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Amsterdam preparing to lower speed limit to 30 kilometers per hour

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Re: Amsterdam preparing to lower speed limit to 30 kilometers per hour

#12
There's probably a huge cultural difference here, but the image there sure does not look like a 30km/h street to me --- more like a 30mph one. That said, I've seen pictures of other European streets, far narrower and meandering, where even 30km/h would seem too fast.

It is also launching a campaign with the slogan: “We drive 30 for each other.”

Not surprisingly, the socialism is blatantly obvious.

Re: Amsterdam preparing to lower speed limit to 30 kilometers per hour

#13
post #7

We've had a 20mph limit in towns here in Wales for a couple of weeks now. It seems to be going well where I am; the traffic is noticeably slower during the day (though the people who hoon about at night are still doing it) and the only negative effect I've noticed so far is it might be fractionally harder (as in one has to wait longer) to cross the road at places other than designated crossings, presumably because th…

Yeah I moved a short distance in London to an area that is all 20mph and for me the most noticeable change is the reduction in noise levels (the limits in the previous area were generally 30mph). The new area feels so much more peaceful. It surprised me how much difference a 10mph drop makes.

Re: Amsterdam preparing to lower speed limit to 30 kilometers per hour

#14
post #4

The title makes it sound like streets in Amsterdam currently don't have a 30 km/h speed limit, and after December, they will all have a 30 km/h speed limit. The reality is that a lot of streets already have a 30 km/h speed limit, and have had them for years. It's been slowly expanding, and clearly will continue to expand even more. There will still be roads with higher speed limits, but their number will shrink. I ex…

They’re doing this in Reykjavik as well which is great, although enforcement is poor so on the larger roads that are now 50km/h everyone is still driving 70km/h as they were when the limit was 60km/h. Going back to the UK where a twisty road through my parents village with tiny pavements was 30mph was pretty shocking with how much more dangerous that felt.

Re: Amsterdam preparing to lower speed limit to 30 kilometers per hour

#17

There's probably a huge cultural difference here, but the image there sure does not look like a 30km/h street to me --- more like a 30mph one. That said, I've seen pictures of other European streets, far narrower and meandering, where even 30km/h would seem too fast. It is also launching a campaign with the slogan: “We drive 30 for each other.” Not surprisingly, the socialism is blatantly obvious.

The street looks that way because up until now the speed limit was 50km/h, or about 30mph.

Re: Amsterdam preparing to lower speed limit to 30 kilometers per hour

#18
post #9

My city has been limited to 30 km/h for a few years now. As someone who is mostly by bike and by foot, sometimes in public transports and occasionally in a car, that has been a good thing. The city is small and full of traffic lights, and there's a ring road, 50 to 30 km/h inside the city can't be increasing travel time too much for cars. I don't think it was possible to drive at 50 km/h in most of the city anyway. (…

I'm fan of the concept of superblocks. You can drive inside them, but not between them. Want to go from block A to D? Can't drive through B and C. Need to drive out to the ring road, then follow it and into block D.

Makes it so that no through traffic at speed goes through the areas where people live and stay.

Re: Amsterdam preparing to lower speed limit to 30 kilometers per hour

#19
Wales (UK) did this about a week ago. Setting 20mph as a limit in urban areas. I was there yesterday and now the problem is that it's very unclear where exactly it applies and if it will be enforced. Also satnavs such as Apple and Google maps have not been updated for the new speeds leading to further confusion. There are some areas where this makes sense, but a blanket change seems political. Hopefully it will cause less pollution and accidents in the future and not just be used as a money making scheme for fining people.

Re: Amsterdam preparing to lower speed limit to 30 kilometers per hour

#20
post #8
post #4

The title makes it sound like streets in Amsterdam currently don't have a 30 km/h speed limit, and after December, they will all have a 30 km/h speed limit. The reality is that a lot of streets already have a 30 km/h speed limit, and have had them for years. It's been slowly expanding, and clearly will continue to expand even more. There will still be roads with higher speed limits, but their number will shrink. I ex…

> the city will install almost 5,000 new speed signs, adjust 170 traffic lights How is 5000 signs 'slowly' ?

5000 signs at once is not slowly, but this isn't new. It wouldn't surprise me if Amsterdam already had 5000 30 km signs before this (I'm trying to find data but I can't find anything). The street I live in is a 30 km zone, as are most other residential streets in the city.

They're not starting something new; they're expanding it even further. Probably because of the experience they have acquired with slower speeds over the past decades.

When I was a kid (in the 1980s), 50 km/h was standard everywhere in cities and towns. Around that time, protesters started demanding lower speeds for cars with the slogan "50 is the veel" (50 is too much). Ever since, they've been reducing speeds in more and more places (except motorways, which increased from 100 to 120 and then 130).

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