Inner-city limit: 40 km / h as a blessing or a nourishment?

Better air, less noise and a gain in traffic safety.

That sounds so good that there should hardly be any opponents of a tightened speed limit in Wiesbaden.

Or?

In the city council, in which a representative of the car party has been sitting since March, there was only a narrow vote for a pilot test at 40 km / h on various main traffic axes and 30 km / h on various streets at night.

The opponents spoke of the demonization of the car and of repression and harassment of drivers.

You can now triumph because the resolution of the four-party alliance made up of the SPD, the Greens, the Left Party and Volt was illegal.

Still, the attempt will come.

At the latest when the new Salzbachtal bridge is in place and the urban road network no longer has to serve as a diversion route for a section of the motorway.

Examples from other major German cities show that a speed limit of 40 kilometers per hour can help reduce nitrogen dioxide pollution.

“Tempo 40” also seems to have the consequence on main traffic axes that even supposed shortcuts through residential areas become less attractive.

Another decisive factor for the success of a speed limit is that the quality of the traffic flow does not deteriorate.

For this traffic flow, the traffic light crossings are much more important than the speed signs next to the road.

No consequences for main roads

The decisive factor for the success of a pilot test will therefore be whether the EUR 30 million investment in digital traffic control will turn out to be money well spent.

If, in the future, traffic runs more smoothly than before with a speed limit of 40 kilometers per hour, drivers who are often stuck in traffic jams will also be convinced.

The Federal Environment Agency promises that a reduction in the maximum speed limit "in most cases" has no significant impact on the performance of a main road. But this only applies if traffic can flow without major obstacles. In Stuttgart, emissions of fine dust and nitrogen oxides are said to have dropped significantly due to the "Tempo 40" zones in the city center. Wiesbaden is also hoping for this. The skeptical Wiesbaden drivers can remain calm for the time being: it will hardly be that far before 2023.