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Free rides in the evening: soon not all diesel cars will be allowed to use the Mittlerer Ring
Photo: Wolfgang Maria Weber / IMAGO
After years of legal disputes about air pollution control in Munich, the German Environmental Aid, the traffic club VCD and the state capital have agreed on a comparison.
This also includes an extension of the diesel driving bans to the Mittlerer Ring, the busiest street in Munich, as the three parties announced.
City council still needs to approve the settlement for it to go into effect.
Munich is the city in Germany most affected by nitrogen dioxide.
For years, the German Environmental Aid and the VCD have been arguing with the city and state of Bavaria about compliance with the limit values.
On the Mittlerer Ring, which is also the most congested road in Germany, a driving ban for diesel vehicles up to the Euro IV emission class is to apply as of February 1.
As of October 1st next year, a driving ban will also be introduced for diesel in emission class Euro V, writes the DUH.
There should initially be exceptions for delivery traffic, craft businesses and residents.
These exceptions must then be applied for individually from April 1, 2024.
The concept will be supplemented by a new bus lane on Landshuter Allee, which is part of the Mittlerer Ring close to the city centre.
According to environmental aid and VCD, an expert report has shown that despite the city's many efforts to increase bus and train services and improve the infrastructure for cyclists and pedestrians, only diesel driving bans can lead to compliance with the limit values.
The Deutsche Umwelthilfe and the VCD announced that their proceedings before the courts would be settled as soon as the measures came into force.
A diesel driving ban is crucial, according to a statement from the city of Munich.
"This is the only way to ensure that the annual limit for nitrogen dioxide, which has been legally binding since 2010 to protect human health, can be complied with throughout the city of Munich as quickly as possible and prevent the threat of EU fines at a blatant level." air pollution control
"For years, the responsible Bavarian state government has avoided taking effective measures to comply with the limit values and passed on responsibility to the city at the moment when driving bans could no longer be prevented," she said, according to the announcement.
According to the announcement, the DUH welcomes the agreement.
"For twelve years now, the Free State has been pursuing a clientele policy for its car manufacturers and against its citizens," said the federal director of the DUH, Jürgen Resch, in a statement.
»I am pleased that we were finally able to decide on measures in our comparison talks with the City of Munich that will soon ensure compliance with the limit value.«
ani/AFP
