Mobility Act in Brandenburg: No new streets, but more bike paths and public transport

Mobility Act in Brandenburg: No new streets, but more bike paths and public transport

Brandenburg: More bike paths and public transport instead of new streets

The draft of a "mobility law" in Brandenburg stipulates that usually no new streets should no longer be built. Instead, the expansion of bicycle paths and the expansion of local public transport (public transport) should be promoted. Minister of Transport Guido Beermann (CDU), however, emphasized that the car continues to play an important role in rural areas.

However, there are still problems with narrow, winding and dangerous country roads in Brandenburg, many of which are not adequately developed 33 years after reunification. Main traffic in particular leads through small towns and affect the life of the residents. Many circumvention projects that have been planned for years have been delayed again and again due to financing and planning disputes.

An example of this is the federal road 158, which takes up all traffic between Lichtenberg and Marzahn-Hellersdorf and leads through Ahrensfelde. Through the narrow street, traffic here regularly comes to a standstill. The governments of Berlin and Brandenburg have argued for 20 years by financing a bypass. When they finally agreed, the Federal Audit Office protested because of the high costs of the project. Since then the bypass has been on ice again.

Another example is Osdorfer Straße south of Berlin, which takes up all traffic between Großbeeren and Berlin. More than 10,000 vehicles happen here every day, although the street is in 1961. It is so narrow that hardly two vehicles come together. However, an alternative route planned for 21 years has not yet been realized.

The current mobility law in Brandenburg has not yet taken into account such important and dangerous roads. The law was written by the Greens and Left Lobbyists, who have now joined together in the group "Traffic Turn Brandenburg". The organizations involved include Greenpeace, the radical BUND youth, the "Changing Cities" initiative against cars and the Brandenburg student representative. Two years ago, they collected 28,500 signatures for a “traffic turn”, whereupon the state government met with them in a “control group”. On this basis, the Mobility Act was formulated, which is to be passed by the coalition of the SPD, the Greens and CDU in the state parliament.

It is known that in Brandenburg outside the centers you hardly get a bike or bus in Brandenburg, but mostly only by car. The car is the most important means of transport in the country, but is neglected in the new Mobility Act. This raises the question of what this should mean for mobility and accessibility in Brandenburg.