Ludwigsburg fights against noise
40 km/h almost everywhere - the city brakes drivers against harmful noise pollution in the entire city area. This means they have to pay for the city's failure to take action.
For years, the noise pollution caused by traffic in Ludwigsburg north of Stuttgart has been too high. Now a speed limit of 40 km/h has been set for the entire city area. In some parts of the city the speed is to be reduced even further: For example, 40 km/h will be introduced on sections of Heilbronner, Marbacher, Aldinger, Kepler, Schwieberdinger, Schorndorfer, Ost, Bebel, Kurfürsten and Martin-Luther-Strasse. On Leonberger-, Solitude-, Mathilden-, Abel-, Asperger-, Hofer- and Schlieffenstraße as well as on Gänsfußallee only 30 km/h will be allowed. Wilhelm-Straße is excluded from the measures, as bus traffic would be too heavily affected here and timetables could not be adhered to.
In the district of Egolsheim, where residents have been suffering from the noise pollution of the B27 for years, whispering asphalt should already be installed; a tunnel, a bypass and a noise protection wall were also under discussion. So although many measures were discussed in the local council, little happened. In the course of this year, the first speed limits were decided: on some sections of the B27 and on Friedrichstrasse, also because nitrogen oxide limits had been exceeded here for years. The aim was to avoid not only noise, but also the threat of a ban on diesel driving.
Nevertheless, noise pollution is too high in many parts of the city and even if the legal limits of 55 and 59 decibels during the day and 45 and 49 decibels at night are complied with, it is still harmful to health. "Speed 40 reduces noise by 1 to 1.2 decibels, which is below the perception threshold, speed 30 reduces noise by 2.5 to 2.7 decibels, which is then noticeable," said Ressler from the Department of Urban Planning and Surveying.
It remains to be seen whether the Tempo 40 measures will have an actual effect. However, as the municipal council has been discussing other measures for years but has not implemented them, many people in Ludwigsburg are dissatisfied that the speed limit has now been set to make up for the mess.