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30 km/h speed limit sign in Berlin (picture from 30 May)
Photo: Nicolas Lepartz / photothek / IMAGO
The German Association of Towns and Municipalities is calling for a free hand for municipalities to impose a maximum speed of 30 km/h on roads. "The decision as to where 30 km/h can be sensibly ordered should be left to the municipalities," said Chief Executive Gerd Landsberg of the "Stuttgarter Zeitung" and the "Stuttgarter Nachrichten". It is therefore incomprehensible why the Federal Ministry of Transport has not yet presented a draft for the implementation of the coalition agreement on this point."
The coalition agreement between the SPD, the Greens and the FDP states: "We will adapt the Road Traffic Act and the Road Traffic Act in such a way that, in addition to the fluidity and safety of traffic, the goals of climate and environmental protection, health and urban development are taken into account in order to open up scope for decision-making for states and municipalities." Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) had said in April that many possibilities had already been created to introduce 30 km/h more easily on certain routes and in certain zones. In addition, they are discussing how to expand the possibilities of the municipalities.
Landsberg considers the current requirements to be inadequate. According to him, the regulations date back to a time when the car and the fluidity of traffic were in the foreground. "Today, climate protection, clean air, urban development and, above all, the safety of other road users also play a central role in municipal transport planning." However, he spoke out against a nationwide introduction of a 30 km/h speed limit in cities, for example because this would reduce the flow of traffic on thoroughfares.
At the end of January, the German Association of Cities had demanded that municipalities should be allowed to introduce a 30 km/h speed limit city-wide on their own authority. Wissing rejected such general guidelines. Currently, 50 km/h is the standard speed in urban areas in Germany.
Online, the Ministry of Transport lists options where a speed limit of 30 km/h can already be ordered: in residential areas, in particularly dangerous situations, for noise protection, for protection against exhaust fumes or around facilities such as schools and day-care centres.
ani/dpa