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Should Budapest's Chain Bridge Remain Car-Free After Revamp Complete?

• 28 Dec 2022 10:02 AM
• Hungary Matters

Opposition LMP called on the Budapest city council on Tuesday to keep Chain Bridge free of cars even after the bridge’s ongoing revamp is finished.

Lawmaker Bernadett Bakos told a press conference that it would be a great step towards a “more liveable and likeable” city centre if only cyclists, buses and vehicles with special markings were allowed to use the bridge, and pedestrians, once the pavement is finished.

Making Chain Bridge car-free as a result of an ongoing revamp project “would not be a big loss to drivers but it would be a huge gain for public transport and cyclists”, she said.

The government is threatening the city council and the “car lobby” has also been exercising pressure, Bakos said.

Yet, experience from before the revamp project showed that the narrow Chain Bridge hit by permanent traffic jams accounted for merely 4% of the total traffic of Budapest bridges, she added.

It will cause no disruptions to car traffic in the city if Chain Bridge is kept car-free but it will be a great opportunity for “much greener public transport”, Bakos said.

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