Enhedslisten’s Copenhagen mayor Line Barfod has proposed cutting the speed limit to 30 kilometers per hour across most of the city. The plan is being brought into this week’s opening budget negotiations.
DR reports that Line Barfod, the city’s climate, environment and technical mayor, wants the limit lowered to 30 km/h in all of Copenhagen. The only exceptions would be the large state-owned arterial roads leading into the city. Barfod says slower cars would make people feel safer and encourage more of them to cycle.
The proposal is one of several measures Enhedslisten is taking to the initial budget talks in the Borgerrepræsentation, Copenhagen’s city council. According to a press release from Københavns Kommune, Barfod’s stated goal is for Copenhagen to regain its position as the world’s best cycling city. The release ties the speed proposal to traffic-calmed city cores, bike streets and car-free school routes.
Sharp political pushback
The Conservatives in the city council rejected the idea outright. Jakob Næsager, the Conservative mayor for children and youth, called it totally insane and said it would destroy traffic flow in Copenhagen. He told DR that outside rush hour, drivers can still move at 50 or 60 km/h in many places.
Venstre was equally critical. Jens-Kristian Lütken, the party’s mayor for health and care, described the plan as a frontal attack on ordinary Copenhageners. He said many people would lose time on roads that carry relatively little car traffic.
SF, the largest party in the city council, also declined to back the plan. Political spokesperson Rasmus Steenberger said the proposal goes too far and lacks nuance. SF instead wants speeds reduced by 10 km/h, mainly on roads in residential areas.
Safety figures and expert doubts
Copenhagen’s own Mobilitetsredegørelse 2026 shows that nearly eight in ten Copenhageners feel safe in traffic. A separate municipal survey found that half of parents in the city consider school routes unsafe. Enhedslisten points to that figure as a reason to lower speeds.
Jeppe Rich, a transport researcher at DTU, questioned the focus on speed limits. Per Rich, almost all accidents happen at intersections, so safety depends largely on infrastructure design. He called it somewhat unfortunate to focus narrowly on urban speed limits.
Barfod rejects the claim that the change would hinder drivers, noting that many already travel below 30 km/h during rush hour. She also cited noise and pollution as reasons for the proposal. The municipal press release states that a national law change would be needed to give municipalities broader control over limits on their own roads, while DR notes that police must approve lower local limits. The same limits would apply to cyclists on cycle paths.
