Voters prevent Zurich from imposing 30km/h speed limit on main roads

The right-leaning referendum was tabled after the Zurich and Winterthur city councils announced their intention to introduce 30km/h speed limits in the city. Keystone-SDA

The cities of Zurich and Winterthur have lost the right to introduce 30km/h speed limits on their main roads. The citizens of the canton decided in Sunday's polls to abolish this prerogative. They also approved the doubling of funds to support housing construction.

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The canton’s electorate voted 56.77% in favour of a change to the law that prohibits lowering the speed limit to 30km/h on main, cantonal and inter-municipal roads, with temporary exceptions limited to short stretches.

Only the cities of Zurich and Winterthur, which are affected by this proposal, rejected the text on Sunday. Voter turnout was 46.6%.

Offensive against the two major cities

The amendment to the law originated in a parliamentary initiative by the centre-right Radical-Liberals and the right-wing Swiss People’s Party. Approved by a narrow margin, it was countered by a referendum from the minority in the legislature and another from the authorities of the canton’s two major cities.

The right-leaning referendum was tabled after the Zurich and Winterthur city councils announced their intention to introduce 30km/h speed limits in the city. In 2021, the citizens of the city of Zurich approved a master plan along these lines, with a few exceptions.

At present, the two major cities have the power to set the speed limit on their main roads. The amendment to the law therefore puts an end to their sovereignty in this area.

Impact on public transport

The Zurich government supported the amendment to the law. In its view, reducing the speed limit on roads currently capped at 50km/h means that public transport journeys will take longer, making them less attractive. It also shifts traffic from the main roads to the neighbourhoods and has a negative impact on the emergency services.

The Social Democrats, Greens, Liberal Greens, Alternative List and Evangelical Party all opposed the text. They accused the proponents of going against the interests of towns and cities, despite the fact that reducing speeds improves safety and reduces noise.

+ Most Swiss oppose national 30km/h speed limit

In the federal parliament, the centre-right majority would like to see better regulation of the extension of the 30km/h speed limit. The Swiss government has opened a consultation on amendments to ordinances along these lines. However, it is not planning a general ban on driving at 30km/h on main roads.

Housing and digital integrity

Also on Sunday, voters gave narrow approval (51.01%) to the doubling of a fund to support housing construction, from CHF180 million ($224 million) to CHF360 million. This measure served as a counter-proposal to a left-wing initiative calling for a right of pre-emption for municipalities in the event of a major sale of land or buildings.

This text was rejected by 59.33%. In this case too, voters in the cities of Zurich and Winterthur were alone against the rest of the canton.

+ Wealth is not all: how gentrification in Zurich has led to housing shortage

The people of Zurich also refused to enshrine in their cantonal constitution the principles of a right to information security, a right “not to be constantly monitored, evaluated and analysed” and the fact that the canton must ensure that fundamental rights are respected in the digital environment.

They said no by 55.63% to a counter-proposal to a more radical initiative by the Pirate Party. This text, rejected by 74.61%, also called for the inclusion of a “right to a life offline” and a “right to be forgotten”, among other things.

Lastly, 51.07% of Zurich voters refused to increase spending to help the middle classes cope with rising health premiums by reducing their bills. The amendment to the law provided for CHF50 million more than the current CHF1.3 billion per year. Only the People’s Party and Radical-Liberals had opposed the amendment by means of a referendum.

Translated from French with DeepL/gw

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