Demands and background of the initiative
The initiative calls on the federal government to create the legal prerequisites for municipalities to be able to impose a 30 km/h speed limit in built-up areas where they deem it necessary. Currently, §45 of the Road Traffic Act - a federal law - stipulates that 30 km/h speed limits can only be imposed in cases of concrete danger or in front of social facilities such as day-care centres and schools.
The statement of the initiative cities (from the position paper, as of July 2021):
The councillors responsible for mobility and urban development, mayors and city planning councillors of the signatory cities therefore declare:
1. we are committed to the necessity of a mobility and traffic turnaround with the aim of increasing the quality of life in our cities.
2. We see a 30 km/h speed limit for motor vehicles on main roads as an integral part of a sustainable mobility concept for the whole city and a strategy for upgrading public spaces.
3. We call on the federal government to immediately create the legal conditions for local authorities to be able to impose 30 km/h speed limits in built-up areas where they deem it necessary, in line with the resolution passed by the German Bundestag on 17 January 2020.
4. We welcome an accompanying model project funded by the federal government, which is to examine important individual aspects in connection with this new regulation in greater depth (including the effects on public transport, cycling safety and the effects on the downstream network), in order to be able to adjust the regulations or their application if necessary.