Roughly half of the Dutch municipalities would like to make 30 km / h the maximum speed in the entire built-up area. In that case, however, the roads have to be adapted.
A speed adjustment down can count on quite a bit of support, but it cannot be set just like that. Otherwise, a reduction in speed will be of little benefit to road safety. This is the opinion of the engineering consultancy Sweco after a study in collaboration with the trade journal Domestic Administration. The investigation came after the call from the House of Representatives last autumn to reduce the maximum speed in built-up areas to 30 km / h where possible. This is considered safer for pedestrians and cyclists.
The online survey, which shows the support of almost half of the municipalities, was completed by 550 people who work at municipalities, provinces, water boards, police and ministries. The survey shows that 80 percent of the municipalities think that infrastructural adjustments are necessary to implement the speed reduction properly. More than half are concerned that this will cost too much.
Engineering firm Sweco also examined all 30 and 50 kilometer roads. On a fifth of all 50-kilometer roads in built-up areas, the researchers believe it is indeed advisable to reduce the speed to 30 kilometers per hour. In half of these, this can be done without major infrastructural interventions. Costs: a total of € 175 million. Large-scale reconstruction is required for the other half of the roads to be modified. Sweco calculated that the total costs for this amount to € 950 million.