Berlin: Neighbourhood blocks cause trouble
In the Sprengelkiez in Wedding and in many other districts of Berlin, bollards regulate and restrict traffic. But residents remained alien to the decision and want it reversed. In other cities like London, too, traffic calming measures cause unrest and criticism among citizens.
No more traffic in the neighbourhood as the Sprengelkiez in Berlin-Wedding becomes a so-called "Kiez-Block". This is the decision of the district parliament that initiated the blocking off of the neighbourhood. In this way, the capital wants to push cars out of the neighbourhood and in the process create more space for bicycle mobility and social meeting places, for example. On paper, residents are supposed to benefit, but the reality is different. It is not only the budget of 450,000 euros that is causing concern, but also what the car block will mean for the residents.
According to district councillor Almut Neumann (Greens), the Kiez-Block in Wedding is being built at the request of many residents. When questioned, however, they form a completely different picture. The citizens had no opportunity to get involved in the decision, and the initiative had not yet achieved the desired effect - Kiez residents explain. "Cyclists still ride on the pavement" and there would be no loading zones on the new bicycle lanes, which would lead to problems with the delivery of goods for the affected shops. Even the CDU is said to have entered the debate and demanded an explanation for the lack of citizen participation. To this, the district assembly responded that a press release and a QR code informed citizens about the project. For the many elderly residents in the Sprengelkiez, however, this is completely insufficient - criticises Daniela Fritz (CDU).
However, the bollardisation of the Weddinger Kiez is not an isolated case in the capital. Across Berlin, 24 neighbourhood blocks have already been decided, for example in Gartenstadt Tempelhof, Viktoriakiez, Großbeerenstraße, Bergmann- and Ostkreuzkiez and many other neighbourhoods. Here, too, the advantages brought by the new measure lag behind the many perceived disadvantages for residents and shop owners. There is often strong criticism of the decision of local politicians and the city council. As well as in England, and mainly in London, similar traffic calming measures are in the crossfire of critics.
Indeed, since 2020, over 70 Low-Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) - areas with low traffic volumes - have been introduced to mitigate car traffic and air pollution through the use of barriers such as bollards or barrier trees. As in Germany, the pressure is high in the British capital to abolish car barriers. Not only because citizens and business people suffer from the neighbourhood's exclusion from the active road network, but also because of the impact on priority vehicle traffic. Some 240 ambulances, for example, were held up due to the low-traffic neighbourhoods and were delayed in reaching emergency services.
How will London deal with this now? And Berlin? How can cities introduce traffic calming and mitigation measures in the future while not neglecting the needs of citizens? Will LTNs and neighbourhood blocks still get the chance to do something positive for the climate and quality of life in the affected neighbourhoods? Or will the critics gain the upper hand and demand abolition? All this is still unclear at the moment.