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Hanover: Car-free city center faces resistance - End of the turnaround?

(dpa/lni/fn) With his plans for an almost car-free city center, Hanover's Mayor Onay made headlines nationwide and even gained international attention. Now, he is facing broad opposition. Is the important blueprint for the transformation of cities in Germany and the mobility transition already coming to an end?

Cars pass the New Town Hall in Hanover at dusk. Hanover's Mayor Onay (Green Party) advocates for a car-free downtown. (Photo: Julian Stratenschulte/dpa)
Cars pass the New Town Hall in Hanover at dusk. Hanover's Mayor Onay (Green Party) advocates for a car-free downtown. (Photo: Julian Stratenschulte/dpa)
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Johannes Reichel
von Franziska Neuner

Opinions diverge when it comes to cars: Hannover's city administration is planning a car-free downtown - precisely in the city that was rebuilt to be "car-friendly" after the destructions of World War II. Climate change necessitates a shift in thinking. By 2030, the downtown area is expected to be largely car-free, with parking spaces on streets and squares disappearing, leaving only the parking garages open. However, there is resistance: The majority in the city council, consisting of SPD, CDU, and FDP, insists that the center must remain accessible - also by car. Is the city abandoning its widely noted pioneering role in Europe?

This is the question. "Not every single step saves the world," says Hannover's mayor Belit Onay. But the path to a car-free downtown is a small mosaic piece. Hannover's concept of a nearly car-free downtown serves as a blueprint for the German Association of Cities, being perceived as encouraging: "We are deviating from this to 'Car first'," he criticizes. The proposal by the three parties primarily cements the status quo. And he accuses the council majority of wanting to attract more cars into the downtown area.

Onay: "Frustrating"

This contradicts every German and European trend. Onay calls the request by the majority of the council "very strange," and also "frustrating": "This is not how a city of tomorrow will be created." However, he admits: It mainly affects mobility. Among the other demands, such as for economic promotion, urban development, or safety, there are "good points that can be aligned with the ideas of experts from the administration." Onay was elected mayor of Hannover at the end of 2019, thus ending more than 70 years of SPD rule in the town hall. The vision of a car-free city center was an important issue in the Green politician's election campaign. 

Across Europe, the traffic turnaround is driving city planners, in Paris, for example, the car is to give way to pedestrian and green areas on a growing number of side streets, lanes are being converted into bike paths. And the metropolis is taking on heavy cars: From September, parking for one hour in the center will cost 18 euros for heavy SUVs and other bulky vehicles, and 225 euros for six hours. Another example is Barcelona - the city has been relying on heavily traffic-calmed "superblocks" since 2016, in which several blocks of houses are grouped into a unit with an outer length of around 500 meters. 

What does the Hannover city administration want?

The concept envisions: Those who live in Hannover's city center can reach their private parking spaces with their cars, taxi and delivery traffic are allowed, and people with disabilities even receive more parking spaces. Everyone else drives into the city center via a few side streets - to parking garages. Or they use buses and trains, cycle, or walk. Parking in public spaces is no longer part of the mobility concept. The mobility concept complements the concept for the city center of the future, which the city council of the state capital decided on in autumn 2022. This foresees more seating by 2035. Trees are to be planted, and space for play, art, and recreational activities is also to be created. Therefore, in terms of mobility, the focus is on accessibility by all means of transport - without multi-lane roads in the city. Cycling is to be strengthened and linked with the bike route network. Around 20 million euros in funding have been raised, says the mayor at the time.

What do SPD, CDU, and FDP want?

The motion from the council majority contains 79 demands, most of which all parties would likely agree on - whether it's about more life in public squares, more outdoor dining, or more safety by increasing the public order service to initially 75 and then 100 positions. The desire for more cleanliness is also unlikely to cause discord; rather, the demand for more video surveillance at crime hotspots could, due to legal reasons. Additionally, the council majority wants more urban greenery, cisterns to store rainwater, more pedestrian zones, and to enhance the Opera Square like the city leadership - without traffic. 

Things become critical concerning mobility: According to the motion, the city center should remain easily accessible by car. Therefore, they want to maintain above-ground parking, and parking fees should only be charged until 6:00 PM instead of 8:00 PM to attract more people to the city. Additionally, they plan to build a new parking garage. Lars Kelich, SPD faction leader in the city council, describes the city administration's mobility concept as "unbalanced," which was also the main reason for the coalition breakdown. At the end of November 2023, the SPD ended the coalition with the Greens in the council. 

Kelich: State Capital Must Remain Accessible

The administration's concept is aimed at people who are young and healthy or live in the state capital, Kelich criticizes. This does not do justice to a city with a catchment area of 100 kilometers: "How do I actually reach the city center?". He is convinced that a state capital must remain accessible by car. From his perspective, it is irresponsible to exclude the "catchment area of Hanover" with a car-free city center - especially when the Germany-wide rail timetable is still decades away from being realized. 

Kelich emphasizes that he sees the concept of the three parties as promising for the future. The transportation transition also includes the drive transition, with every tenth parking space expected to have a charging station. It is also a "balanced concept" because it also includes the expansion of pedestrian zones.

No More "Fear Zones"

Parking spaces should still be maintained, but the 4,000 parking spaces that are not to be removed according to the proposal are, according to Kelich, a symbolic number: Not every parking space will remain given the new pedestrian zones. A new parking garage, meanwhile, should be financed by the operator. Maximilian Oppelt, the district chairman of the CDU, makes it clear that the debate about the city center should "not be reduced solely to the car":

"Our proposal strengthens the economy and trade and aims to create reasons for as many people as possible to visit the city center." However, this can only work if people like to spend time there, explains FDP parliamentary group leader Wilfried Engelke - and calls for more safety and cleanliness. There should be no "fear zones" in the city center.

What's Next?

Onay emphasizes - and agrees with his opponents on this point:

"What mainly separates the two concepts is the traffic block." However, the city administration's concept has been "welcomed and positively received by the people of Hanover." Looking at the proposal from the council majority, he says regretfully: "The city society is ready to go much further."

However, with the majority behind it, what the SPD, CDU, and FDP are proposing is likely to be adopted. Once that happens, the city administration will be required to implement the ideas. But the council majority's concept also offers room for changes. Prioritization will be needed, funding sources will be looked for, and individual subprojects will be implemented - such as expanding bike routes. It will be difficult, however, with demands that conflict with existing council resolutions: For instance, the former free parking will likely remain a pipe dream - the city's budget resolution plans to generate an additional eight million euros from parking fees. 

Translated automatically from German.
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