Road Blocks On the Way To E-Mobility In Inner Cities

As some of you may know, I’m living in #Berlin. It was one of the first cities to open up car-free streets, more space for bicycles, and generally turning towards a cleaner and greener inner city. That was before the local government changed a few months ago. Since then, streets have been opened up again for cars, parking spaces were again dedicated to cars – and generally the city (and the national government based here) is pushing towards a more car-friendly policy.

On the other side, I’m reading about cities like Stockholm who are planning to ban all gas-fueled cars from parts of their inner cities by 2025. So, where is the road going: towards clean cities or not?

I recently joined a panel discussion arranged by BDEW Bundesverband der Energie- und Wasserwirtschaft e.V. Listening to speakers from cities and communities, there is a major dilemma that needs to be solved quickly (is that even a word that exists in politics?): in German cities, some roads are ‘Bundesstrassen’ (the federal government is in charge of these – the Mittlerer Ring in Munich is an example), others are ‘Ortsstrassen’ (where the local communities are in charge of legislation and investments). To make things worse, there are also ‘Kreisstrassen’ where the local county or county-free city is in charge.

In short, the responsibilities and hierarchies in managing city streets are complex. And it means that sometimes the local city or community can’t make decisions on things like banning traditional cars from certain streets.

We have to simplify this legal piecemeal. We need deregulation. We need faster political processes and decisions. We all know there is no time to lose. We all know we need greener cities – and a more sustainable mobility. Let’s raise our voices to make sure we will achieve our green goals.