Despite various measures taken over the past twenty years, around 120,000 people in the canton of Geneva suffer from a noise level that affects federal standards. This corresponds to almost a quarter of the resident population, as Geneva State Councilor Serge Dal Busco (centre) said at a media conference on Thursday.

The new cantonal strategy to combat road noise from speed limits includes the results of a consultation conducted last year with representatives of civil society, political parties and municipalities. 80 percent of them are in favor of speed limits, as the head of the infrastructure department explained.

A differentiated regime is planned for a total of 300 streets. In the city center, a speed limit of 30 will apply day and night.

On the main thoroughfares and in the city belt, speeds will be reduced to 50 km/h during the day and 30 km/h at night, where noise limits are exceeded. On the other main thoroughfares, the previous speed limits will be maintained during the day, but at 50 km/h at night when this is necessary to comply with federal standards.

except emergency vehicles

In addition to improving the quality of life, a moderate pace reduces the severity of traffic accidents, emphasized Dal Busco. The examples of Brussels and Grenoble show that this does not impede the flow of traffic or public transport. In addition, the deployment of rescue vehicles would not be slowed down. The measures do not apply to them.

According to Dal Busco, 77,000 Genevans should benefit from the new strategy. Assuming there are no languages, the new speed limits will be introduced from the end of 2022.