The air pollution control plan for Cologne is unlawful according to a judgment of the North Rhine-Westphalian Higher Administrative Court (OVG) in Münster. As things stand, bans on older diesel vehicles would have to be included in the Clean Air Plan in order to speed up compliance with air pollution limits, the court ruled.
Previously, the OVG had intensively advised on a diesel driving ban for individual roads. At four roads with particularly high pollution levels, the limit of the prognosis of the city will be met in three to four years, said the Senate Chairman Max-Jürgen Seibert at the trial in Münster. That was a very long period.
Scope of driving bans unclear
It has not yet been decided to what extent driving bans have to be imposed. The Higher Administrative Court does not consider a complete traffic prohibition zone to be mandatory. Line-based driving bans for the four affected roads (Justinianstraße, Clevische Ring, Neumarkt and Luxemburgerstraße) could be sufficient to meet the limits at least in 2020.
The case concerned the appeal of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia against a ruling by the Administrative Court of Cologne. This had imposed a large-scale exclusion zone for the metropolis after a complaint of the German environmental aid. It has not been implemented so far.
Even the revised air pollution control plan for Cologne, which came into force on 1 April, has so far renounced this drastic step. City and district government wanted to reduce air pollution with other measures: Since last month in the center of Cologne, for example, a ban on driving through lorries weighing more than 7.5 tons has been imposed.
