The studded tyre ban came into force on parts of Lönnrotinkatu for the first time in September 2022. The ban is now set to continue, with stricter restrictions, from November 2025 onwards. Going forward, cars with studded tyres will not be allowed to drive on Lönnrotinkatu at all, except to enter a property’s courtyard or a parking hall. Parking a car with studded tyres on the street will also be prohibited.
The pilot project will run until spring 2028
The ban on studded tyres on Lönnrotinkatu applies to a section of approximately 900 metres between Mannerheimintie and Hietalahdenkatu. The one-way Lönnrotinkatu runs west from the city centre, serving as a passage from Pohjoisesplanadi towards Ruoholahti. It is also used to drive to the Kamppi and Punavuori districts.
The new pilot period for the studded tyre ban will start in November 2025 and run until spring 2028. The stricter ban aims to increase the proportion of friction tyres further compared to the previous ban period, thereby improving air quality both on Lönnrotinkatu, where the ban is in place, and in the wider Helsinki area. As a result of the previous ban, the proportion of friction tyres increased from 30% to 40% at the city level and from 30% to 55% on Lönnrotinkatu.
The experiment to ban studded tyres is helping to study how the ban will affect air quality and the popularity of studless winter tyres. At the same time, the consequences and appropriateness of the ban and people’s compliance with it will be assessed.
The ban can be seen in the road signs added along the street. Air quality and studded tyre monitoring devices have also been fitted along the street.
The studded tyre ban is indicated by traffic signs erected along Lönnrotinkatu, and it is also noted on the traffic signs on Pohjoisesplanadi. There is also a street air quality monitor on the street.
Area where studded tyres are banned and alternative routes (PDF)
Driving to properties with studded tyres still allowed
The sign prohibiting studded tyres only allows entry to properties. In practice, this means that cars with studded tyres are only allowed to enter the courtyards of properties and parking halls. Going forward, parking a car with studded tyres on Lönnrotinkatu will be prohibited.
Instead of using Lönnrotinkatu, Ruoholahti can be reached via Mannerheimintie and Pohjoinen Rautatiekatu. The alternative route is approximately 300 metres longer. The alternative route to the Kamppi and Punavuori districts is via Bulevardi, which extends the journey by about 200 metres.
The impact of the ban on studded tyres on businesses along Lönnrotinkatu and nearby has been estimated to be minor, as have the business effects based on the accessibility of car traffic. The effects of the ban will already be assessed during the trial period, and the arrangements can be modified as necessary.
Frequently asked questions
The purpose of the pilot project is to establish whether bans on studded tyres can be used to increase the proportion of friction tyres. The pilot project is a continuation of the previous pilot ban on studded tyres, which started in 2022 and ended in spring 2025.
The new ban is stricter than the previous one, as it was not possible to enforce the previous ban. The new ban only allows cars with studded tyres to enter properties, whereas the previous ban also allowed them to visit properties. In practice, this means that cars with studded tyres may only enter the courtyard of a property or a parking hall. They will not be allowed to park on Lönnrotinkatu during the pilot project.
Helsinki is committed to its target of having studded tyres account for 30% of all tyres used in winter traffic by the winter of 2030–2031. The proportion accounted for by studded tyres is currently 60%, whereas it was 70% for several years before the first ban period. The objective is to reduce street dust, noise and wear on the streets.
Half of all street dust consists of material chipped off from the road surface by studded tyres. The EU has set new, stricter limit values for respirable particles, which are exceeded in many places in Helsinki, including on Lönnrotinkatu. Helsinki must meet the new limit values by 2030, and reducing the use of studded tyres is necessary in order to reduce street dust.
When selecting a street for the pilot, streets with the most significant air quality problems – as indicated by surveys and expert assessments – were chosen for the comparison. After that, the streets were evaluated in terms of traffic aspects, and having a clear alternative connection for the street was one significant factor in the process.
Lönnrotinkatu is a chasm-like and busy street, causing it to have high street dust concentrations from time to time, particularly in spring. Lönnrotinkatu also exceeds the new EU limit values for respirable particles (street dust).
In Norway, fees on studded tyres were introduced in the early 2000s.
- First in Oslo, later in Bergen, Trondheim, Stavanger and Kristiansand
- The cities have a joint fee system in which a day, month or season specific payment entitles a person to use studded tyres within the area of the municipality
- In Oslo, the proportion of studded tyres has decreased significantly (from 85% in 1995 to 10% in 2020)
In Sweden, a street-specific ban on studded tyres was issued in Stockholm in 2010.
- Since 2016, Stockholm has had a ban on studded tyres on three main streets
- Today, the proportion of studded tyres is roughly 30% on the streets with the ban and 50% in all of the city
- The City is pursuing a change in legislation that would facilitate replacing the ban on studded tyres with a studded tyre fee
Voisitko Marek kirjoittaa tähän vielä vastauksen?
