Bettina Jarasch (Greens) becomes completely car-free Friedrichstraße-Kiez – BZ Berlin
Will the neighborhood between Leipziger Straße and Unter den Linden soon become a forbidden zone for cars? Transport Senator Bettina Jarasch (53, Greens) wants pedestrian zones around Friedrichstrasse and Gendarmenmarkt!
In the “Berliner Zeitung” the politician speaks about Friedrichstrasse, which is closed to motorists. You have spoken to many. “Nobody wants cars to drive there again,” claims Jarasch.
It is now a matter of “making this project spatially larger”. The Gendarmenmarkt should also be involved. “There streets could become pedestrian areas or meeting areas in which cars would still be allowed but have to drive slowly.”
Traffic expert Oliver Friederici (51, CDU) does not believe in this idea at all. “With that, Mrs. Jarasch is killing the whole area,” he fears. “At the moment it is working very well on the Gendarmenmarkt despite Corona.”
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Friederici doubts the enthusiasm of all residents for the closed Friedrichstrasse. “The usual pushing away of the critics. I hardly know anyone who thinks the current situation is good. “
The FDP MP Felix Reifschneider (44) emphasizes: “In the future, too, people will have to get through Mitte by car without endless traffic jams.” And further: “In addition, being with those affected and the trade is a precondition for any redesign. I warn against going it alone by the Greens. “
Even with the coalition partner SPD, enthusiasm for Jarasch’s plans is very limited. Vice-Parliamentary Jörg Stroedter (67) on the BZ: “We have to share Friedrichstrasse as a shopping mile, not as a bicycle race track. The retail industry is having a hard enough time in the pandemic. “
The alleged superiority of motor vehicle traffic anyway: In the city-state of Berlin only 18 percent use a car every day (survey by the KfW development bank). The nationwide average is 34 percent.