SHARE
COPY LINK

DRIVING

Are speed limits about to be reduced in Copenhagen?

Lower speed limits on roads in Copenhagen Municipality could be on the way with a majority in local government in support of the move.

traffic in copenhagen
Lower speed limits could soon be introduced on many roads in Copenhagen. Photo: Teitur Jonasson/Ritzau Scanpix

Cars may be required to comply with speed limits of 40 or 30 kilometres per hour on some roads in the city in accordance with a municipal project to reduce speeds by at least 10 kilometres per hour, local broadcaster TV2 Lorry reported on Tuesday.

The regular speed limit in urban areas in Denmark is 50 kilometres per hour (around 30 miles per hour).

The committee responsible for urban planning and the environment, which has the Danish name Teknik- og Miljøforvaltningen, is to make a final decision on the plan on May 30th.

That comes after the city council voted for a general reduction of speed limits in the 2022 budget, which was passed late last year. News wire Ritzau writes that the majority is still in place, meaning the specific proposals are likely to be voted through.

Should it be confirmed, the cost of reducing speed limits throughout Copenhagen is likely to reach 90 million kroner. The money will be spent on changing road signs and construction of speed bumps and chicanes.

Regional roads, meaning main access roads to the city and highways such as the central HC Andersens Boulevard, are not covered by the project.

Lower speeds are intended in part to reduce the attractiveness of driving in central Copenhagen, in line with objectives related to both safety and the environment.

“It is critical that we reduce speeds on the roads in Copenhagen. It helps reduce CO2 emissions and air pollution if more people choose alternatives to the car. And lower speeds make roads safer,” head of the infrastructure committee on the municipal council, Line Barfod, said in a statement.

The project is expected to initially be implemented in the Valby district from late 2022, should it be voted through.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

COPENHAGEN

What is on Copenhagen residents’ climate wish list?

A committee for residents in Copenhagen has sent the city government a list of recommendations for improving the city’s environmental impact, including requests for more plant-based food and ‘luxury’ bike parking.

What is on Copenhagen residents’ climate wish list?

The committee, Klimaborgertinget or “Residents’ Climate Parliament”, worked on the recommendations for several months before submitting them to Copenhagen Municipality, according to a municipality press release.

The 30-person strong committee has come up with “many” suggestions which it says will make a positive impact on the capital’s environment, the municipality said.

These include more repair workshops at recycling centres, plant-based food at municipal canteens, more shared living (bofælleskaber) for elderly and young people and car-free bicycle boulevards.

The recommendations were made with the assistance of environmental experts.

READ ALSO: How to recycle a used mattress in Copenhagen

Municipality officials are obliged to consider each of the requests but not to implement them.

“I’m very grateful that so many Copenhageners chose to be part of the climate consultation and that those who were selected spent so much time on the work,” the councillor for environment at Copenhagen Municipality, Line Barfod, said in the statement.

“Us politicians really need to hear from Copenhageners about which measures make sense for their everyday lives,” she said.

READ ALSO: Should you choose the ferry between Oslo and Copenhagen over flying?

The climate council for residents was set up under the city’s 2023 budget. A 2035 Copenhagen Municipality climate plan meanwhile seeks to halve emissions from the city’s residents by that year.

“There have been a lot of good proposals, and I can promise now that I will work to make several of them reality,” Barfod said.

The recommendations made by the residents’ council fall into three main categories in which they feel emissions related to human consumption in the city can be reduced: food, transport and housing.

This could mean more shared economy such as housing communities or shared transport, increasing bicycle transport and facilities or more plant-based food.

Other broad recommendations include more local food produce and less import, better national and international public transport links, more climate regulation and reduced food waste, and sustainable construction.

“But there are also some fun and surprising proposals about, for example, using challenges and gamification to engage more people, which I hadn’t even thought of,” Barfod said.

The use of a residents’ is a tested method of democratic involvement and was carried out in accordance with Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) principles, the municipality said in the statement.

This ensures “arm’s length” separation between the work of the council and the interests of city politicians and administration, it said.

More information about the Klimaborgerting and the recommendations of the residents’ council in full can be found on the Copenhagen Municipality website.

SHOW COMMENTS