In the capital of Iceland, Reykjavík you need feet or a bike to get around. Because now, for the 8th year running. Several downtown streets in Reykjavík will, in whole or in part, be closed to car traffic until 1st of October.
These streets of Reykjavík is affected until 1st of October
City of Reykjavík revealed last week that the following streets will be open only for pedestrians and bicycles:
Laugavegur and Bankastræti, from Klapparstígur to Þingholtsstræti.
Skólavörðustígur between Bergstaðastræti and Laugavegur.
Pósthússtræti between Kirkjustræti and Hafnarstræti.
Austurstræti along with Veltusund and Vallarstræti.
Only delivery trucks will allow running on these streets. This can be done between 07.00 and 11.00 in the mornings and between 08.00 and 11.00 on Saturdays. On Sundays, these streets are totally closed.
Increase walk-ins in the City of Reykjavík
Closing the street to car traffic began back in 2011. At that time, the closure only lasted from July to August.
Most of the shop owners in Reykjavík have been happy closing the streets of the city. They say to Grapevine that it has increased walk-ins at their stores which is good for their economy. Others claim that it hurts their stores as 17 parking places are no more accessible for privately owned cars.
City council of Reykjavík also writes that there are some 1,144 parking spaces downtown, in addition to 250 parking spots in the basement of Hafnartorg and 545 spaces at Harpa.
Many cities in Europe are now doing what they can to improve the air quality in their cities. The city of Reykjavík is no exception. But the city really lacks a light rail system of some kind. Iceland needs a transport system that doesn’t need fuel to be driven.
Source: Grapevine
