Reykjavík City Council has now approved the mayor’s proposal that the postcode for the Vatnsmýri area be changed to 102, RÚV reports. Currently, this area falls under downtown Reykjavík’s 101 postcode.
Under the terms of the proposal, addresses that are currently within the 101 postcode but are located south of Hringbraut will be converted to 102. The boundaries of the neighboring 105 and 107 postcodes will remain unchanged. This means that both the University of Iceland and Reykjavík University will fall into the 102 postcode, which will then create a new neighborhood that runs between the Hlíðarendi stadium, home to the Valur football team, and the Skerjafjörður neighborhoods that are located on either side of the Reykjavík domestic airport.
Comments on the proposal were solicited in November 2018 and received from the Valur football team and the Skerjafjörður neighborhood association, among others. The neighborhood association was among those who opposed the postcode change, citing among their reasons a concern that the new postcode will lead to a drop in their residents’ property values. Moreover, they say, the new postcode will divide the Skerjafjörður neighborhoods into separate postcodes. The Valur football association had nothing against such a change.
Hlíðarfótur ehf., a company that is building 200 new apartments in the adjoining Hlíðar neighborhood, was strongly in favor of the new postcode. One of the strengths of the area, the company asserted, is that it is close to downtown Reykjavík without being part of it. It’s also close to the National and University hospital and both universities, none of which, says Hlíðarfótur, are closely associated with the 101 postcode in people’s minds.
The proposal received criticism from MPs in the Centre Party, who suggested it would be easier to convert Skerjafjörður to the 107 postcode, as that is where residents in that neighborhood have to go for postal, health care, and other services. MPs representing the Social Democratic Alliance, the Reform Party, and the Pirate Party, on the other hand, have all expressed their approval.