Compared to the business impacts of the previous studded tyre ban, the stricter restrictions imposed by the new ban will have a greater impact on the accessibility of businesses by car in terms of parking, as well as on some businesses’ distribution. However, the impact will still be limited, as the businesses on Lönnrotinkatu can be reached by car by parking in parking facilities or on adjacent streets. The alternative routes for cars with studded tyres will not significantly change the accessibility of the area by car, as the alternative routes will only be 300 m longer.
The impact on service traffic will also be minor because, in practice, studded tyres are not used on trucks. The impact will be greater on those who transport loads with a van or car with studded tyres, but efforts have been made to mitigate this impact by adding loading areas along the cross streets of Lönnrotinkatu.
The changes to the service traffic arrangements will not particularly affect the activities of the businesses located along the street, as it will remain possible to arrange for service access to the businesses. If they wish, maintenance operators may also replace their studded tyres with friction tyres and carry out maintenance measures as usual.
The improved air quality may actually have a positive impact on some businesses.
Logistics businesses mainly operate larger vehicles not equipped with studded tyres. Other professional vehicles with studded tyres that are related to property maintenance can use the loading areas on cross streets or, alternatively, make use of the courtyards of properties or parking halls.
Taxis with studded tyres are not allowed to drive on Lönnrotinkatu. Instead, they must use the 300 m longer alternative route via Mannerheimintie and Pohjoinen Rautatiekatu. Taxis with studded tyres can pick up and drop off customers along the cross streets of Lönnrotinkatu. As the blocks on Lönnrotinkatu are roughly 150 m long, the walking distances related to taxi rides would be well under 100 m at the longest.
The pilot project will have a negative impact on residents who drive cars with studded tyres and park their cars on Lönnrotinkatu.
According to a resident survey, however, the proportion of studded tyres in the Lönnrotinkatu area is lower than in the rest of the city, at 55%. Roughly 37% of the households in the area own a car. Of residents who own a car, 42% park their cars on the street. Therefore, the negative impacts of the ban affect a minority of the area’s residents.
For car owners who use friction tyres or residents who do not own a car, the ban will not affect their moving about in the area. All residents will benefit in terms of improved air quality.
Cars with studded tyres will still be allowed to drive onto the properties involved, so the answer is yes.
Studies have shown that up to half of all street dust is caused by studded tyres. When the proportion of studded tyres in winter traffic decreases, so does the amount of street dust. This has been confirmed through modelling of Lönnrotinkatu.
Measurements taken from the street surface during the previous ban also show that the dust load along the street has decreased as a result of the ban. Stockholm’s ban on studded tyres shows that the impacts on air quality also expand to other parts of the city.
Helsinki Region Environmental Services (HSY) will be using a particle measurement device to monitor concentrations on Lönnrotinkatu before and during the pilot. The aim is for the new, stricter ban to further reduce the proportion of studded tyres, thereby reducing air quality problems more effectively than the previous ban both on Lönnrotinkatu and in the wider city.
Studded tyres are noisier than other types. Thus, increasing the proportion of friction tyres will decrease noise and improve the soundscape of the city.
Traffic transitions are always a challenge when talking about a ban issued on a single street. No significant transitions to the local street network are expected.
Transitions will occur particularly in the Pohjoinen Rautatienkatu or Bulevardi sections. On either street, the increase in the amount of daily traffic will not significantly undermine the capacity of the street, but the smoothness of tram traffic on Bulevardi and the pleasantness of both streets must be monitored during the pilot. The previous ban did not have a negative impact on the flow of traffic on these streets, and no diversions to the local network were observed.
On main streets, wear caused by studded tyres is easily the most significant reason for renewing the pavement. At worst, the pavements of main streets may have to be renewed every few years. Friction tyres wear the road surface less than studded tyres, and should the proportion of friction tyres increase, significant savings could be achieved in winter traffic with regard to pavement renewal costs.
The use of friction tyres has not been found to increase the number of accidents in Helsinki on Lönnrotinkatu, where the ban is in place, or on the streets to which cars with studded tyres have been diverted.
The use of friction tyres has not been found to increase accidents in cities (e.g. Stockholm and Oslo) in which they make up the majority of winter tyres.
On ice, the traction of friction tyres is not as good as that of studded tyres. However, difficult icy conditions are considerably rarer in Helsinki than in other parts of the country, and salt-based anti-skid treatment prevents road surfaces from freezing.
Traffic safety is affected more by driving habits than the type of tyre used.
The proportion of studded tyres will be monitored on Lönnrotinkatu with manual counts and by counting the proportion of studded tyres in parking halls in both the inner city and suburban areas.