagen, and to 30 km/h along the road in bridge areas closest to the city center.
The technical and environmental management aims to make driving in Copenhagen less attractive to motorists while reducing speed.
But the decision is “troubling and open to criticism,” according to FDM, the Danish motorists“ welfare organization. Dennis Lange, senior advisor at FDM, commented: ”We don’t think this will make people stay away from (driving) cars. In our view, it will make it more difficult to be a driver and a citizen in Copenhagen, and that’s the wrong way, we think.”.
Signs will be posted for the new speed limit, which will come into effect at the end of the year.
Dennis Lang criticized the decision, saying: “If you want to motivate people to do something else, you can make sure there are some good alternatives. It could be roadside facilities and parks in the suburbs, where a person can park the car and continue easily, quickly and cheaply by train or subway. You don’t do that, you start using the whip without there being a real alternative.”.
In response to a question about the difference that reducing the speed by 10 kilometers per hour makes, he replied, ”It makes a difference to the overall picture, and it means that there are people who will arrive more slowly, which leads to more time being wasted in traffic.”.
The following are 15 other municipalities that will participate in the speed reduction pilot plan, as announced several days ago:
Frederiksberg Kommune
Allerød Kommune
Fredensborg Kommune
Frederikssund Kommune
Furesø Kommune
Gentofte Kommune
Hillerød Kommune
Hørsholm Kommune
Lyngby-Taarbæk Kommune
Rudersdal Kommune
Odense Kommune
Randers Kommune
Norddjurs Kommune
Aarhus Kommune
Aalborg Kommune
(Source: TV2)
