Opposition to prioritizing automobile movement: traffic strategy under scrutiny

Road congestion - Opposition to prioritizing automobile movement: traffic strategy under scrutiny

Following the unsuccessful attempt to reduce traffic by half by 2035 through the Marburg traffic plan "Move 35," city officials are reconsidering their approach. A majority of voters at a recent public meeting expressed opposition to this goal, which prioritizes public transportation, cycling, and pedestrian traffic. Marburg's mayor, Thomas Spies (SPD), has scheduled a discussion with city council representatives to determine a new course of action.

"Move 35" aims to promote ecological and forward-thinking transport methods in the city. A citizens' initiative opposing the plan due to technicalities had previously failed in November of the previous year, prompting the city to organize the public vote.

Although the overall concept of "Move 35" is not being abandoned, the city council must now decide on a new target for reducing traffic. In addition, the impact of changing one of the plan's sub-goals on the entire concept must be assessed. Around 57,300 Marburg residents were eligible to vote, with 40,000 valid votes cast. 51.8% of those who voted disagreed with the halving target, while 48.2% supported it.

Marburg highlights that, at present, nearly half of its streets are already designated for single-lane vehicle use. The original plan had envisioned reducing this number to just two or three roads. Currently, the idea of halving traffic to two roads has been abandoned, the city announced.

In response to the citizens' vote, Marburg Mayor Thomas Spies has invited city council factions for discussions ahead of summer holidays to determine the revised plan's direction. The city maintains that "the majority of the measures proposed in Move 35 are considered sensible" by the city council and that a strategy for citizen and local council involvement in planning remains in place.

Read also:

1. Despite the SPD mayor's efforts, a significant majority of Marburg municipality voters opposed the halving of car traffic by 2035 as part of the SPD-led "Move 35" initiative, preferring to maintain current car usage levels on most streets.
2. The SPD-led Marburg city council, in response to the public vote, is now considering halving car traffic on fewer than half of the city's streets, instead of their initial goal of reducing it on nearly half of the roads.
3. In light of the public vote results, Hesse's SPD Mayor Spies convened discussions with city council factions to revise the "Move 35" traffic strategy and ensure a balanced approach in accommodating car, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic within the municipalities.
4. The SPD-led Marburg city council has decided to prioritize road improvements that facilitate car traffic, while also aiming to increase bicycle usage in the city, as an alternative to its initial strategy of significantly reducing car traffic in favor of public transportation and cycling.

• Tough return to normality in snow and ice
• Steinmeier joined a moment of silence - a legal battle over an AfD protest.
• German national soccer team on their way to participate in the European Championship qualifying matches.
• The flooding has lessened, but the aftermath of mud remains.