Maximum speed limits in Budapest are being reduced in several places

Traffic safety and traffic calming pilot projects will begin at fifteen locations in several districts of the capital, and in some cases have already begun, said Samu Balogh, the Mayor's Chief of Staff, at a background discussion on the topic in Budapest on Thursday.

Today, the heavy traffic, the resulting noise, and air pollution are the biggest obstacles to making Budapest livable, so "this is where we need to intervene the most," he said.
The chief of staff emphasized that the traffic safety plan to be created by the Budapest Transport Center (BKK) will be prepared based on feedback from the people of Budapest.
The capital city currently has a relatively high proportion of traffic-calmed zones. A third of the road network currently operates as speed-calmed zones of 30 km/h and below to protect residential areas. The speed limit on about half of the roads is 50 km/h. Traffic-calming does not mean that the justified higher traffic speed cannot be maintained on external, high-traffic roads, he noted.

The lower embankment of Pest has been opened to pedestrians and cyclists on weekends between Margaret Bridge and Liberty Bridge since May. This will remain the case until September, he said, adding that the experiences have been very positive, and they see that closing the embankment to motorists does not cause any disruption to the city's traffic.

• In District III, on a short section of Szentendrei and Vörösvári roads, along residential areas with high pedestrian traffic, the speed limit will be reduced from 60 to 50 kilometers per hour.
• In the 5th district, changes have already come into effect at Szabadság tér, the essence of which is that it is not possible to drive through the district from Honvéd Street to Nádor Street. The aim of this is to ensure that through traffic does not get tangled in the small streets, but on Bajcsy-Zsilinszky Street.
• Presenting the details of the pilot project affecting districts VI and VII, Balogh Samu announced that the entire length of Kazinczy Street and a part of Király Street towards Károly Boulevard will be a pedestrian street.
• On Üllői Road – the part surrounded by housing estates – between Könyves Kálmán Boulevard and Határ Road, the speed limit will be reduced from 60 kilometers per hour to 50.
• Traffic calming will be implemented around Budafoki Street in District 11.

District 6 Mayor Tamás Soproni said that according to plans, the service roads of Andrássy Avenue will be closed on both sides from August 1st on the section between Rózsa, Izabella and Vörösmarty Streets. Cultural programs, exhibitions and street furniture will be held there.

District VII Mayor Péter Niedermüller said that their most important goal is to reduce traffic and return public spaces to residents. The pilot project will start on August 10, he said, noting that a certain number of parking spaces will be eliminated as part of this, and their long-term goal is that there will be no parking in public areas in Inner Erzsébetváros, but that drivers will park in underground garages and parking lots.

Reiner Roland, Deputy Mayor of District 9, said that two traffic calming projects have already been implemented in Belső-Ferencváros in the past two months. As an example, he mentioned that the measure eliminated through traffic at Bakáts Square, making the area quieter and more peaceful.

Source: napi.hu