Thoruald Meyers Street in Oslo, Norway, pictured in May 2005.MORTEN ANDERSEN/The New York Times
A newly elected city council in the Norwegian capital of Oslo is taking a drastic step to reduce pollution and make the city better for those on foot.
The city of about 600,000 people will ban all cars from the core by 2019. It will be the most comprehensive and permanent ban for a capital city in Europe.
"We want to have a car-free centre," said Green Party negotiator Lan Marie Nguyen Berg. "We want to make it better for pedestrians, cyclists. It will be better for shops and everyone."
The plan calls for the building of 60 kilometres of bike lanes plus a 'massive boost' for public transit. Buses will serve the city centre and vehicles will be allowed when carrying disabled people or when transporting goods to stores.
Some shop owners in the downtown area say the ban will hurt business, but councillors, who are mostly in the Labour, Green and Socialist parties, disagree.
Paris banned all cars for one day in last month, London and Madrid limit cars with stiff congestion charges, but this will be the biggest step any city has taken to reduce vehicle pollution and congestion.
Do you think a major Canadian city like Toronto, Vancouver or Montreal could successfully ban cars in the downtown core? Do you think it would be a good idea?
With files from Reuters
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