Vienna tests car ban on Mariahilfer Strasse shopping route

Austria’s capital Vienna is carrying out a test which will ban cars on part of the Mariahilfer Strasse, the country's biggest shopping street. The test ban will also make it impossible for drivers to cross the road or to stop. Lasting for several months and if deemed a success, the test ban could lead to a permanent car ban coupled with pedestrian-friendly construction works from 2014. Critics of the car test ban fear it will drive many shoppers to out of town shopping centres.
August 20, 2013 Read time: 1 min
Austria’s capital Vienna is carrying out a test which will ban cars on part of the Mariahilfer Strasse, the country's biggest shopping street. The test ban will also make it impossible for drivers to cross the road or to stop.

Lasting for several months and if deemed a success, the test ban could lead to a permanent car ban coupled with pedestrian-friendly construction works from 2014. Critics of the car test ban fear it will drive many shoppers to out of town shopping centres. 

Related Content

  • India’s longest road tunnel continues apace with Atlas Copco support
    May 20, 2014
    The challenging construction of India’s largest road tunnel is part of a vital US$500 million project aiming to connect the isolated northern state of Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of the vast and highly populated country. Guy Woodford reports Travelling on National Highway 1A (NH 1A) in northern India should be the dictionary definition of ordeal. The single lane, narrow and winding road crosses some of the steepest, most treacherous terrain on the planet. The arduous route becomes especially difficult t
    Read More
  • New techniques for tackling congestion
    December 8, 2015
    Transport experts from the Royal Academy of Engineering are proposing methods to reduce traffic congestion. These proposals are included in a discussion document intended to stimulate debate on congestion issues. The working group behind the paper includes industry experts and academic researcher. The team looked at technology and policy measures that could reduce congestion in the most critical transport sectors by 2030, evaluating which measures would be effective and value for money.
    Read More
  • Narrow Passage
    November 15, 2016
    The driver of a motorhome in the UK now has reason to be more careful when following directions from his satnav system. The driver was following directions in the town of St Ives in Cornwall, which has many narrow streets that long predate the introduction of motor vehicles.
    Read More
  • Czech Republic cuts road spending
    May 14, 2012
    News that the Czech Republic’s Transport Ministry will halt work to just four road building projects has come as a relief to several major contractors. The industry had feared much tougher budget savings would be imposed, resulting in road projects in double figures being suspended or cancelled. The projects being halted will be a section of the I/9 road near Ceska Lipa; the Ostrava-Opava stretch of the I/11 road and two connections to the D1 highway in the Ostrava region.
    Read More

Highlighted Content