Berlin looks to create the largest car-free urban area on the planet

Results of a crucial vote should be known next month and will go a long way to decide whether or not Berlin would seize the opportunity to create a massive car-free zone in the German city.

“Currently, we are waiting for a regional court to give a judgement on whether the law that we proposed is “Verhältnismäßig”, in English I think we would say proportional,” says Thomas Howie of AutoFrei Berlin. “In other words, does the law override fundamental rights by blocking them from having the possibility to drive their car within Berlin.”

And, if the vote goes their way, there’s still a lot of work to be done.

“If they find it In our favour then we progress to the next stage of collecting the necessary signatures to go forward with the actual election,” Howie says.

AutoFrei Berlin is pushing for a referendum that would ban private cars from a large part of the city creating a massive auto-free zone in the German capital stretching the entire area encircled by the S-Bahn train network. The 88 square kilometres would make it the largest car-free urban zone on the planet.

“People are being driven crazy by cars,” says Howie. “They bring so many problems to our streets, from benignly sitting there 95% of the day occupying space at a massively reduced price compared to land value to causing deaths of innocent pedestrians and cyclists.”

And, according to Howie, they might just pull it off.

It all started in late 2019 when a group of people from different backgrounds with a shared vision of a city of the future started talking about how they could make it a reality. 

“One idea they hit upon was holding a Volksentscheid – a referendum – on whether to free up more space, have cleaner air, and quieter streets. In other words, create the largest car-reduced area in the world,” Howie explains. 

“What inspired me to take part was the sense of building the city of the future, hopefully, the best of its kind. It is the sense of possibilities and change that are exciting. With every city that adopts pro-people policies such as pedestrianization, or better cycle and public transport, we see the growth of people using them, and the associated positive benefits for individuals and businesses.”

The proposal is a law that would re-designate all roads within S-Bahn Ring —around 88 square kilometers — to prioritize pedestrians, cyclists, and public transport. All cars driving on these roads would require a permit to do so. People whose mobility is limited can continue using their cars. Likewise, emergency, delivery, and other service vehicles can also continue to use roads.

The draft law was submitted to the Berlin senate in February 2021. The group collected over 50,000 signatures for a stage of the referendum process that required only 20,000.

The next step in the process will see the Berlin Senate give its opinion on the admissibility of the law. At that point, the proponents of the plan would need to collect 175,000 signatures this year, with the referendum being held in the second half of 2023.

Although the group is not complacent, Howie is optimistic.

“People are excited and interested. We’re not complacent but we believe that people will sign-up for the next stage and we can reach the 175,000 signatures in order to hold the referendum,” he says. “We’re ready for that, too. We look forward to holding debates about how our city and people will benefit from these changes.”

The Senate will give their opinion, according to Howie, and the group will respond to it.

“I think the thing to remember here is the direction of travel in all major European cities,” he adds. “Hundreds of millions of euros are being poured into better infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists. Why? Cities have obligations under the law to improve air quality and increasingly people are fed up with losing so much urban space to cars, especially as in-door living space is reduced and rent goes up. Cars and their problems will not go away, whether they are petrol or electric.”

If approved, the law would take effect in the year 2027.

Howie says, although there have been made some marginal gains as of late for Berlin cyclists, especially with pop-up protected lanes that were initiated during the pandemic, the network remains patchy at best and lacks a cohesive plan.

“Many parts of the cycle network remain neglected to the point where you can’t see a cycle lane or cars are permanently blocking it,” he says. “A person on a bike might go from feeling somewhat protected in a new cycle lane to being completely exposed and feeling in danger.”

There is much positive momentum throughout Europe led by places such as Paris and Milan, and the hope is that it will continue to spread and influence more local governments to put people first when it comes to streets and public spaces.

“Honestly, I want to live in a city where people feel like they can simply ‘be’ in their street – perhaps play a game, sit and chat, or hold an event – without having to get a permit,” Howie says. “At a more base level, it would be nice not to feel like my life was under threat every time I set foot off the curbside.”

To find out more about this campaign check out AutoFrei Berlin.