Wuppertal: Savior eco lane?
Since the famous suspension railway is being renovated, there will be rail replacement traffic for as long as it is in operation: is chaos pre-programmed?
From August 12th, the city's landmark will not be running for a few weeks; traffic congestion and thus air pollution with fine dust and nitrogen oxide will increase dramatically. In order to get the situation under control, several measures are now being discussed in the city council. In addition to new bicycle lanes, an eco lane is also under discussion.
For Christian Wolter of the Initiative Mobiles Wuppertal, the imminent breakdown of the suspension railway is a "wake-up call for local transport" and the situation should be used to draw up new plans for local transport. For example, a trained traffic light system could help to make environmental and bus lanes even more effective and faster. "If the traffic lights were then switched in such a way that the bus could pass through without a red wave, the foundation for an improvement would already have been laid," Wolter adds. The mayoral candidate of the left, Bernhard Sander, sees this in a similar way and would like to shorten the stay in public transport under corona conditions and is also in favour of an eco lane on the valley axis of the city on the River Wupper.
But there is not much time left! There is no alternative to reaching an agreement this week so that the traffic chaos and especially the air pollution in Wuppertal in mid-August can be reduced to a minimum.