Frankfurt / Wiesbaden (dpa / lhe) – Half a year after the judgment due to high nitrogen levels in Frankfurt, the extent of possible driving bans is still unclear. The first calculations were available and showed that next year, without traffic-reducing countermeasures, the limit value for nitrogen dioxide “will probably still be exceeded on around 90 road sections”, the Hessian Ministry of the Environment said on request in Wiesbaden. There is a need for action, and the lower values due to the corona regulations do not hide this. An air quality plan will be presented at the end of the year.
“In the coming weeks, the calculations for various scenarios will be continued to see how individual measures affect the immission values,” it said. These included the expansion of the cycle path network, the conversion of the bus fleet, the expansion of bus lanes and parking space management, the installation of gatekeepers and a speed 40 zone.
On December 10, 2019, the Hessian Administrative Court (VGH) described a nationwide driving ban for older diesels in Frankfurt as disproportionate, but the main metropolis must take measures to reduce them. This also means that the city and country check driving bans on individual routes. German environmental aid had sued.
There is criticism of urban policy: Frankfurt needs to actively participate so that the number of affected streets continues to decrease, the ministry said. Frankfurt’s Environment Director Rosemarie Heilig (Greens) admitted on request that they were behind schedule. Together with the head of the transport department, she presented a proposal that did not require driving bans – and instead provided for speed reductions, express buses for commuters as well as more public transport, cycling and e-mobility. It is difficult to find a consensus in the city ruled by the CDU, SPD and the Greens.
In a letter to the top of the city given to the German press agency under the subject “Missing participation”, State Environment Minister Priska Hinz (Greens) set a deadline by mid-June to provide the necessary information for measures that should actually be available by mid-April – also to janitorial lights to reduce traffic. They would be “the last effective measure that would likely have helped to avoid driving bans,” the letter said.
Environmental Aid chief Jürgen Resch said that appropriate measures must be implemented promptly. “There is no delay due to the corona lockdown.” Wiesbaden and Darmstadt were also sued. There was a comparison for the state capital, in Darmstadt driving bans for old diesel and petrol engines on two major roads apply. Both municipalities should not let up in their efforts, warned Resch. On September 14, the VGH invited the hearing to hear the lawsuits in the Limburg and Offenbach cases.
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