Berlin, July 23 – The Berlin Senate must consider whether a street is a highly frequented school route when deciding on 30 km/h zones, according to a court ruling. In the case of Albrechtstraße in Steglitz-Zehlendorf, the administrative court found that this was not done. Therefore, the 30 km/h speed limit must be reinstated there, as the court decided in an urgent procedure.
School Route Safety Prioritized
This measure is necessary for “reasons of school route safety,” explained a court spokesman. This means that an affected student has initially successfully challenged the reinstatement of the 50 km/h speed limit in the street since February. This had been decided by the Senate Department for Environment, which had lifted the previous speed limit imposed for air pollution control reasons.
Decision Not Yet Final
The decision is not yet legally binding. The Senate Department for Environment can appeal against it to the Berlin-Brandenburg Higher Administrative Court. In the case of another court decision regarding a 30 km/h zone (Saarstraße), the environmental department did not accept the initial court decision.
Environmental Activists Support Legal Action
The German Environmental Aid (DUH) supports the plaintiffs in each case. Managing Director Jürgen Resch announced that they would not give up and would examine further legal steps “against this reversal of the traffic turnaround.”
The black-red Senate, in the course of updating Berlin’s air quality plan, has lifted numerous previous 30 km/h speed limits. Following a corresponding proposal by Transport Senator Ute Bonde (CDU), it was decided last September that a 50 km/h speed limit should apply again during the day on 23 main roads instead of 30 km/h.
Source: dpa, Berliner Abendblatt
