Icelandic neighborhood protests bus route through residential area
Residents in Fossvogur, Iceland protest plans for a new bus route through their neighborhood. They say 16 buses per hour would threaten children's safety and create a traffic island. The public transport company argues the route would significantly improve service between Kópavogur and Reykjavík.
A Fossvogur resident says bus traffic would turn their neighborhood into a traffic island. Sixteen buses would pass through each hour if the new route opens between Kópavogur and Reykjavík.
The public transport company wants to create a bus route through Fossvogur. They say this would significantly improve service for surrounding neighborhoods. Residents disagree and say children's safety would be threatened.
Last week, the transport company submitted a proposal to Reykjavík's environmental and planning committee. They want to build a single-lane road between Stjörnugróf and Fossvogsbrún. Both streets currently dead-end. The route would include gates to prevent other traffic from using the road.
Why are residents so opposed? A local man says this same proposal received negative feedback before. He notes the idea was rejected in 2019 during planning for the Borgarlínan transport project.
Karl Óskar Þráinsson lives near the proposed route. He said the plan always gets negative reactions from neighborhood associations. The 2019 version received the worst public response of all Borgarlínan proposals.
The dispute highlights a common urban challenge. Cities want to improve public transport, but residents worry about increased traffic in quiet areas. Both sides make reasonable points about community needs versus city-wide connectivity.
Transport officials face the difficult task of balancing these competing interests. They want better service between these two municipalities just south of Iceland's capital.