The newly elected city council of Oslo, Norway, hopes to enact the first comprehensive ban on cars in a European capital within four years.
Under a proposal announced Monday by lawmakers from the Labor Party, Green Party and the Socialist Left, Oslo would prohibit almost all cars within the city center by 2019, Reuters reported.
Officials plan to study bans in other cities and conduct trials before the law takes effect. Most car owners in Oslo reportedly live outside the proposed boundaries of the ban.
The city’s center would not be completely free of vehicles under the proposal. Buses and commuter trains would continue to travel through the restricted area.
The lawmakers also vowed that the ban would accommodate disabled people who need to travel in cars to the center of Oslo, while trucks and other vehicles would remain able to move commercial goods.
Business owners nonetheless were concerned about the proposal’s potential economic impact.
Proponents, meanwhile, said the ban would reduce pollution and benefit everyone in the city.
“We want to make it better for pedestrians, cyclists. It will be better for shops and everyone,” said Lan Marie Nguyen Berg of the Green Party.
Elected officials also hope to sharply increase investment in public transportation and build at least 60 kilometers of new bicycle lanes.
Filed Under: Industry regulations
