Giffey speaks of “going it alone”: Green blocks Friedrichstrasse in Berlin again for cars

Giffey speaks of “going it alone”
Greens block Friedrichstrasse in Berlin again for cars

Shortly before the Senate elections, an old topic is causing a dispute in Berlin. The Green Mobility Senator Bettina Jarasch has the famous Friedrichstrasse closed to cars again – after a court ruling temporarily allowed car traffic again. Mayor Giffey does not like the action at all.

In view of the ongoing discussions about the New Year’s Eve riots, the plans for a car-free section of Friedrichstrasse in Berlin-Mitte have recently receded into the background. But now the issue is back in the middle of the election campaign. Blame it on Bettina Jarasch. The Green Senator for the Environment and Mobility officially announced that parts of Friedrichstrasse would be closed to car traffic from Monday and turned into a pedestrian zone.

The approximately 500-meter-long section between Leipziger Straße and Französischer Straße was initially closed to cars from August 2020 as part of a traffic test that ended in October 2021. Because the blockage remained in place afterwards, a dealer from the parallel Charlottenstrasse complained. The administrative court agreed that cars were allowed to drive there again from the end of November.

As far as the legal basis is concerned, one is now on solid ground, assured Jarasch. The section could be redesignated as a pedestrian zone, and the controversial cycle lane from the traffic test would then no longer exist. When the cars are gone, “high-quality seating furniture” is to be set up, and greening is planned from spring as soon as the weather permits. Jarasch said that before the decision was made in favor of the pedestrian zone, the concerns of the residents were also examined and weighed up.

Planning for permanent design is to begin later

The green senator also announced a one-week conversion phase. In addition to the seating furniture, so-called information steles are also to be set up at the entrances to the pedestrian zone. All this is not yet the big hit, but only the preparation for it. Planning for the permanent design of the pedestrian zone should then begin. Berlin’s governing mayor Franziska Giffey wrote on Twitter: “First block, then plan, is not a good solution.” She also accused Jarasch that the action had not been approved by the Senate. “I don’t think this solo effort is well thought out either.”

The SPD state chairwoman and competitor of the green top candidate in the repeat election on February 12 said that she still stands for an overall solution for the center of the city, which will be coordinated with the tradespeople in Friedrichstrasse and the surrounding streets. Sufficient funds would have to be set aside for this solution so that a real, attractive promenade could become a reality. “I don’t see that here.”

Jarasch rejects criticism

Economics Senator Stephan Schwarz (independent) complained that Jarasch’s advance was repeating the old mistakes by taking the last step before the first. “With this action, you do not create trust in the process and you also question the idea of ​​​​real participation, which would have been so important now, right from the start,” said Schwarz.

CDU top candidate Kai Wegner described the decision for the pedestrian zone as a mistake. “Once again, Green Senator Jarasch wants to bang his head against the wall. For the Greens, ideology and party interests take precedence over the legitimate concerns of local residents.” FDP faction leader Sebastian Czaja described Jarasch’s actions as the “next mess” against “all resistance and against the interests of the local people”. The Vice President of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) Berlin, Robert Rückel, spoke of activism, which is the opposite of a well thought-out, strategic transport policy.

Jarasch rejected the criticism, including that of the governing mayor. “Our goal is a pedestrian-friendly, modern urban space in the context of the historic center,” she said. “That was always the date.” And that was exactly what was discussed in the coalition negotiations. “If Franziska Giffey doesn’t share that now, I’m surprised.”

source site-34