Oslo Moves to Make Its City Car Free
In an effort to make its downtown more pedestrian and cyclist friendly, Oslo will remove the couple hundred remaining parking spots left in its city center. The development aims to turn the most heavily trafficked areas into to car free zones to limit congestion, reduce pollution and make the city more walkable. Other cities have launched similar initiatives with slight public resistance but quite positive results—in Paris, a test run of a similar restriction dropped nitrogen dioxide levels by 25% and noise by 20%. “A couple of decades ago, it was perfectly normal to smoke cigarettes inside,” Hannah Elise Marcussen, Oslo’s vice mayor for urban development, told the New York Times. “Today, very few would do that. I think it’s the same with cars in the city center. One day we will look back and ask ourselves why we ever thought that was a good idea.” Read more at the Times.
Via nytimes.com link opens in a new window
