A GERMAN LESSON IN TRAFFIC CALMING

This article relates the history of traffic calming measures in the city of Nuremberg, Germany. At every stage, the critics predicted chaos, but were refuted by the actual results. In Nuremberg, both the regulations of the State government, and the demands of fire and ambulance services, make residential traffic calming more difficult than usual. Although 90% of all residential streets have a 30kph speed limit, relatively few of them have been treated by calming measures. However, the city was imaginative in other ways. It was one of the first towns in Germany to apply large-scale pedestrianisation; when the scheme opened in 1972, none of the chaos predicted by critics happened, and up to 80% of the motor vehicle traffic had 'disappeared', without going onto parallel streets. During the 1980s, pedestrianisation was extended in stages, and many central streets were traffic-calmed, but it was still possible to drive across the centre by car from east to west. In 1988, that route was closed, but local citizens considered that the benefits outweighed traders' complaints. The 1991 plan for the city centre aimed to: (1) elimate through motor vehicle traffic; (2) create five traffic cells; (3) impose a 30kph speed limit throughout the centre; (4) increase pedestrianisation; (5) impose various parking measures. The objective is to change the modal split for all motor vehicle trips from the 1991 70% private to 30% public transport ratio to 50% each.