Hi °C | Lo °C Belfast has come seventh in a poll of the most congested cities in Europe.
Despite its diminutive stature compared to many others on the list, Northern Ireland’s capital is one of three UK cities to make the top 10 in a survey by satnav company TomTom.
Dublin came sixth in the gridlock rankings, with London fourth. Brussels topped the poll, which was determined by speeds recorded by TomTom devices inside moving — or not, as the case may be — vehicles.
The least congested city on the list was Zaragoza in Spain.
A TomTom spokesperson said: “It's bad news for the Brits. Despite the congestion charge, few Londoners will be surprised to find their city comes in fourth overall, while Edinburgh and Belfast also make the top 10.”
Tommy Doyle, chairman of the Belfast Public Hire Taxi Association, is one man who knows more than most about sitting in static Belfast traffic.
“In the rush hour, you could definitely believe how high Belfast comes on that list,” he said.
“It is as bad as I can remember it. People are now double parking, parking on urban clearways, so that two lanes are reduced to one, and every household seems to have multiple cars and these roads were not designed to cope.”
A spokesman for Belfast City Council said: “It’s an old historic problem — people don’t want to get out of their cars.”
Top 20
1. Brussels
2. Warsaw
3. Wroclaw
4. London
5. Edinburgh
6. Dublin
7. Belfast
8. Marseille
9. Paris
10. Luxembourg
11. Milan
12. Rotterdam
13. Birmingham
14. Rome
15. Amsterdam
16. Oslo
17. Barcelona
18. Budapest
19. Naples
20. Poznan
