Greens demand a ban on firecrackers in downtown Cologne
There was already a ban mile around the cathedral on New Year’s Eve. Now the largest Cologne council group is calling for an extension of the ban – Munich is the model.
Although New Year’s Eve in Cologne, according to preliminary findings, was more peaceful than in many other major German cities, the largest faction in the city council would like to extend the previous ban on firecrackers around the cathedral to other parts of the city.
“The events in other cities show that the previous security zones free of gunfire are not sufficient. Fewer firecrackers relieves our clinics, which are already working at the limit, and reduces harmful fine dust in our air,” said the famous parliamentary group leader of the Greens, Manfred Richter.
Specifically, Richter could imagine a ban for the entire city center or “large parts of the city center,” he explains when asked by t-online. The Greens followed the example of Munich. There is a ban zone within the entire “middle ring” that separates Munich’s environmental zone from the rest of the city. The area is about three times the size of Cologne’s district I, i.e. the inner city.
Ban is said to refer to “firecrackers” only
“As the example of Munich shows, larger safety zones free of fireworks in densely built inner cities can be legally implemented and bring measurable relief in terms of noise and waste pollution,” says Manfred Richter. However, the ban should only be limited to “firecrackers and similar firecrackers”. “The burning of other pyrotechnics such as rockets or fountains would not be affected,” says Richter.
According to the city, even sparklers were banned in the restricted area on New Year’s Eve 2022/2023. The police will not publish a complete summary of the operations on Cologne’s New Year’s Eve until Friday, January 6th, when further criminal charges have been received.