2023-06-16 14:28:00
Associations and districts warn
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Transport Senator stops the expansion of cycle paths in Berlin
New transport senator, new plans for Berlin streets: Planned cycle paths should not be further expanded for the time being if a parking space or lane would be lost. Not only associations see this critically, but also district politicians.
- Traffic management calls on districts to stop bike path expansion
- no lanes or parking spaces are to be lost because of cycle paths
- Districts warn Senator Manja Schreiner (CDU) once morest “blockade attitude”
The Berlin Senator for Transport, Manja Schreiner (CDU), has confirmed that she is having all cycling projects in Berlin put to the test. The goal is an “overall functioning transport mix for all Berliners,” according to a statement by the CDU politician. Large roads would have to remain efficient for commuter, commercial and delivery traffic.
At the same time, Schreiner emphasized that the renovation and expansion of the bicycle infrastructure should be further promoted. Among other things, projects that increase road safety and projects related to school route safety would continue to be implemented. Projects in which no lanes were lost or only a manageable number of parking spaces would also be pursued further.
“The omission of a parking space is enough”
A letter from the Senate Transport Administration to individual districts had previously become known. They were asked to stop planned cycle paths for the time being.
“The new house management of our Senate administration will set different standards for the street layout in the future,” says the letter, which is available to rbb. For the time being, the districts are being asked to suspend the expansion of projects that result in the loss of a lane or parking spaces – “the loss of a parking space is enough”.
According to the letter, Tempo 30 should no longer be shown on long journeys or to close gaps. Only Tempo 30 applications from daycare centers and schools would continue to be checked and implemented.
The Changing Cities association calls for a demonstration
The letter to the district of Lichtenberg states that the expansion of cycle paths in Siegfriedstraße is to be suspended until further notice. Ragnhild Sörensen from the Changing Cities association fears that other projects might also be affected, as these are in the planning stage and are the responsibility of the Senate. It would be regarding Beusselstrasse in Mitte, Grunewaldstrasse and Hauptstrasse in Schöneberg and Schönhauser-Allee and Otto-Braun-Strasse in Pankow.
“The new senator turns out to be a car traffic senator who propagates “togetherness” while her heart clearly beats for the car-friendly city,” explained the spokeswoman for the association, Ragnhild Sörensen. The association is also calling for a demonstration in front of the mobility administration on Friday followingnoon at 5:45 p.m.
District representatives also warned the CDU politician Manja Schreiner once morest “blocking” the cycling infrastructure.
Green politicians are concerned regarding the stop
Almut Neumann (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen) warns of the consequences of a cycle path stop, even if it is only temporary for the time being. “I’m worried that there is now a threat of a standstill in the expansion of safe infrastructure for people with bikes,” Neumann told rbb.
She refers to the advanced planning for a protected cycle lane on Beusselstraße in Moabit, which is fully funded and is scheduled to be completed this year. “The route is an important north-south connection, but at the moment it is actually life-threatening for people on bikes.” According to Neumann, a delay also threatens to forfeit funding. The federal government bears three quarters of the costs of the measure.
The leader of the Greens, Werner Graf, sees the stop as a “blatant attack on current law”. The Mobility Act prescribes safe cycle paths on all main roads, he said. From these instructions he reads the following signal: “Everything has to be subordinate to the car”.
Wegner: The CDU does not make any policy once morest the car
However, the fundamental change of course in transport policy comes as no surprise to associations and political observers. While the old red-green-red Senate pursued a redistribution of public street space in favor of pedestrians, cyclists, buses and trains, the CDU takes a different position.
The Governing Mayor Kai Wegner had already made it clear during the election campaign that he would not make any policy once morest the car.
Broadcast: rbb24 evening show, June 16, 2023, 9:25 a.m
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