Tempo 60 is largely abolished

There is hardly an issue that moves Hamburg politicians more than the question of what traffic in the city should look like in the future. Two particularly controversial points were on the agenda of the citizenship on Wednesday: resident parking and the question of speed limits in the city area.

With the majority of the SPD and Greens and with the support of the Left, the number of streets on which Tempo 60 is allowed should be greatly reduced. A motion to this effect was approved on Wednesday with a large majority. The 60 km/h speed limit will be abolished on Stein-Hardenberg-Strasse and Bargteheider Strasse, on Alsterkrugchaussee, on Poppenbütteler Weg, on Heidenkampsweg, on Billhorner Brückenstrasse and on Amsinckstrasse. Instead, car and truck drivers are only allowed to drive 50 kilometers there - as is usual on Hamburg's larger roads.

That protects the environment and protects the people who live along the streets from greater noise, Greens MEP Rosa Domm justified the motion that her parliamentary group had made together with the SPD. Abolishing Tempo 60 is also a question of social justice, according to Domm. As has already happened with similar demands, the Greens and SPD rejected a motion by the left that called for a speed limit of 30 km/h.

But that's not the only reason why CDU traffic expert Richard Seelmaecker accused the government factions of operating symbolic politics with their application against Tempo 60. When asked, the Senate stated that there had been no noise measurements on the streets. Seelmaecker suspects "salami tactics" by the Greens and SPD. "They want to try out how far they can go," said the CDU politician - "just like with resident parking."

Resident parking was one of the dominant issues in the second part of the current hour's debate. In the past two years, the number of zones in Hamburg has grown to 56. There are maximum parking times and usually a fee. In contrast, the Altona Children's Hospital had filed a lawsuit last week. The police union DPolG should also examine a lawsuit.

CDU faction leader Dennis Thering criticized this policy as "ludicrous". "They see resident parking as a way to drive more cars out of the city," he accused government factions. In general, the Senate is pursuing a policy that "ignores the reality of life for people in Hamburg".

There was support for the thesis from the AfD and from the FDP MP Anna von Treuenfels-Frowein. More and more Hamburgers are using the car, probably also "because public transport is still not attractive enough," she complained. This is especially true in the outlying areas. "Instead of taking this into account, the traffic senator is sticking to his policy: rebuilt roads, no parking spaces, expanded resident parking zones and now also the reduction of the speed limit from 60 to 50 on major thoroughfares."

Transport Senator Anjes Tjarks (Greens), who was repeatedly attacked in both debates, remained in the listening role. He did not make use of the right to speak that the Senate has in every debate.

It was different in the first debate of the day, in which parliament discussed citizen income and the rejection of the Union in the Bundesrat. The second mayor, Katharina Fegebank (Greens), had campaigned on behalf of Social Senator Melanie Leonhard (SPD) for approval of citizen income. Leonhard was in Berlin on Wednesday afternoon at a meeting of the SPD-led countries to work out a compromise solution. Fegebank said the reform had to come, “the citizen income must not fail. "It is time to "fundamentally further develop" the current system, known as Hartz IV.