Munich: Legal action against the diesel driving ban
Thousands of diesel vehicles will be banned from the state capital in stages starting in February. Criticism of the ban is coming from all corners - from citizens, car associations and politicians hoping for a retreat by the traffic authorities. But the city is sticking to its position.
From 1 February, there will be a driving ban on diesel vehicles of emission class Euro4 on the Mittlerer Ring and within it in Munich. From October onwards, the diesel ban will also apply to Euro5 cars. Approximately 140,000 diesel vehicles will thus be driven off the roads. A decision that responds to the emergency of pollutants in the air, but leaves many citizens in and around Munich in uncertainty and anger. Without an exemption permit, they won't be able to do much with old diesel cars in the city.
Buying a new car or relying exclusively on bicycle mobility or public transport, says CSU member of the state parliament Robert Brannekämper, is not possible for everyone. Brannekämper himself is affected by the driving ban. Unlike others, however, he does not depend on his car to get to work, as many other citizens do. However, the MP does not want to accept the measure and is preparing a complaint against the city together with the automobile club "Mobil in Deutschland". In addition to the diesel ban, they also reject any intention to set a speed limit. After the holidays, they want to take legal action and try to stop the imposition of the stricter driving bans.
However, it is not only car associations and some politicians who criticise the imposition of the driving bans. There is also pressure against the measure in the Munich environs, mainly in Erding. The planned diesel ban caused heated discussions at the meeting of the Munich Regional Planning Association (RPV). Under time pressure, the city had excluded the surrounding area from the consultations. The municipalities, however, want to have their say and demand that part of the Mittlerer Ring - namely the section between the A8 and A95 - be excluded from the ban area. According to the RPV, the effects on the surrounding area were not sufficiently taken into account in the clean air plan. In the district of Erding alone, several thousand diesel vehicles of the Euro4 pollutant class are affected, which will no longer be allowed to drive through the environmental zone extended to the Mittlerer Ring from February onwards. One thousand drivers, explains RPV Managing Director Christian Breu, cannot simply switch to public transport because there is "no efficient offer".
Should the environmental zone instead be limited in its expansion or further exemptions for residents in the surrounding areas be considered - who depend on a car - the districts could more easily accept the new climate-protecting traffic measures. However, the planning association also doubts the sense of the ordinance in principle. According to its forecasts, even individual measures on the Landshuter Allee should make it possible to comply with the limit values in 2023. No further bans are necessary in this respect.
This position is also held by the president of the automobile association. There is "no basis whatsoever for this hasty action", comments Michael Haberland. The nitrogen dioxide values "are completely within the green zone for Munich" and "practically fulfil all EU limit values and those of the Federal Immission Control Ordinance", he explains further. But this does not correspond to how the state capital presents the environmental and emission situation. If the values are to improve in the respective phases of the gradual ban plan, the next stages and their proportionality will be reviewed, but Munich remains of the opinion that the bans are the right decision to ensure compliance with the limit values set by the European Court of Justice. Otherwise, non-compliance could lead to heavy penalties - and not least consequences for the environment and public health.