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Hamburg to ban cars downtown by 2034

‘Green Network' for bikes and pedestrians only will cover 40 percent of German city within 20 years.

By Douglas Newcomb Mon 12:45 PM

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Think of Germany and cars, and images of the country’s many luxury sedans at speed on autobahns may spring to mind. But one German city hopes to completely ban cars on most of its streets.

An urban development plan called “Green Network” will make automobiles verboten in Hamburg, Germany's second-largest city, by 2034. In an effort to reduce congestion and carbon emissions, Hamburg plans to ban all cars from its central area.

A series of car-free thoroughfares will encompass about 40 percent of the North Sea port city, and only public transport, bicycles and pedestrians will be allowed. 

“Cities like London have a green belt,” said Hamburg city spokeswoman Angelika Fritsc. “But the Green Network will be unique in covering an area from the outskirts to the city center.” Hamburg’s Green Network will link parks, recreational areas, playgrounds and gardens with an extensive network of these new paths.

While smaller towns in Europe such as the Swiss Alps resort of Zermatt have banned cars for years — plus it's not unusual for the continent’s old city centers, with their narrow, Medieval-era streets, to not allow car traffic — the scope of the Hamburg project is unprecedented in Germany. Only one other major European city is trying something similar: Copenhagen is building a car-free network of 26 “bicycle superhighways” that reach from the city center to the outskirts as part of the Danish capital’s goal to become carbon neutral by 2050.

In addition to quality-of-life objectives, part of the Green Network’s goal is to cut carbon dioxide emissions from cars, which Hamburg city planners believe will help prevent storm flooding. Jens Kerstan, the parliamentary leader of Hamburg’s Green Party, said one of the main objectives is to adapt the low-lying city to climate change to stem a recent rise in sea levels.

“Our residents are quite progressive,” Kerstan said. “Many Hamburgers are willing to give up their cars, which is very unusual in Germany.”

[Source: The Independent]

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