The Dutch city will roll out lower speed limits to 115 additional streets in a bid to reduce road traffic accidents

Source: Fietsberaad CROW

Rotterdam will reduce the speed limit on 115 streets from 50 to 30 km/h next year. The municipality hopes to improve road safety in the city with this measure. Last year, the vast majority of traffic accidents in the city occurred on a road with a speed limit of 50 km/h.

More than half of the streets in Rotterdam currently already have a speed limit of 30 km/h. There will be another 115, including Mariniersweg, Nieuwe Binnenweg and Mathenesserlaan. The new limits especially target busy streets where many people live or where there are shops, restaurants and cafes. In 2023, there were 1,446 traffic victims in Rotterdam, the highest number in the past 10 years. 80 percent of the accidents took place on a road with a speed limit of 50 km/h.

To make the new speed limit clear on the street, the municipality will install new traffic signs, adjust the road markings and install speed bumps. Where possible, wider bicycle lanes will be added. There will be more safe crossings for pedestrians on 30 km/h roads.

Not all roads in Rotterdam can go up to 30 km/h. On main routes where emergency services drive, streets where many buses and trams run and important entrance and exit roads, the maximum speed remains 50 km/h.