Municipalities seek lower speed limit on Boowald road

The municipalities of Murgenthal in Aargau, Roggwil in Bern and Pfaffnau in Lucerne are calling for the speed limit on the Boowald road to be cut from 80 to 60 kilometres per hour, SRF reports. They say motorcyclists and car drivers are using the winding road as an illegal racetrack and that the noise has become unbearable.

The roughly five-kilometre cantonal road is popular with motorcyclists and motorists. Police measurements found that some drivers repeatedly travelled up and down the route.

The municipalities argue that a lower speed limit would make it easier to prosecute and confiscate vehicles. They say some drivers knowingly accept traffic fines and criminal charges, while a lower posted speed would make it more likely that their conduct meets the legal definition of a speeding offence.

Aargau cantonal police measured traffic and counted journeys at the Boowald and Benken, another speeding stretch in the canton, over the weekend. Police spokesperson Bernhard Graser told SRF that officers focused on drivers making unnecessary return trips or generating noise with high engine speeds.

Drivers who travel up and down the route at least four times can be reported. Police recorded some drivers making as many as seven journeys along the same stretch, and seven motorcyclists were reported over the weekend. They were aged between 17 and 60.

The municipalities also cited safety concerns. Cyclists, including schoolchildren, and agricultural vehicles often face dangerous situations, they said. Fire crews also frequently have to respond to lengthy and demanding operations involving people who are seriously injured or killed.

Roggwil Mayor Benjamin Kurt said the problem was particularly severe in spring and summer, when residents heard large numbers of motorcyclists travelling back and forth, as well as motorists accelerating and taking the bends at speed.

The municipalities said they had already introduced various measures with the canton of Aargau, but that the situation had spiralled in recent years. The canton removed guardrails so the road would appear less like a racetrack and installed cameras to help deploy police patrols when necessary.

Kurt said road users had been caught travelling faster than 130 kilometres per hour on the Boowald route. The municipalities hope that a 60-kilometre-per-hour limit would make it less attractive. They said other places had had positive experiences after reducing speed limits.

The route has also seen repeated crashes. In 2026, a 20-year-old motorcyclist lost control on a bend while travelling towards Glashütten. The motorcycle slid to the side of the road, colliding with several vehicles and a 19-year-old woman. Both were injured. In March, a motorist collided heavily with a bridge railing in Murgenthal and was taken to hospital.