Traffic
The FDP’s push to speed up the construction of bike lanes failed
Hesse’s climate-friendly cycle path network is developing slowly. FDP wants to speed this up. But his idea did not receive majority support in the state parliament. Why not?
Although the Hessian state parliament widely advocated greater speed in bike lane expansion, a bill from the opposition FDP failed in a vote. Some MPs acknowledged that the Free Democratic Party had good intentions, but saw obstacles in implementing their proposals.
FDP parliamentary group leader Stefan Naas explained: “Cycle lane construction is defined as being of primary public interest, approvals and environmental impact assessments for small projects are no longer required, and planning approval procedures are simplified.” From 2015 to 2024, of the 7,198 kilometers of state roads in Hesse, only 61 kilometers of cycle paths were built: “It cannot continue like this.”
According to SPD lawmaker Maximilian Ziegler, the FDP bill suggests speed, progress and problem-solving skills. “But when you look at the text, you see a lot of things that are unclear and contradictory.” Therefore, some regulations raise legal questions. CDU lawmaker Tanja Jost also spoke about “new risks of lawsuits”.
Regarding the construction of bicycle lanes, Transport Minister Kaweh Mansoori (SPD) confirmed that his party was working on its own package of legislation to simplify transport planning. Ziegler of the Social Democratic Party explains: “We solve existing problems. We digitize. We lighten the burden on municipalities and ensure that in the end we receive fewer complaints, not more.”
dpa
