In Hanover, no other topic is discussed as lively as transport policy.

Because the state capital of Lower Saxony is not only struggling with one traffic turnaround, but with two: Hanover experienced the first traffic turnaround many decades ago.

Reinhard Bingener

Political correspondent for Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Bremen based in Hanover.

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After the war, the badly damaged city was rebuilt by the city planning officer Rudolf Hillebrecht, who was very influential nationwide, into a model example of a car-friendly city.

In addition to many a dreary square in the inner city, this heritage also includes four-lane “expressways” around the city.

Drivers still benefit from this system today, at least outside of peak times.

However, the burdens caused by heavy traffic are now so great that all 35 bridges on the expressways have to be replaced within a few years.

The costs for this are – currently – estimated at one billion euros.

The bridges are so dilapidated that only 40 km/h is sometimes allowed there and trucks are prevented from passing through deliberately breakneck pivoting.

In this way, the planners want to get a few months of additional service life out of the structures.

Car-free inner city by 2030

In the city center, meanwhile, there is a dispute about the traffic turnaround of the present, i.e. the move away from the prioritization of drivers.

Hanover already took a first step a few years ago by introducing a rigidly programmed priority circuit for buses and trains, which actually reduced their travel times noticeably.

In 2017, Volkswagen started its smart shared taxi service “Moja” in the city, which has now even been electrified.

With the election of Mayor Belit Onay from the Greens, the debate on the traffic turnaround has picked up speed since 2019.

Onay started with the promise of a car-free inner city by 2030.

Last summer, it offered citizens a foretaste of this future with its “experimental rooms”: streets in the city center were closed for weeks for art and sports events;

There were theater performances on Hillebrecht's ugliest high street behind the main train station.

Many motorists complained about long traffic jams, and retailers, who were already battered, also protested.

But the Lord Mayor disagreed: Increasing the quality of stay in the city center is essential for the future of local retailers.

And Onay was able to see himself confirmed a short time later by the result of the local elections, which he was actually aiming for with his "experimental rooms": The Greens triumphed and have since no longer depended on the votes of the FDP in the city council.

And the SPD, which once propagated the car-friendly city, is now also focusing on the topic of traffic turnaround.

The social democrat Steffen Krach won the election for regional president with the promise to introduce an annual public transport ticket for 365 euros - in 2023 it should be ready.

With their transport policy in the Hanover area, the CDU and FDP are obviously not capable of winning a majority at the moment.

Especially in the districts where the search for a parking space is like a lottery and the situation is becoming more and more aggravated by political decisions, the Greens are achieving record results.

The political direction is currently clear.

However, there are doubts as to whether all of the ambitious plans can really be afforded given the poor budgetary situation.

It is also unclear whether cable cars will also be used for local transport in Hanover in the future.

The Greens are open to such ideas, which the SPD-led region and, in the background, probably also the transport companies are slowing down.

And of course there are arguments in the Lower Saxony state capital about the color of the cycle paths and the course of cycle routes.