Quality is no coincidence, it is always the result of strenuous thinking.
John Ruskin (1819 – 1900), English writer, painter, art historian, social economist and social reformer
I
t is not only in Germany that the subject is ever-present, but also here, that the debate in the title of this contribution, vis-à-vis the state in our capital in various respects, was actually even more intense. Also, if you are currently looking very much in the context of ÖPNV, to pick it up, you have been around for 30 years (for example, tram with S-Bahn extension), so whether the recent public passenger car sales are clear and still clearly the absolute form as an apparently alternate expression of “individual freedom” and as a (sad) status symbol. In Autoland Luxembourg, where the streets are becoming less and the car is becoming more and more “auto immobile”, the “mobility” then actually raises the wrong question for the obvious, real-life problem of the “immobility” of the traffic tag (stichwort: stau) and the urgent, radical response was almost never the case, in the face of the aforementioned record sales of the fetish “Car”, yet politically (too) cautious – a fatal Irrweg! In the sense of: “As one of the earliest beads: the motor madness has already fallen into disrepair. Oh dear time: yes is that use of your cars now too stolen? “(From: Freimund Biederwacker: From the following motorway – 2018)
Should cars be banned from the inner cities? In many countries it is ready. When it comes to air cleaning, it is important that cities without cars are cleaner and more alive. Motorists exist in your customary law, retailers are looking for the turnover, in the municipalities everything else dominates as a unit. Abgase was not allowed to take anyone in and only lived in the city center, had a great interest in the fact that the air quality was good. It concerns everyone who is exposed to these unimaginable emissions (the subject is also known here for the longest time) and that is making more people sick. But of course, there are also many that are assigned to the car for any reason. Even retailers are looking for your turnaround if cars aren’t needed in the inner cities anymore. In Germany’s cities, the theme is, at any rate, highly current, which states in the context of the quality of life have truly become more dramatic. Clogged streets, chronic parking deficiencies: Germany’s inner cities are overloaded and the frustration is great for motorists as well as for residents. Should the inner cities be autofree?
Exactly that is the stated goal! It doesn’t have to be the car. There are many alternatives to the car. For example, the ÖPNV, the wheel or (as far as possible) the healthy supply! Already today many people are also stepping on a bicycle. In many cities there is an offer, which was also in our capital. Since February 2018, Essen, Bonn, Mannheim, Reutlingen and Herrenberg are so-called model cities, which receive from the Bund money and therefore have to worry that the air quality will be better. With around 32,000 inhabitants, the model city of Herrenberg in the Stuttgart region is the clearest smallest of these cities – and pursues the sporting goal, by 2020 to contain the nitrogen oxide limit value of 40 micrograms per m³ of air. 4.5 million euros the city gets and therefore it is up to you to decide who will use this money. The ready-made initiatives are noticeable anyway – and today, in Mariens, though not much more lucrative, – the first idea that came, namely, the free-to-open PNV, was once rejected as a false message and instead used a tag of three euros. In brief, the following measures apply:
- End with stop-and-go: show electronic tables and allow, at any rate, the green wave of equivalent driving without superfluous braking and driving. In the sense, a dynamic speed limitation applies between 20 and 40 km / h and an intelligent traffic slowdown, which should make the traffic flow more uniform.
- Measuring fleet for “clean air”: In collaboration with a leading electronics company, various vehicles are equipped with a device that investigates the connection between the vehicle and the emission of pollutants. The data obtained is evaluated and can be used for further measures.
- Free ride for buses with medium bus routes and accurate alignment with the existing S-rail network – no more delays now!
- Better and cheaper: Bisher is subsidized in the EPNV. In the future, the monthly ticket and the daily ticket should instead become cheaper. The day ticket costs 3 Euro and the Month ticket is 20 Euro cheaper. Und: Free (as mentioned) free! The ferry replaces the line taxi with the call taxi and establishes a regular connection between the city center and the city sections.
- Mobility App: Herrenberg wants to offer a municipal Mobility app that knows about the fastest and most environmentally friendly way from A to B on all transport vehicles such as bus, train, bicycle and car and across the municipal boundaries. Add to this the organization of motoring and driving communities.
(Sources: herrenberg.de/stadtluft and Wirtschaftsförderung Region Stuttgart, respectively)
In addition, the park space is severely restricted, long-distance parking spaces have been stopped, the noisy inner city-protected memorial should be drastically unloaded and car-free. So it is good to ban those cars from the inner cities!
The Herrenberg project is still running until the end of 2020, but will be evaluated. A project that can only be fully approved.
In Sinne Goethes: There remains one ever more powerful force to exert, to which he is convinced.
Wish we were…
Frank Bertemes
