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Blog - August 2010

Reykjavik traffic

I blogged recently about the dire traffic conditions in Moscow.  I was recently in Iceland, a country of 300,000 people in an area as big as England, where the contrast could not be greater.  Traffic in the capital, Reykjavik, where half the population live, seemed free of congestion, with only a few parking meters in the down-town.  The main trunk road runs around the island and has only modest traffic flows beyond the vicinity of Reykjavik.  I went for the horse riding, and we could drive a herd across this road, with no complaints from the waiting drivers.

For high density cities, good public transport is essential for getting around efficiently.  For low density cities of limited area, like Reykjavik, the car works well.  But most of us live in cities and suburbs of intermediate density, for which car use seems attractive but turns out to be frustrating on account of our likeminded neighbours.

Posted on 27 of August 2010

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