Centre Party seeks to restore turn lanes at Reykjavík junction

The Centre Party in Reykjavík wants two right turn bypass lanes restored at the junction of Höfðabakki and Bæjarháls, saying changes made by the previous city majority have caused congestion and delays. mbl.is reports that the proposal was referred to Reykjavík City’s Environment and Planning Council.

The party wants the work to begin this summer and be completed before winter. The proposal does not appear to be on the council’s agenda for its meeting on Wednesday, according to mbl.is.

Call for a change in transport policy

“It is clear that the election result on 16 May represented a call for a change in transport and traffic policy,” Ari Edwald, the Centre Party’s representative on the city council, told Morgunblaðið.

He said previous city majorities had not prioritised improving traffic flow and argued that the changes at Bæjarháls and Höfðabakki appeared to have no purpose other than slowing traffic and lengthening queues.

“Transport issues and the running of the city were the main topics of the election campaign. It goes without saying that things cannot continue as if nothing has happened,” Edwald said.

He said the new majority had announced a review of the capital region’s transport agreement and the Borgarlína public transport project. The details of that review should be clear before large projects move forward, he said.

Edwald also said the state had no funding options for the transport agreement other than introducing new taxes, making it important whether the final cost was 100 billion Icelandic krónur higher or lower.

Changes blamed for delays

The proposal’s supporting document says narrowing the Höfðabakki and Bæjarháls junction has caused major problems and significant traffic delays in the eastern part of Reykjavík. It therefore calls for the issue to be reviewed and the two turn lanes to be restored.

According to the document, when the Environment and Planning Council approved the changes in 2025, it was not shown a report by an engineering company warning that the changes would cause traffic delays.

The junction is important for the Árbær and Ártúnsholt neighbourhoods, as well as Breiðholt, Grafarvogur and other areas, the document says. Closing the turn lanes has caused congestion at the junction during peak hours and led to extensive delays across eastern Reykjavík.

The changes have also negatively affected the response times of ambulances and fire engines, according to the proposal.

Centre Party also questions Borgarlína

The Centre Party says other changes are also needed to improve traffic flow. In a statement concerning the rejection of a disputed local development plan and the arrangement of the Borgarlína project on Suðurlandsbraut, the party said the project should be reviewed in full.

The party described Borgarlína as expensive and inefficient and said it would lead to tax increases. It said the existing bus system could be strengthened quickly, alongside measures including dedicated bus lanes, priority for buses at traffic lights and the introduction of smart traffic lights at junctions across the city.