Cure for Stockholm’s Traffic Syndrome

11:16 AM EDT on May 18, 2006

On January 3rd, Stockholm, Sweden became the latest major world city to begin managing and controlling motor vehicle traffic with congestion charging, an automated system that charges motorists a fee to drive into the most gridlocked sections of the city center. The fee varies depending on the time of day and level of traffic congestion.

Yesterday, The Local, an English-language Swedish newspaper reported the following:

"The widescale opposition to Stockholm's congestion charge appears to have evaporated. According to a new poll carried out by Sifo on behalf of the Green Party, 62% of Stockholm residents are planning to vote to keep the charge in the autumn referendum... Opinion has shifted in favour of the charge since the trial has shown it to have a positive effect on traffic levels."

According to one newspaper poll, 80% of Stockholm residents opposed congestion pricing before its implementation. A March 10 survey showed that 44% were in favor of congestion charging and 47% were against. In September Stockholm voters will go to the polls for a referendum on whether or not to keep the congestion charge.

Previous headlines:
Stockholm gets congestion charge go-ahead Protests Mar Opening of Stockholm Congestion Tax "Quiet start" for Stockholm congestion charge 197 new buses have been bought by the Stockholm transit agency

Aaron Naparstek

AARON NAPARSTEK is the founder and former editor-in-chief of Streetsblog. Based in Brooklyn, New York, Naparsteks journalism, advocacy and community organizing work has been instrumental in growing the bicycle network, removing motor vehicles from parks, and developing new public plazas, car-free streets and life-saving traffic-calming measures across all five boroughs. Naparstek is the author of "Honku: The Zen Antidote for Road Rage" (Villard, 2003), a book of humorous haiku poetry inspired by the endless motorist sociopathy observed from his apartment window. Prior to launching Streetsblog, Naparstek worked as an interactive media producer, pioneering some of the Web's first music web sites, online communities, live webcasts and social networking services. Naparstek is currently in Cambridge with his wife and two young sons where he is enjoying a Loeb Fellowship at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design. He has a master's degree from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism and a bachelor's degree from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Naparstek is a co-founder of the Park Slope Neighbors community group and the Grand Army Plaza Coalition. You can find more of his work here: http://www.naparstek.com.

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