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Frankfurt / Wiesbaden (dpa / lhe) - Initiatives for the expansion of cycle paths in several major Hessian cities had successfully collected signatures - now they want to go one step further.
A “referendum traffic turnaround” is planned at the state level in order to promote not only bicycle but also pedestrian traffic and local public transport.
For this purpose, a traffic turnaround law is being drawn up, which is to be put to a vote throughout Hesse.
According to the previous plans, the starting shot could be given next month.
The core of the alliance includes the General German Bicycle Club (ADFC) Hessen, the Fußgängerverband Fuss eV and the Verkehrsclub Deutschland (VCD), as well as the initiatives of the Radentscheide Frankfurt, Darmstadt and Kassel.
In a first step, around 45,000 signatures from Hessian voters must be collected.
The idea arose two years ago as a reaction to the cycling decisions, as ADFC country manager Norbert Sanden says.
In Frankfurt alone, for example, more than 40,000 signatures were collected.
The city had rejected the application as formally inadmissible, but after negotiations with the initiators decided on an extensive expansion of cycle paths and bicycle parking facilities.
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Before the project can be carried out at the state level, several hurdles have to be overcome, says Sanden.
So a law has to be formulated that fits on a page on which the citizens then sign.
"It's not easy, because it's all about walking, cycling and public transport."
More space and security are needed for cycling and walking, and better timing, cheaper tickets and more convenience for local public transport.
"Mobility in Hessen should be designed to be environmentally, climate-friendly and socially compatible, as well as safe and completely barrier-free," says the campaign website, which is currently being set up.
The text of the law has not yet been finalized and agreed, and there are still legal issues to be clarified, says Sanden.
The specifications are extremely complex.
For example, no projects should be listed that fall under the federal or local authority level.
The state parliament's budgetary autonomy also had to be observed.
"It would be much, much better if the parties had come up with the idea of formulating such a law themselves," says Sanden.
In the middle of the preparations, the corona pandemic burst, which is expected to make collecting the signatures considerably more difficult.
Sanden expects a collection time of several months.
If the required signatures come together and the referendum is approved, the next level can be climbed, a further collection of signatures - this time around 220,000.
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The state parliament would then have to deal with the matter.
The initiators hope to achieve far more than the number of signatures initially required in the first step in order to get a political process off the ground with this tailwind.
In the end, the alternative would be a referendum - but there is no successful example of this in the history of the state.
Despite several reforms, the hurdles are still far too high, says Felix Hoffmann from the association Mehr Demokratie.
In contrast to other federal states, the necessary 220,000 signatures for the referendum would have to be given in the citizens' offices.
“We don't think that's feasible,” says Hoffmann.
The association has counted seven attempts in the country so far, only one of the planned referendums was approved - but failed at the next hurdle, the then required signatures of 20 percent of eligible voters.
It was about the introduction of postal voting in the 1960s.
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The association calls for a lower-threshold option so that citizens can bring issues to parliament.
At the moment, Hesse is a “direct democratic no man's land,” says spokesman Hoffmann.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210413-99-180668 / 2
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