Mayor wants 30 km/h speed limit across Copenhagen

Copenhagen should introduce a 30 km/h speed limit across most of the city as part of an effort to reclaim its position as the world’s leading cycling city, according to Mayor for Climate, Environment and Technical Affairs Line Barfod.

Copenhagen has inspired cities around the world through years of investment in cycling infrastructure. But according to Barfod, the Danish capital has in recent years fallen behind European cities such as Amsterdam, Utrecht, Ghent and Paris when it comes to creating more cycle-friendly urban areas.

Those cities have invested heavily in cycle lanes and bicycle parking while also introducing traffic-calmed city centres, 30 km/h speed limits, cycle streets and car-free routes around schools.

Barfod wants Copenhagen to follow a similar path.

“It should be an even better experience to cycle in Copenhagen. Reducing car speeds across large parts of the city, as many other major European cities are doing, makes a big difference,” she said.

According to Barfod, lower speeds would reduce the number of serious traffic accidents, create calmer streets and make cyclists feel safer on cycle streets where bicycles and cars share the road.

National law would need to change

Introducing a general 30 km/h speed limit would require a change in Danish law to give municipalities greater authority over speed limits on their own roads.

Barfod plans to raise the issue with Denmark’s new transport minister.

A 30 km/h limit would also apply to cycle lanes and could therefore reduce the speed of fast e-bikes and mopeds. The proposed lower limit would not apply to state-owned main roads leading into Copenhagen.

More space for cyclists

Speed limits are not the only issue Barfod wants to address. She says increasing congestion on Copenhagen’s cycle lanes requires more immediate action and plans to make cycling a priority when the city’s budget negotiations begin on 28 August.

“There is more congestion for cyclists, and in some places people feel unsafe on the cycle lanes. Unfortunately, that means some people choose not to cycle,” Barfod said.

“If Copenhagen is to reclaim its position as the world’s best cycling city – and we must – we need to step things up considerably. We need to prioritise more space for bicycles.”

Barfod said she had heard from parents who no longer feel comfortable sending their children onto Copenhagen’s cycle lanes, as well as older residents who find some of the busiest routes unpleasant to use.

She believes the city needs both a more considerate cycling culture and infrastructure that provides more space and better conditions for the growing number of cyclists.

During the upcoming budget negotiations, Barfod will among other things push for an alternative cycling route through Nørrebro to relieve congestion on Nørrebrogade.

She also supports a proposal from Copenhagen’s Youth Council to turn Vester Voldgade into a cycle street, provided the plan is approved by the city’s Climate, Environment and Technical Affairs Committee.