Agora analysis of new traffic laws: Parking and speed limits still lacking

The think tank Agora Verkehrswende sees the draft of the federal government for the amendment of the Road Traffic Regulations (StVO) as a first compromise that enables improvements for mobility and quality of life in municipalities, but still does not unlock the potential, especially in the area of traffic calming, that the simultaneous reform of the Road Traffic Act (StVG) opens up. The federal states, which will negotiate the amendment after the summer break, now have the opportunity to not only secure the compromise but also to further expand the scope of action for municipalities in line with the coalition agreement and the planned new StVG.

For the establishment of bus lanes and areas for cycling and walking, the proposed StVO would already significantly expand the scope of action for municipalities. This is underscored by an expert opinion from the law firm Becker Büttner Held, which was commissioned by the think tank. The changes in these areas correspond to the parallel planned reform of the StVG, according to which the goals of climate and environmental protection, health, and urban development are to be placed on an equal footing with the previously sole goals of "ease and safety of traffic." The law, currently being negotiated in the Bundestag, lays the foundation for the amendment of road traffic law. How far the goals of the law are realized in practice will be determined in the StVO and in the subordinate administrative regulations, which have not yet been presented.

New StVG creates room for further progress in the StVO

"With the proposed StVO reform, the federal government is not yet taking full advantage of the possibilities that a reformed StVG in line with the coalition agreement would offer. But it is a step in the right direction. Cities and municipalities could already achieve a lot with the new rules, especially for public transport as well as pedestrian and bicycle traffic. Similar progress would also be possible with the new StVG in other areas, such as parking in public spaces or local driving speeds," explains Christian Hochfeld, director of Agora Verkehrswende.

For parking management and traffic calming, the StVO reform also defines additional scope for action, but not to the extent that the goals set out in the new StVG can be equally taken into account, according to the experts' assessment. According to the clear agreements in the coalition agreement and the corresponding resolutions of the coalition committee from March 2023, more could have been expected here. The legislature should better meet its self-imposed standards and provide more clarity in the further process – including in the still outstanding justification of the StVO and the associated yet unpublished administrative regulations. The current draft regulation also contains some substantive contradictions, as some rules allow something that is questioned elsewhere.

The think tank sees additional improvement opportunities in digital parking management and the testing of innovative mobility solutions. Both points are currently missing in the StVO draft, although digital parking management has already been enshrined in the coalition agreement and is now also cross-party supported by the Conference of Transport Ministers of the federal states.

Bring new and old goals equally into effect

Through the Conference of Transport Ministers, the federal states, in Agora Verkehrswende's view, have the opportunity to ensure in the further legislative process with the Federal Ministry of Transport that the previously sole goals of "ease and safety of traffic" are still taken into account but are not given priority over the new goals of climate and environmental protection, health, and urban development. This is also supported by the fact that the Conference of Transport Ministers in March 2023 expressly welcomed the cross-party Cities Initiative "Livable Cities through Appropriate Speeds" and its commitment to more flexibility and freedom in local speed limits and asked the Federal Ministry of Transport to consider their concerns in the reform of road traffic law.

The StVO proposal is still insufficient

The initiative, joined by over 800 cities, municipalities, and districts from all over Germany since July 2021, calls on the federal government to provide the legal prerequisites for municipalities to deviate from a maximum speed of 50 km/h in urban areas where they deem it necessary based on clear criteria. So far, this is only possible in cases of specific hazards or in front of schools and daycare centers. The proposed StVO reform currently only provides for closing gaps between existing 30 km/h zones and for allowing 30 km/h also around playgrounds, highly frequented school routes, and pedestrian crossings.

"The art of the StVO reform lies in bringing the goals envisioned in the new StVG truly equally into effect. It doesn't help to play one goal off against another. Ease and safety of traffic are still important goals – for everyone participating in traffic, whether by car, on foot, by bike, or by bus. They are neither above nor below the new goals but should be considered equally with them. If this is legally guaranteed, municipalities can decide for themselves how to balance the various goals in traffic planning and public space and make decisions in the public interest. The proposed StVG reform meets this standard, but the proposed StVO reform only partially," states Roman Ringwald, lawyer at Becker Büttner Held law firm.

Incorporate municipal competencies more strongly

The city's initiative "Livable Cities through Appropriate Speeds" shows, from Agora Verkehrswende's point of view, how vehemently municipalities are now advocating for more scope of action and thus for making urban traffic more sustainable. That such an initiative is even necessary is also a sign that municipalities have been too little involved in the design of road traffic law in the past. Yet road traffic law has far-reaching effects on the territory under municipal control.

Christian Hochfeld therefore advocates for stronger involvement of municipalities. In future reforms of road traffic law, municipal competencies should be much more utilized because in the end, road traffic law defines the possibilities and limits of action at the municipal level, he says. The new StVG can serve as a good foundation for this.

"Therefore, the most important thing is that the StVG is ultimately reformed in the sense of the present draft. Then it would be possible to effectively make adjustments in future StVO reforms and align the scope of action for municipalities with the expanded goals of the StVG," Hochfeld continues.

The current StVO draft already contains some improvements. Ongoing negotiations should add more. Then the interpretation of the new legal framework will show how far-reaching the improvements for municipalities are in practice.

The legal opinion "Preliminary Legal Assessment of the Reform of Road Traffic Law" by Becker Büttner Held (BBH) commissioned by Agora Verkehrswende is available for download. Agora Verkehrswende points out that their statement and the BBH opinion are preliminary because the written justification for the StVO reform is still not available.