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Synopsis

With the background of traffic congestion in the smaller streets of the medieval city centre, the municipality of Copenhagen in cooperation with a number of interested parties have taken an initiative to create "City Gods", with the goal of improving the city environment by increasing the effectiveness of transport of goods.

On the first of February 2002 the obligatory trial-scheme "City Goods Ordinance" was introduced in the medieval Copenhagen. The trial will last untill 31st of October 2003. The plan is that vehicles and lorries supplying goods that are over 2,500 kg total weight may not stop in the Middle Ages city without a "City goods certificate". Lorries heavier than 18,000 kg needs a special certificate.

A report of 1997 states that every day approx. 3,500 vans and lorries over 2,500 kg total weight makes 6,000 trips to the 1 x 1 km big area. The certification ordinance is a Mandatory trial, which has primarily been modelled after a voluntary trial that was in effect from the period of 1998 to 2000. After this voluntary trial period, an analysis of goods transport in the Middle Ages city showed that 55% of the supply vehicles and lorries use only 20% or less of their carrying capacity. A very big percentage of the cars have a very poor use of their capacity. It is for this reason that the "City Goods Ordinance" was created with the special principle of better utilisation of every vehicle's carrying capacity.

There are three types of certificates:

• the "Green certificate" may be delivered to vehicles with an engine of maximum 8 years old and that use at least 60% in average of its carrying capacity. The "Green certificate" can be obtained for the whole trial-period if the car fullfills a number of demands and if the owner prepares a report on the capacity utilisation each three months. It costs 260 DKr.
• the "Yellow certificate" is for services rather than transport. When the demands for the Green certificate cannot be fulfilled, it is possible to apply for a Yellow certificate if the vehicle is not more than 6 metres long (external measurement) or the vehicle has a maximum total weight allowed of 3,500 kg and the engine is not older than from the 1st of January 1997. Vehicles that belong to a company on a specific branch code list can have a motor not older than from 1st of January 1995. It costs 260 DKr.
• the "Red certificate" is a one-day certificate created for vehicles that seldom transport goods in the medieval city of Copenhagen. There are no special demands or conditions in association with this certificate. Only one certificate can be delivered at a time per vehicle. It costs 40 DKr.

The green and yellow certificates can only be obtained by filling out an application form. The red certificate can be bought at a number of sales-places. These certificates give the right for stopping to load and unload goods in the certification zone. If a certified vehicle parks in a parking spot, a parking ticket is still needed.

The "City Goods Ordinance" trial is the contribution of the Municipality of Copenhagen to the Ministry of Traffics' tri-city cooperation with Aarhus and Aalborg's municipalities where demonstration projects in the field of transport are also being conducted.

Target groups: shopkeepers
Fields: goods delivery

This case study is one of 175 projects from the Smile Project Local Experiences Database listed on this website.